Capitals of Armenia

According to the estimates, Great Armenia had 12 capitals not including the capitals of Tsopk (Sophena), Kommagena, Kilikia, Little Armenia and other Armenian state units. Anyway, it is stated that the Armenian statehood had deeper roots thus there used to be other capitals as well about which we will know in the future. All these cities are an undividable part of the history of Armenia, the symbols of its statehood. It’s not occasional that the main elements of the architecture of the Municipality building of the new capital are the memorial columns of all the capitals. As the capital of Armenia, Yerevan was preceded by the following cities of Great Armenia.

Van is situated on the shore of lake Van. It's also known as Tospa, Tushpa, Van-Tosp, Yervandavan, Shamiramakert. Ut's one of the oldest cities in the world the diggings of which were carried out by many famous archaeologists. According to history, King Sardury A ruled from 840 till 825 BC, moved the court here and built a temple dedicated to the god of sun Shivini. The goddess Tushpuea holding the winged disc of the sun above her head was considered to be the wife of the god of sun Shivini (one of the names of the city). Nowadays Van is a small provincial city  situated in the east of Turkey.

Armavir is situated nearby the village of Haikavan of Arnavir province. In the cuneiform tablet of the founder of Yerevan King Argishti I the name of Argishtikhinili town to be situated in this place is mentioned. The Yervanduni dynasty founded in this place the city of Armavir. The well-known forest "Sosiats Antar" was located here. In 331 BC Armavir was established the capital of the Ervanduni. After the Mongol invasions in the 13th century the town was abandoned. Centuries later the Armenians lived in Circassian villages of the North Caucasus founded a new town which got the name of Armavir in 1848.
Yervandashat
In 220 BC King Yervand IV founded a town in Ararat oblast of Yeraskhadzor province, in the junction of the rivers Akhuryan and Araks. The citadel was surrounded by tall gates, the entries were fortified with doors forged with copper. Architect Toros Toromanyan mentioned that the huge basalt stones were connected with one another only with stone seams.
In the IV century BC the town was completely ruined by the army of Persian King Shapuh II.

Foreign historians testify that the place for the new capital was chosen by the Commander of Carthago Gannibal, thus it is more likely that the town was founded in 189 BC. During the reign of Tigran the Great Artashat stayed far from the center of the huge state. In the 80s BC the capital Tigranakert was founded. However, Artashat didn't lose its magnificence and also prospered during the reign of King Artavazd II. At present it is a regional center.

To rule the huge country King Tigran the Great chose Antiokh as the capital. Rejecting Artashat which was in the outskirts of the country the King wanted to see the capital of Great Armenia in the Armenian land. In the 80s BC in Aghdznik oblast in the valley of the feeder Kerkhe of the Tigris a new capital was founded. The town became one of the big Arabic military centers taking the name of Diarbekir.
There existed a few towns called Tigranakert.

In this place settlements used to exist as far back as in the Stone Age. In the IV century BC the son-in-law of Yervand Sakavakyats Vardges founded here a settlement called Vardgesavan which was turned into a small town during the reign of Tigran the Great. King Vagharsg I (117-140 BC) renamed the new capital into Vagharshapat.
In 1945 Vagharshapat was renamed into Echmiadzin: the name of the town was mentioned earlier. At the present the town has been renamed Vagharshapat again.

Dvin was one of the largest cities of those days. It was situated not far from Artashat. It is known as Duin, Dvin in Armenian, Dabil, Adabin in Arabic, Duviy in Greek. Ararat valley and the Araks river are sometimes mentioned as Dvin. In the place of Dvin settlements used to exist as far bask in the Vth millenium BC. The earthquake of 893 damaged Dvin greatly. The city had always served as the center for handicraft. In 1227 Dvin was destroyed by the Army of Commander Prosh, in 1236 the city was captured by Tatars. Later in the places of the city several villages were founded.

On the right bank of the Akhuryan in Arsharunik oblast the town of Bagaran used the be situated, which King Ashot Bagratuni turned into the capital of Armenia which retuned its independence after the many-year fight in 885. The town was founded together with Yervandashat by the last ruler of the dynasty, Yervand IV. In 1394 it was destroyed by the army of Tamerlan. Later Bagaran lost its significance and at the beginning of the 20th century a common village with the population of about 800 was situated here. During the World War I the village was abandoned and  was turned into ruins.

The crowning of King Smbat Bagratuni ruled from 890 till 914 took place in the new capital Shirakavan (Yerazgavors). During about 40 years of Smbat I amd his son Ashot II Yerkat ( Iron) reign  Shirakavan was the capital of Armenia. Late the name of the city was changed into Shoragyal (this name was mentioned in the story “Wolf” by H. Tumanyan). In 1920 the residents of Shirakavan were re-settled and as a result a part of them settled in the village of Yerazgavors of akhuryan oblast.

Kars was firstly mentioned in the IX century though it was founded earlier and served as a capital city of the Nakharas’ home Vanand. In 1053 the army of Togrul-bek conquered Kars. Though the Kars kingdom managed to preserve its independence for some time later it was handed down. In the period of Turks' invasions the urban life, handicraft and trade fell into decay. In 1828 Kars was conquered by the Russian army, but in 1921 it was handed over to Turkey. Nowadays Kars is a town in Turkey.

The history of Ani was testified not only by the preserved cultural values but by manuscripts as well. Legends about Ani have also come out to our notice. At the beginning of the 10th century Ani was already a well-known trade center worth becoming a capital. Later even while mentioning the Armenian kingdom of Bagratuni the country was named Ani kingdom. Only within 10-15 years after declaring Ani the capital the city was enlarged and new gates had to be built.
In the 16th century  Ani was mentioned as a village. At the beginning of the 20th century diggings were carried out here. At the present Ani is one of the "sights" of Turkey.