Zorakert ( hy, Զորակերտ) is a village in the

Amasia Municipality Shirak ( hy, Շիրակ, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north. Its capital and largest city is Gyumri, which is the second largest city in ...

of the

Shirak Province Shirak ( hy, wikt:Շիրակ, Շիրակ, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey to the west and Georgia (country), Geor ...

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 ...

Name

Zorakert was formerly known as (, ). It was renamed Zorakert in April 1991.

History

Zorakert was founded in the early nineteenth century. Its inhabitants moved there from the nearby village of Khanjalli, which is now abandoned. The village was previously populated mainly by Karapapakhs, a Turkic-speaking

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

ethnic group, who were later categorized as

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...

in the Soviet period. In the Tsarist period, the village was a part of the Agbaba sub-county () of the

Kars Oblast The Kars Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was the city of Kars, presently in Turkey. The ''oblast'' bordered the Ottoman Empire to the west, the Batum Oblast ...

, which was annexed by 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. ...

after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Unlike the rest of the Kars Oblast, the Agbaba sub-county was not ceded to Turkey in 1921 and remained a part of Soviet Armenia. In the Soviet period, the village fell under the Amasia District of Soviet Armenia. Zorakert's Azerbaijani population left mainly in late 1988. The village is now inhabited by Armenians.

Geography

Zorakert is located on the northeastern shore of

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 ...

, in a rocky and hilly area, at an elevation of 2030 meters above sea level. The climate is cold and precipitation is plenty. The village receives its drinking water through a pipeline from a source 4 kilometers away. It is 50 kilometers away from the provincial capital 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 ...

Landmarks

A mosque dating to the 19th or 20th century is located in the village. The remains of an ancient fortress and gravesite are located on the hill to the northeast of the village.

Economy

The main economic activities of the village are animal husbandry and the cultivation of vegetable crops.

Demographics

The population of the village since 1886 is as follows:

References

* * Populated places in Shirak Province {{Shirak-geo-stub