Tsovinar ( hy, Ծովինար) is a village in the
Gegharkunik Province
Gegharkunik ( hy, Գեղարքունիք, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar.
Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part of Armenia, bordering Azerbaijan. It includes the exclave of Artsvashe ...
of
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 to the south of
Lake Sevan
Lake Sevan ( hy, Սևանա լիճ, Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, ...
.
Toponymy
The name "Tsovinar" is derived from
Tsovinar, the
Armenian goddess of water, sea, and rain.
Historical heritage
East of the village is the
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, ...
site of
Teyseba
Odzaberd ( hy, Oձաբերդ; meaning "Serpent's Fortress"; formerly Teyseba referring to the Urartian fortification and named after the god Teisheba; also known as Ishkanaberd meaning "Lord's Fortress") is located upon a hill east of the town of ...
(
Odzaberd
Odzaberd ( hy, Oձաբերդ; meaning "Serpent's Fortress"; formerly Teyseba referring to the Urartian fortification and named after the god Teisheba; also known as Ishkanaberd meaning "Lord's Fortress") is located upon a hill east of the town of ...
) founded by
Rusa I
Rusa I (ruled: 735–714 BC) was a King of Urartu. He succeeded his father, king Sarduri II. His name is sometimes transliterated as ''Rusas'' or ''Rusha''. He was known to Assyrians as ''Ursa'' (which scholars have speculated is likely a more ac ...
around 735-713 BC, with a lengthy but worn cuneiform inscription nearby recounting his conquest of twenty-three nations. It is considered to be the best-preserved Urartian fortification in the Sevan Basin. Below the hill of Teyseba is the point where the Arpa-Sevan Tunnel empties into Lake Sevan. On the hill south of the road that is adjacent to the fortress, are boulders that form walls that are especially visible along the southern boundary.
Just outside the village headed southeast are numerous stones scattered across the side of one of the hills. It is all that remains of an old village destroyed during by war long ago. Some human bones and old coins have been found in this area by villagers from Tsovinar, attesting to the story of what had once taken place there. In close proximity are two small single-nave churches. The church of Topi Galugh sits on a hill southeast between Tsovinar and
Artsvanist
Artsvanist ( hy, Արծվանիստ) is a village in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, located to the south of Lake Sevan. In the gorge south of the village is the important early 10th century monastery of Vanevan and a large but broken mediev ...
, while the church of
Surb Sarkis (1100-1200) sits south of the village of Tsovinar on a promontory overlooking a small gorge. Next to Surb Sarkis is a small cemetery, and just below the church in the gorge is a small spring and cave. Further south are the remains of the ancient village of
Karmrashen, which contains the church of Hnevank, the monument of
Yot Verk Matur
Yot Verk Matur ( hy, Յոթ Վերք Մատուռ; meaning, "Seven Wounds Chapel") is a small monument erected around the late 14th-century in remembrance of seven lords of seven villages. Local folklore tells that when the Turko-Mongol conqueror ...
, numerous
khachkar
A ''khachkar'', also known as a ''khatchkar'' or Armenian cross-stone ( hy, խաչքար, , խաչ xačʿ "cross" + քար kʿar "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, in ...
s, and some tombs.
Gallery
Overlooking Teyseba.JPG, Overlooking Teyseba and Lake Sevan. Tsovinar is located in the distance to the left.
Teyseba Cuneiform.JPG, Cuneiform inscription of Rusa I at the base of the hill of Teyseba, near the road leading towards Artsvanist.
Khrbeh Ruins.JPG, Ruins of Khrbeh
S. Sarkis Grave Tsovinar.JPG, Medieval grave outside of St. Sarkis of Tsovinar
Surb Sarkis of Tsovinar.JPG, St. Sarkis of Tsovinar
Սուրբ Աստվածածին, Ծովինար 113.jpg, St. Astvatsatsin Church in Tsovinar, from 1900
References
External links
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Populated places in Gegharkunik Province
{{gegharkunik-geo-stub