![Bains publics artaxata arménie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Bains_publics_artaxata_arm%C3%A9nie.jpg)
Artashat ( hy, Արտաշատ);
Hellenized
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...
as Artaxata ( el, Ἀρτάξατα) and Artaxiasata ( grc, Ἀρταξιάσατα), was a large commercial city and the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
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 ...
during the reign of king
Artaxias I
Artaxias I (from gr, Άρταξίας; in hy, Արտաշէս, translit=Artašēs) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling d ...
; the founder of the
Artaxiad Dynasty of the
ancient Kingdom of Armenia. The name of the city is derived from
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are grouped ...
and means the "joy of
Arta" (see also; ''
-shat'').
Founded by King
Artaxias I
Artaxias I (from gr, Άρταξίας; in hy, Արտաշէս, translit=Artašēs) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling d ...
in 176 BC, Artaxata served as the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of the
Kingdom of Armenia from 185 BC until 120 AD, and was known as the "Vostan Hayots" ("court/seal of the Armenians").
History
Antiquity
King
Artashes I
Artaxias I (from gr, Άρταξίας; in hy, Արտաշէս, translit=Artašēs) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling d ...
founded Artashat in 176 BC in the Vostan Hayots canton within the historical province 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 ...
, at the point where Araks river was joined by Metsamor river during that ancient eras, near the heights of
Khor Virap
Khor Virap ( hy, Խոր Վիրապ, lit=deep dungeon) is an Armenian monastery located in the Ararat Plain in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, about south of Artashat, Ararat Province, within the territory of ancient Artaxata. The monaster ...
. The story of the foundation is given by the Armenian historian
Movses Khorenatsi
Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; hy, Մովսէս Խորենացի, , also written as ''Movses Xorenac‘i'' and Moses of Khoren, Moses of Chorene, and Moses Chorenensis in Latin sources) was a prominent Armenian historian from the late an ...
of the fifth century: "Artashes traveled to the location of the confluence of the
Yeraskh
Yeraskh ( hy, Երասխ, formerly, Arazdayan) is a village in the Ararat Province of Armenia. Yeraskh is the closest Armenian village to the closed border with Azerbaijan. The settlement is adjacent to Heydarabad, Azerbaijan across the border ...
and
Metsamor
Metsamor ( hy, Մեծամոր, ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Armavir Province of Armenia. It is famous for being home to Armenia's Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, the only nuclear plant in the Transcaucasian region. As of the ...
ivers Ivers is the Name of the following people:
* Donald L. Ivers (born 1941), former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
*Eileen Ivers (born 1965), Irish-US-American musician
*Julia Crawford Ivers (1869 - 1930), US-American ...
and taking a liking to the position of the hills
djacent to Mount Ararat he chose it as the location of his new city, naming it after himself." According to the accounts given by Greek historians
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
and
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
, Artashat is said to have been chosen and developed on the advice of the
Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( la, Carthaginiensis ) usually refers to a citizen of Ancient Carthage.
It can also refer to:
* Carthaginian (ship), a three-masted schooner built in 1921
* Insurgent privateers; nineteenth-century South American privateers, ...
general
Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
:
However, modern historians argue that there is no direct evidence to support the above. Some sources have also indicated that Artashes built his city upon the remains of an old
Urartian
Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushpa, ...
settlement.
Strabo and Plutarch describe Artashat as a large and beautiful city and call it the "Armenian
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
".
A focal point of
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
culture, Armenia's first theatre was built here.
Movses Khorenatsi points that in addition to numerous
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
pagan statues of the gods and goddesses of
Anahit,
Artemis
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
and
Tir brought from the religious center of
Bagaran and other regions to the city,
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
from the former Armenian capital of
Armavir were relocated to Artashat.
Artashes also built a citadel (which was later named
Khor Virap
Khor Virap ( hy, Խոր Վիրապ, lit=deep dungeon) is an Armenian monastery located in the Ararat Plain in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, about south of Artashat, Ararat Province, within the territory of ancient Artaxata. The monaster ...
and gained prominence as the location where
Gregory the Illuminator
Gregory the Illuminator ( Classical hy, Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, ''Grigor Lusavorich'';, ''Gregorios Phoster'' or , ''Gregorios Photistes''; la, Gregorius Armeniae Illuminator, cu, Svyas ...
was to be imprisoned by
Tiridates III of Armenia
Tiridates III (Armenian: Գ ''Trdat III''; – c. 330), also known as Tiridates the Great ( hy, Տրդատ Մեծ ''Trdat Mets''), or Tiridates IV, was the Armenian Arsacid king from c.298 to c. 330.
In 301, Tiridates proclaimed Christianit ...
) and added other fortifications, including a
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
.
[Garsoïan, Nina. "The Emergence of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I, The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century'', ed. Richard G. Hovannisian. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997, p. 49. .] Given the city's strategic position on the Araks valley, Artashat soon became a center of bustling economic activity and thriving international trade, linking
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
with the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
and
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. Its economic wealth can be gauged in the numerous bathhouses, markets, workshops administrative buildings that sprang up during the reign of Artashes I. The city had its own treasury and customs. The amphitheater of Artashat was built during the reign of king
Artavasdes II
Artavasdes II ( grc, ΑΡΤΑΒΑΖΔΟΥ ''Artabázēs'') was king of Armenia from 55 BC to 34 BC. A member of the Artaxiad Dynasty, he was the son and successor of Tigranes the Great (). His mother was Cleopatra of Pontus, thus making his matern ...
(55-34 BC). The remains of the huge walls surrounding the city built by King Artashes I could be found in the area.
Wars against Romans and Persians
![Temple tyr apollon artaxata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Temple_tyr_apollon_artaxata.jpg)
During the reign of
Tigranes II
Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great ( hy, Տիգրան Մեծ, ''Tigran Mets''; grc, Τιγράνης ὁ Μέγας ''Tigránes ho Mégas''; la, Tigranes Magnus) (140 – 55 BC) was King of Armenia under whom the ...
, the Armenian kingdom expanded and conquered many territories in the south and west, ultimately reaching the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. Due to the remoteness of Artashat in the greater context of the empire, Tigranes built a new capital called
Tigranocerta __NOTOC__
Tigranocerta ( el, Τιγρανόκερτα, ''Tigranόkerta''; Tigranakert; hy, Տիգրանակերտ), also called Cholimma or Chlomaron in antiquity, was a city and the capital of the Armenian Kingdom between 77 and 69 BCE. It bore ...
. However, in 69 the Roman general
Lucullus
Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered the eastern kingd ...
invaded Armenia,
defeated Tigranes' forces at the outskirts of Tigranocerta, and sacked the new capital. As the harassed Roman forces continued to move northeast in pursuit of the Armenian king, a second prominent battle took place, this time at
Artashat where, according to Roman sources, Tigranes II was defeated once again. Artashat was restored as capital of Armenia in 60 B.C.
However, the city remained a hotly contested military target for the next two centuries. It was occupied by
Capadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
n legions under the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
general
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo (Peltuinum c. AD 7 – 67) was a popular Roman general, brother-in-law of the emperor Caligula and father-in-law of Domitian. The emperor Nero, highly fearful of Corbulo's reputation, ordered him to commit suicide, which ...
, who razed it to the ground in 59 AD as part of the
first, short-lived, Roman conquest of Armenia. After Emperor
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
recognized
Tiridates I as king of Armenia in 66, he granted him 50 million
sesterces
The ''sestertius'' (plural ''sestertii''), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin.
The na ...
and sent architects and construction experts to help in the reconstruction of the ruined city.
The city was temporarily renamed Neronia, in honor of its sponsor, Nero.
![Fouilles archéologiques artaxata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Fouilles_arch%C3%A9ologiques_artaxata.jpg)
Artashat remained the capital of Armenia until 120 when the see of power was moved to
Vagharshapat
Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is com ...
during the reign of
Vologases I (Vagharsh I) 117/8–144. After his death, the Romans led by
Statius Priscus invaded Armenia and destroyed Artashat in 162 A.D. Archaeological excavations conducted during the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
era uncovered a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
inscription bearing the full titles of the Emperor
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
that was probably inscribed upon the governor's palace, dating back to the first quarter of the second century.
Artashat remained one of the principal political and cultural centres of Armenia until 369 when it was thoroughly destroyed by the
Sassanid Persia
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
n invading army of king
Shapur II
Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigned fo ...
.
In 449, just prior to the
Battle of Avarayr
The Battle of Avarayr ( hy, Ավարայրի ճակատամարտ ''Avarayri čakatamart'') was fought on 2 June 451 on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan between a Christian Armenian army under Vardan Mamikonian and Sassanid Persia. It is conside ...
, the city witnessed the gathering of the Artashat Council, where the political and religious leaders of Christian Armenia gathered to discuss the threats of the Sassanid king
Yazdegerd II. However, after losing its status as a capital to
Vagharshapat
Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is com ...
and later
Dvin, Artashat gradually lost its significance, though it continued to be a notable settlement for centuries.
In 587 during the reign of
emperor Maurice
Maurice ( la, Mauricius or ''Mauritius''; ; 539 – 27 November 602) was Eastern Roman emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty. A successful general, Maurice was chosen as heir and son-in-law by his predecessor Tib ...
, Artashat and much of Armenia came under Roman administration after the Romans defeated the
Sassanid Persian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
at the
battle of the Blarathon
The Battle of the Blarathon, also known as the Battle of Ganzak, was fought in 591 near Ganzak between a combined Byzantine–Persian force and a Persian army led by the usurper Bahram Chobin.
Background
In 590, Sasanian Shah Hormizd IV grew e ...
.
The exact location of ancient Artashat was identified during the 1920s, with archaeological excavations beginning in 1970. The archaeological site is south of the modern city of Artashat, near the monastery of
Khor Virap
Khor Virap ( hy, Խոր Վիրապ, lit=deep dungeon) is an Armenian monastery located in the Ararat Plain in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, about south of Artashat, Ararat Province, within the territory of ancient Artaxata. The monaster ...
.
Soviet period and independence
The modern town of Artashat was founded by the Soviet government in 1945, 8 km northwest of the ancient city, within the
Armenian SSR
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
. It was given the status of an urban community with the merger of three villages, Upper Ghamarlu, Lower Ghamarlu, and Narvezlu.
The town grew gradually as an industrial hub during the Soviet period, mainly in the sphere of food-processing and building materials production.
In 1995, with the new law of the territorial administration of Armenia, Artashat became the provincial centre of the newly created
Ararat Province
Ararat ( hy, Արարատ, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is the town of Artashat.
The province is named after the biblical Mount Ararat. It is bordered by Turkey from the west and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan ...
.
References
Further reading
*
*
{{Historic capitals of Armenia
Former capitals of Armenia
Archaeological sites in Armenia
Forts in Armenia
Buildings and structures in Ararat Province
Ararat Province