Yervandashat or Eruandashat ( (

reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

); ( classical)) was an Armenian city and one of the historical capitals of Armenia, serving as the capital city between and 176 BC under the rule of the

Orontid dynasty The Orontid dynasty, also known as the Eruandids or Eruandunis, ruled the Satrapy of Armenia until 330 BC and the Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom of Armenia from 321 BC to 200 BC. The Orontids ruled first as client kings or satraps of t ...

and at the beginning of the rule of their successors, the

Artaxiad dynasty The Artaxiad dynasty (also Artashesian) ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in 12 AD. It was founded by Artaxias I, who claimed kinship with the previous ruling dynasty of Armenia, the Orontids. Their ...

. Its ruins are located on a rocky hill near the confluence of the Akhuryan and Aras rivers, on the left bank of the Aras, between the villages of Yervandashat and Bagaran in modern-day Armenia.

Etymology

''Eruandashat'', which translates as "Joy of Ervand (i.e., Orontes)", is the Armenian form of the toponym and derives from

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

* (compare

Old Persian Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...

*).

History

Yervandashat was built around 200 BC by the last Orontid king of Armenia, Orontes (Eruand) IV. It was located on a rocky height on the left bank of

Aras River The Aras is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, fin ...

, near the confluence of the Akhuryan and the Aras, in the historical Arsharunik canton of the Ayrarat province of Armenia Major. Its ruins are located between the villages of Yervandashat (former Bakhchalar) and Bagaran (former Kheribeklu) in modern-day Armenia. According to

Movses Khorenatsi Movses Khorenatsi ( 410–490s AD; , ) was a prominent Armenians, Armenian historian from late antiquity and the author of the ''History of Armenia (book), History of the Armenians''. Movses's ''History of the Armenians'' was the first attempt at ...

, Orontes founded Yervandashat to replace Armavir as his capital after Armavir had been left dry by a shift of the course of the Aras. However, historian Babken Arakelyan believes that the real reason for the move was that Orontes' rival

Artaxias Artaxias (also called Artaxes or Artashes) may refer to: Kings and monarchs of Armenia * Artaxiad dynasty (190 BC–12 AD) eponymously named after its founder Artaxias or Artashes ** Artaxias I, reigned 190–159 BC, founder of the Artaxiad dynast ...

had taken over Armavir. It remained the capital until Artaxias I () founded the new capital of Artashat (Artaxata) around 176 BC. According to Khorenatsi, Yervandashat was renamed Marmet or Artamet for a short time. Yervandashat was well fortified with ramparts and a citadel and had some importance as a commercial center. It was populated by Armenians and other groups that had been resettled there during the reign of

Tigranes the Great Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (''Tigran Mets'' in Armenian language, Armenian; 140–55 BC), was a king of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under hi ...

(). It had a large Jewish population. In the 4th century AD, King Tiridates III the Great () granted the city to the house of Kamsarakan. Thus, Yervandashat became the center of the district of Arsharunik. The city was destroyed by the army of the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

king

Shapur II Shapur II ( , 309–379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings (List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire, Shahanshah) of Sasanian Iran. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the List ...

in the 360s AD and its population was deported to Persia. Yervandashat still existed in the 7th century, but it never regained its former significance. The remains of walls, streets, and buildings of the ancient city have survived, as well as the ruins of a settlement built on the site during medieval times, two ruined churches,

khachkar A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosette (design), rosettes ...

s and mural inscriptions. The archaeological site has not been the subject of major excavation, but some preliminary examination of the fortifications has been done and some remains of palaces of the Urartian and Hellenistic periods have been uncovered.

Etymology

History

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading