The Akhuryan ( hy, Ախուրյան ''Axuryan''; xcl, Ախուրեան ''Axurean''; russian: Арпачай or Ахурян), or Arpachay ( tr, Arpaçay) is a river in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

. It originates 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 ' ...

and flows from

Lake Arpi Lake Arpi ( hy, Արփի լիճ; tr, Arpa Göl) is located in the Shirak Province of Armenia, on the Ashotsk plateau in the northwestern part of the country. The lake sits at an altitude of 2,025 m with an area of 20 km2. It originate ...

, along the closed

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, forming part of the geographic border between the two states, until it flows into the Aras as a

left tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

near Bagaran. The Akhuryan is long, and has a drainage basin of .

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

, the second largest city of Armenia, is located on the east bank of the river, which also flows past four of the twelve historical capitals of Armenia:

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 ...

, Bagaran, Yervandashat and Yerazgavors.

History

When the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

army arrived in the province of Shirak in 1041, local

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 ...

nobles (

nakharar ''Nakharar'' ( hy, նախարար ''naxarar'', from Parthian ''naxvadār'' "holder of the primacy""նախարար" in H. Ačaṙean (1926–35), ''Hayerēn Armatakan Baṙaran'' (Yerevan: Yerevan State University), 2nd ed., 1971–79) was a here ...

s) assembled together against them under the command of the

Pahlavuni Pahlavuni ( hy, Պահլավունի; classical orthography: Պահլաւունի) was an Armenian noble family, a branch of the Kamsarakan, that rose to prominence in the late 10th century during the last years of the Bagratuni monarchy. Orig ...

general Vahram Pahlavouni. Vahram then selected a body of 30,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry, forming three divisions, which fought against the Byzantines.History of Armenia by Father Michael Chamich from B.C. 2247 to the Year of Christ 1780, or 1229 of the Armenian era – Page 124 by Mik'ayel Ch'amch'yants' A battle ensued in which the invaders were routed with great slaughter. The fight was so ferocious that the effusion of blood flowing into the Akhurian River is said to have coloured its waters completely red.History of Armenia by Father Michael Chamich from B.C. 2247 to the Year of Christ 1780, or 1229... – Page 124 by Mik'ayel Ch'amch'yants' The Byzantines left 21,000 dead behind. This victory allowed Vahram Pahlavuni along with Catholicos Petros Guedadarts to crown

Gagik II Gagik II ( hy, Գագիկ Բ; c. 1025 - May 5/November 24, 1079) was the last Armenian king of the Bagratuni dynasty. Known as Gagik II King of Ani ( Ani being the capital of the kingdom at the time) he was enthroned as Gagik II and ruled for a br ...

king of Armenia and subsequently take the fortress of Ani, which had been in the hands of Vest Sarkis.

Bridges

Several medieval bridges once existed over the Akhuryan. The bridge at

may date back to the

Bagratuni Dynasty The Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty ( hy, Բագրատունի, ) was an Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the medieval Kingdom of Armenia from c. 885 until 1045. Originating as vassals of the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to beco ...

.A system of geography, popular and scientific: or A physical, political, and statistical account... – Page 143 by James Bell – 1832 More likely it dates to the thirteenth century. An inscription found nearby said that building work was done on the approach to the bridge in the early fourteenth century.VirtualAni: The Bridge Over the Akhurian River
/ref> The bridge's single arch has fallen, leaving only tall abutments that were perhaps part of a fortified gate. Nineteenth-century travelers reported a guardhouse next to the bridge, but this has since disappeared.

History

Bridges

Notes

References

See also