Yerevan in the context of "Ararat Plain"

Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south. Yerevan is the capital, largest city and financial center.

The Armenian highlands have been home to the Hayasa-Azzi, Shupria, and Nairi peoples. By at least 600 BC, an archaic form of Proto-Armenian, an Indo-European language, had diffused into the Armenian highlands. The first Armenian state of Urartu was established in 860 BC, and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia. The Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great in the 1st century BC and in AD 301 became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Armenia still recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century. Under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century before falling in 1045. Cilician Armenia, an Armenian principality and later a kingdom, was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries.

The history of Armenia covers the topics related to the history of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the Armenian people, the Armenian language, and the regions of Eurasia historically and geographically considered Armenian.

Armenia is located between Eastern Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, surrounding the Biblical mountains of Ararat. The endonym of the Armenians is hay, and the old Armenian name for the country is Hayk' (Armenian: Հայք, which also means "Armenians" in Classical Armenian), later Hayastan (Armenian: Հայաստան). Armenians traditionally associate this name with the legendary progenitor of the Armenian people, Hayk. The names Armenia and Armenian are exonyms, first attested in the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great. The early Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi derived the name Armenia from Aramaneak, the eldest son of the legendary Hayk. Various theories exist about the origin of the endonym and exonyms of Armenia and Armenians (see Name of Armenia).

The Georgian Governorate (Russian: Грузинская губерния; Georgian: საქართველოს გუბერნია) was one of the guberniyas of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Tiflis (Tbilisi). It was divided into uyezds of Gori, Dusheti (Its center was Tbilisi), Lori, Signagi and Telavi.

The Georgia governorate was established in 1801 following the Russian annexation of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti. In 1840 it was expanded to form the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate, incorporating the territory of the Imeretia Oblast (Its center was Kutaisi and was constituted from uyezds of Kutaisi, Vakha, Rakvta (Raczyn during Russian rule), Sachkhere, Cheri and Bagdati) and Armenian Oblast (Its center was Erivan).

The Hrazdan (Armenian: Հրազդան, Hrazdan) is a major river and the second largest in Armenia. It originates at the northwest extremity of Lake Sevan and flows south through the Kotayk Province and Armenia's capital, Yerevan; the lake in turn is fed by several streams. In the Ararat plain it joins the Aras river along the border with Turkey. It joins as a left tributary the Kura river, which then flows into the Caspian Sea.

A series of hydro-electric projects have been constructed on the Hrazdan. Its waters are in demand to irrigate crops.

Araratian Pontifical Diocese (Armenian: Արարատյան Հայրապետական թեմ Araratyan Hayrapetakan t'em) is the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world, covering the city of Yerevan, Armenia. The Ararat Province was also included in the Araratian Diocese until 2021, when the Diocese of Masyatsostn was established to cover the Ararat Province.

Erebuni Fortress (Armenian: Էրեբունի ամրոց, romanized: Erebuni amrots') is an Urartian fortified city, located in Yerevan, Armenia. It is 1,017 metres (3,337 ft) above sea level. It was one of several fortresses built along the northern Urartian border and was one of the most important political, economic and cultural centers of the vast kingdom. The name Yerevan itself is derived from Erebuni.

Argišti I, was the sixth known king of Urartu, reigning from 786 BC to 764 BC. He founded the citadel of Erebuni in 782 BC, which is the present capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Alternate transliterations of the name include Argishtis, Argisti, Argišti, and Argishtish. Although the name is usually rendered as Argišti (read: Argishti), some scholars argue that Argisti is the most likely pronunciation. This is due to the belief that the Urartians used the cuneiform symbol š to voice an s-sound, as opposed to representing the digraph sh.

A son and the successor of Menua, he continued the series of conquests initiated by his predecessors, apparently campaigning every year of his reign. He was involved in a number of inconclusive conflicts with the Assyrian king Shalmaneser IV. He conquered the northern part of Syria and made Urartu the most powerful state in post-Hittite Asia Minor. He also expanded his kingdom north to Lake Sevan, conquering much of Diauehi and the Ararat Valley. After an uprising by the inhabitants of the newly conquered regions, Argišti deported them and repopulated the area with subjects from other parts of his empire. In those territories, Argišti built Erebuni Fortress in 782 BC, settling it with 6,600 prisoners of war from Hatti and Supani. He also founded the fortress of Argištiḫinili in 776 BC, on the site of Armavir, the first capital of the later Kingdom of Armenia. Inscriptions belonging to the Urartian king Argišti I were found in Kepenek Castle, located on a hill near Muş.

The 1679 Armenia earthquake (also called Yerevan earthquake or Garni earthquake) took place on June 4 in the Yerevan region of Armenia, then part of the Safavid Iran.

Numerous buildings were destroyed as a result of the earthquake. In Yerevan most notable structures were damaged. The Yerevan Fortress was destroyed, so were the following churches: Poghos-Petros, Katoghike, Zoravor and the Gethsemane Chapel.