Aparan (
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
: ), is a town and urban municipal community in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, located in the
Aragatsotn Province
Aragatsotn ( hy, Արագածոտն, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the western part of the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Ashtarak. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported ...
, about 50 kilometers northwest of the capital
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 6,451. As per the 2016 official estimate, Aparan had a population of around 5,300.
Etymology
It is commonly believed that the name of Aparan is derived from the Armenian word of ''Aparank''; meaning a royal palace. However, throughout the history, the town was known with different names including ''Kasagh'', ''Paraznavert'', ''Abaran'' and ''Abaran Verin''. Later, it was known as ''Bash Aparan'' () until 1935, when the name was finally changed to Aparan.
History
Early history and Middle Ages
The first reference to the town of Aparan was made by
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
during the 2nd century.
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
referred to the settlement as ''Casala''; the Hellenized version of the Armenian name of ''Kasagh''. It was the centre of ''Nig'' canton of the
Ayrarat
Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharshapat ...
province of ancient
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. Kasagh was under the administration of the ''Gntunik'' Armenian noble family, under the rule of the
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. The Gntunik princes founded the
Basilica of Kasagh by the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries.
Between the 9th and 11th centuries, Aparan was part of the
Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia
The Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia ( xcl, Բագրատունեաց Հայաստան, or , , 'kingdom of the Bagratunis'), was an independent Armenian state established by Ashot I Bagratuni of the Bagratuni dynasty ...
. Starting from the 10th century, the settlement of Kasagh became known as Aparan. The new name was originated from the village of ''Aparank'' located in the
Moxoene
Moxoene or Mokk' ( hy, Մոկք, translit=Mokkʿ, ku, Miks) was a territory of Kingdom of Armenia and later Sasanian Armenia, located east of Arzanene from south of Lake Van to north of Bohtan river. The territory was ruled by a local dynasty.
...
province of the
Kingdom of Armenia, when some remains from the ancient Armenian monastery of ''Surp Khach of Aparan'' were transferred to the town of Kasagh.
After the fall of
Ani
Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia.
Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...
to the
Byzantines in 1045, the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
occupied most parts of the
Armenian Highland by 1064. In the mid 13th century, Armenia became part of the
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
of the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
.
By the last quarter of the 14th century, the
Aq Qoyunlu Sunni
Oghuz Turkic
The Oghuz languages are a sub-branch of the Turkic language family, spoken by approximately 108 million people. The three languages with the largest number of speakers are Turkish, Azerbaijani and Turkmen, which, combined, account for more t ...
tribe took over Armenia, including Aparan, before being invaded by
Timur
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
in 1400. In 1410, Armenia fell under the control of the
Kara Koyunlu
The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...
Shia Oghuz Turkic tribe.
Early modern period
Between 1502 and 1828, Armenia became part of the Persian state under the rule of
Safaavid,
Afsharid
Afsharid Iran ( fa, ایران افشاری), also referred as the Afsharid Empire was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Iran (Persia). The state was ruled by the ...
and
Qajar
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
dynasties, with short periods of
Ottoman rule between 1578 and 1603 and later between 1722 and 1736. Aparan was part of the
Erivan Khanate
The Erivan Khanate ( fa, خانات ایروان, translit=Xānāt-e Iravān; hy, Երեւանի խանութիւն, translit=Yerevani xanut'iwn; az, ایروان خانلیغی, translit=İrəvan xanlığı), also known as Chokhur-e Sa'd, was ...
of Persia.
In the 16th century, the
Latin diocese of Nakhchivan's actual see (not the title) was moved to more central Aparan, closer to the actual Catholic communities. Around 1620,
Pope Gregory XV instigated the founding of a
Fratres Unitores (exclusive Armenian Dominican order branch)
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
in Aparan. The see was elevated on 21 February 1633 as non-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nakhchivan, but diocesan activity seemingly effectively halted later that century. It would be suppressed in 1847, apparently vacant since 1765, as its faithful had fled the country during the devastating wars between the
Ottomans and
Safavids
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
.
The Armenian historian
Zacharia of Kanaker, used the name Kasagh to refer to Aparan during the 17th century. Starting from the 18th century, Aparan became known as ''Bash Aparan'' in Persian and Turkic documents.
In 1828, after the
Russo-Persian War, Aparan was among the lands that were handed over to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
as a result of the
Treaty of Turkmenchay
The Treaty of Turkmenchay ( fa, عهدنامه ترکمنچای; russian: Туркманчайский договор) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–28). It was second o ...
signed on 21 February 1828.
Modern history
![Aparan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Aparan.jpg)
During the years of the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
, many Armenian refuge families arrived in Bash-Aparan from the Western Armenian cities of
Van,
Mush
In multiplayer online games, a MUSH (a backronymed variation on MUD most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a text-based online social medium to which mul ...
,
Alashkert and
Karin between 1914 and 1918. Many other families had also arrived from the Eastern Armenian town of
Khoy
Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985.
Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city ...
.
The town was the site of the
Battle of Abaran against the
Turkish army on May 21, 1918, during the
Caucasus Campaign
The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...
of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when the Turkish invasion of the newly independent
Republic of Armenia
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
was turned around. During the brief period of independence, Bash-Aparan became a ''gavar'' (administrative district) of Armenia.
Under the Soviet rule, the ''Bash-Aparan raion'' was founded in 1930. In 1935, the name was officially changed to Aparan. In 1963, Aparan was granted with the status of an
urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...
.
An impressive monument to the Battle of Abaran was erected in 1978 just north of the town, designed by architect
Rafael Israelyan
Rafayel "Rafo" Israyelian ( hy, Ռաֆայել Իսրայելյան; 8 September 1973) was a Soviet Armenian architect.
Seen as a follower of Alexander Tamanian, Israyelian designed some of Soviet Armenia's most prominent structures, including t ...
.
Following the independence of Armenia from the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, Aparan was given the status of a town within the
Aragatsotn Province
Aragatsotn ( hy, Արագածոտն, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the western part of the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Ashtarak. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported ...
, as per the administrative reforms of 1995.
Geography
![Drastamat Kanayan mausoleum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Drastamat_Kanayan_mausoleum.jpg)
Historically, Aparan is located in
Nig canton of
Ayrarat
Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharshapat ...
Province of the Kingdom of
Armenia Mayor.
Modern-day Aparan is located at the eastern slopes of
Mount Aragats
Mount Aragats ( hy, Արագած, ) is an isolated four-peaked volcano massif in Armenia. Its northern summit, at above sea level, is the highest point of the Lesser Caucasus and Armenia. It is also one of the highest points in the Armenian ...
and the northern slopes of
Mount Ara
Mount Ara ( hy, Արա լեռ, ''Ara leř'') is a polygenetic stratovolcanic cone in Armenia's Kotayk Province. The town of Zoravan and a nearby church, Gharghavank, are located along the mountain's lower slopes. The town of Yeghvard is below the ...
, on the shores of
Kasagh River
Kasagh () is a river in the west-central region of modern Armenia which flows north to south. It originates near Mount Aragats in Aragatsotn province, flows south into Armavir province and into the Metsamor, which itself is a tributary of the ...
, with an elevation of 1880 metres above sea level. The town is located at a road distance of 42 km north of Yerevan and 32 km north of the provincial capital
Ashtarak
Ashtarak (Armenian: ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of the Aragatsotn pr ...
, on the main north–south road of Armenia.
Climate
Aparan has an
Alpine climate
Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate.
Definition
There are multiple definitions of ...
in general with the influence of cold
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
. the town is characterized with snowy winters and mild humid summers. The average temperature is around -7 °C in winter and 18 °C in summer. The annual precipitation amount is between 450-600 millimeters.
Demographics
![Aparan Surb Astvatsatsin church1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Aparan_Surb_Astvatsatsin_church1.JPG)
Many residents of Aparan are the descendants of Armenian migrants from the cities of
Van,
Mush
In multiplayer online games, a MUSH (a backronymed variation on MUD most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a text-based online social medium to which mul ...
,
Alashkert and
Karin, who arrived in the area escaping the
massacres of the Armenians during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Currently the town has a predominantly
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
population with a very small (~1%) minority of
Pontic Greeks
The Pontic Greeks ( pnt, Ρωμαίοι, Ρωμίοι, tr, Pontus Rumları or , el, Πόντιοι, or , , ka, პონტოელი ბერძნები, ), also Pontian Greeks or simply Pontians, are an ethnically Greek group in ...
and
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
.
Here is the population timeline of Aparan since 1831:
The vast majority of the population belong to the
Armenian Apostolic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg
, icon_width = 100px
, icon_alt =
, image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, a ...
. The regulating body of the church is the
Diocese of Aragatsotn
Diocese of Aragatsotn ( hy, Արագածոտնի թեմ ''Aragatsotni t'em''), is a diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church covering the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. The name is derived from the historic Aragatsotn canton of Ayrarat province o ...
with the
Saint Mesrop Mashtots Cathedral
Saint Mesrop Mashtots Church ( hy, Սուրբ Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց եկեղեցի) is an Armenian Apostolic church in Oshakan that contains the grave of Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet. It is one of Armenia's better kno ...
in
Oshakan
Oshakan ( hy, Օշական) is a major village in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia located 8 kilometers southwest from Ashtarak. It is well known to historians and pilgrims of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the site of the grave of Mesrop Mas ...
. The churches of the
Holy Cross and the Holy Mother of God, dating back to the 5th and 19th centuries respectively, are still operating up to the day.
Culture
Aparan has a palace of culture, a public library, a music school, and a school of art run by the municipality.
There are many places of cultural interest in the town :
*
Kasagh Basilica of the Holy Cross, built during the 4th century, one of the oldest surviving churches in the Armenian highland.
The church is undated and was partly restored in 1877.
* Monument to the
Battle of Abaran erected in 1978.
* Mausoleum of General
Drastamat Kanayan
Drastamat Kanayan (; 31 May 1884 8 March 1956), better known as Dro (Դրօ), was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He briefly served as Defence Minister of the First Republic ...
near the battle memorial, reburied in Aparan on 28 May 2000.
* Aparan Alphabet park and the statue of the 12th-century Armenian scholar
Mkhitar Gosh
Mkhitar Gosh ( hy, Մխիթար Գոշ; 1130–1213) or Mkhitar the Thinbearded was an Armenian scholar, writer, public figure, thinker, and priest. He was one of the representatives of the Armenian Renaissance.
Biography
He was born in the city ...
.
* The 33-meters high Holy Cross of Aparan and the Holy Trinity Altar of Hope consecrated in October 2012. The cross is a metallic structure consisted of a number of small metallic crosses, referring to the number of years since Armenia adopted Christianity in 301. Thus, every year in October, a cross is being added to the monumental structure.
Transportation
Aparan is located on the M-3 Motorway that connects the Armenian capital
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
with the
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
capital
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
, passing through Aparan on the way to Lori Province. A network of regional roads connects the town with the surrounding villages, as well as the provinces of Shirak and Armavir.
Economy
![Aparan-Fabrication de pain géorgien (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Aparan-Fabrication_de_pain_g%C3%A9orgien_%281%29.jpg)
Aparan used to be a major centre of carpet and textile production during the Soviet years. However, with collapse of the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
the economy had drastically declined.
Currently, Aparan is home to the Nig factory for electrical products founded in 1964, the ''Aparan Cheese Factory'' founded in 1982 (privatized in 1995), and the Aparan Group for bottled water, soft drinks and dairy products, founded in 2006, and the Gntunik plant for bakery and dairy products.
Many restaurants of Aparan offer local and traditional cuisine, and tourist are accommodated in the ''Kasaghi Amrots'' hotel.
Education
As of 2017, Aparan is home to 2 primary schools, as well as the Aparan physics and mathematics high school. There are also 2 pre-school kindergartens operating in the town.
The Aparan physics and mathematics high school was founded in 2009 on the basis of Yeghishe Varzhapet's school opened in 1903. Currently, housing around 180 students, the school has specialized classes in humanities, natural science and mathematics. The school is equipped with up-to-date laboratories for physics, chemistry, and biology, along with 2 computer rooms.
Sport
FC Nig Aparan represented the town in the domestic football competitions after the independence of Armenia. However, like many other Armenian clubs, it was dissolved in 1999 due to financial difficulties. The town has a sports school with a football training field.
Aparan used to be a major centre for winter sports. A ski resort with ski lifts used to operate near the town during the Soviet days. It is envisaged to rebuild the resort in the near future.
About the town of Aparan (Armenian)
/ref>
See also
* Battle of Abaran
References
{{Cities and towns in Armenia
Populated places in Aragatsotn Province
Erivan Governorate
Populated places established in the 2nd century