Rshtunik ( hy, Ռշտունիք) was a canton (''gavar'') of the province of

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...

of historical

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 ' ...

, encompassing the area on the southern coast of

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

, which was also referred to as ''Ṛshtuniatsʻ Tsov'' ("Sea of Rshtunik"), as well as Aghtamar Island. It was located to the east of the canton of Andzevatsʻikʻ, to the north of Mokkʻ (Moxoene), to the west of Hayotsʻ Dzor, and to the east of Yerevarkʻ of

Turuberan Turuberan ( hy, Տուրուբերան) was the fourth Armenian region that was part of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC to 387 AD. Then it was part of the Sassanid Empire, Byzantine Empire, Arab Caliphate, medieval Kingdom of Armenia, ...

province. It was ruled by the

Rshtuni Rshtuni ( hy, Ռշտունի, also spelled Rashduni, Rshdouni, Reshdouni, Rashdouni, Rachdouni, Rachdoni, and Rushdoony) was an old Armenian noble house which ruled the region of Rshtuniq who were purportedly descendants of Rusas I of Urartu. Th ...

(also referred to as Rashduni) noble house until the ninth century. The name of the region is likely connected with the name of

Urartu Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of V ...

/Urashtu, the Iron Age kingdom that was centered on the coastal regions around Lake Van. Rshtunik covered a mountainous region filled with river rapids, fertile lands, and rich mines. It was also home to a royal residence of the king of Armenia called ''Ostan Ṛshtuniatsʻ'', located directly across from Aghtamar Island. In medieval times, Rshtunik contained numerous churches and monasteries, which functioned as centers of learning and art. One of the most famous of these was Narekavank (since demolished), where St. Gregory of Narek lived and studied. The region corresponded approximately to the latter-day district of

Gevaş Gevaş ( hy, Ոստան, lit= rincelycourt, translit=Vostan, ku, Westan) is a district of Van Province of Turkey. It is located on the south shore of Lake Van. In the last elections of March 2019, Murat Sezer from the Justice and Development Par ...

in the Van Vilayet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Before the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

, this district contained more than twenty Armenian-populated villages with a total population of about ten thousand.

References

See also