Aragatsotn Province
Aragatsotn is a province of Armenia. It is located in the western part of the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Ashtarak. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported its population was 128,941 in the 2022 census.
Etymology
Literally meaning "the foot of Aragats", it is named after the Aragatsotn canton of the historic Ayrarat province of Ancient Armenia, ruled by the Amatuni noble family under the reign of the Arsacid dynasty.Geography
Aragatsotn Province occupies the northwestern part of Armenia and covers an area of 2,756 km2. It has internal borders with Shirak Province from the north, Lori Province from the northeast, Kotayk Province from the east, Armavir Province from the south and the city of Yerevan from the southwest. The Akhurian River at the west separates Aragatsotn from the Kars Province of Turkey.Historically, the current territory of the province mainly occupies parts of Aragatsotn, Nig and Shirak cantons of Ayrarat province of Ancient Armenia.
The northern part of the province is dominated by the Aragats mountain range. At the northeast and the east, it approximates the mountains of Pambak and Tsaghkunyats, respectively. The mountains of Arteni dominate the northeastern and the central eastern parts of the province. The tiny Akhurian valley occupies the eastern edge of Aragatsotn. Aragatsotn occupies the northwestern parts of the Ararat plain in the south and the southeast.
The altitude of the province ranges between 950 and 4,090 meters above sea level.
Mount Aragats is the highest peak of Aragatsotn and Armenia.
Besides the Akhurian river, the rivers of Kasagh, Gegharot, and Amberd are the main water resources in the province. Mountainous lakes including Lake Kari, Lessing, Amberd, Tagavor, and Kuraghbyur are found on Mount Aragats. Between 1962 and 1967, the Aparan reservoir was built on the Kasagh river.
The climate of Aragatsotn is deeply diversified due to the wide range of altitudes of the region. The annual precipitation level ranges between at the lower areas and at the mountainous territories.
History
According to Movses Khorenatsi, Aramaniak -the son of the patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation Hayk- along with his clan, settled in the area of modern-day Aragatsotn. The cemeteries of Verin Naver archaeological site -located 3 km west of Ashtarak- date back to the 24th and 14th centuries BC.Being situated at the heart of the Ayrarat province at the centre of the Armenian Highland, Aragatsotn was among the most strategic regions in the history of Armenia, especially since the establishment of the Kingdom of Armenia in 331 BC by the Orontid dynasty. Later in 190 BC, the Artaxiad dynasty took over the reign of the Armenian Kingdom. During the 2nd century AD, the towns of Casala, and Talina were mentioned by Ptolemy during the reign of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. The territory of Nig canton, including the area of Aparan, was under the administration of the Gntunyan Armenian noble family, while the territory of Aragatsotn canton, including the area of Ashtarak, was ruled by the Amatuni noble family.
Following the partition of Armenia by the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Persia in 387 and in 428, Eastern Armenia including Aragatsotn became under the rule of Sassanid Persia. The 4th-century Holly Cross Basilica of Kasagh located at the outskirts of modern-day Aparan, is among the earliest surviving samples of the Armenian church architecture.
In 658, Armenia was conquered by the Arab invaders. At the end of the 9th century, Aragatsotn became part of the newly established Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia. The Armenian noble families of Kamsarakan and Pahlavuni ruled over Aragatsotn under the Bagratid kings.
However, between the 11th and 15th centuries, Aragatsotn along with the rest of the historic territories of Armenia suffered from the Seljuk, Mongol, Ag Qoyunlu and Kara Koyunlu invasions, respectively. At the beginning of the 16th century, Aragatsotn became part of the Erivan Beglarbegi within the Safavid Persia. During the first half of the 18th century, Aragatsotn became part of the Erivan Khanate under the rule of the Afsharid dynasty and later under the Qajar dynasty of Persia. It remained under the Persian rule until 1827–1828, when Eastern Armenia was ceded to the Russian Empire as a result of the Russo-Persian War of 1826–28 and the signing of the Treaty of Turkmenchay.
After the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917, the Armenian, Georgian and Muslim leaders of Transcaucasia united to form the Transcaucasian Federative Republic and proclaimed Transcaucasia's secession. However, it was a fragile short-lived federation that collapsed in May 1918, while the Turkish army was advancing towards Eastern Armenia through Gyumri, Aragatsotn, and Sardarapat. On May 21, 1918, the Turkish forces attacked through Aparan in Aragatsotn trying to reach Yerevan. The Turks were opposed by the Armenian forces under the command of Dro at the outskirts of Aparan. After three days of fierce fighting, the Armenians launched a counter-attack on 25 May, and the Turkish troops were forced to retreat back to the north on 29 May. As a result of the decisive victories over the Turks in the battles of Sardarabad, Abaran, and Gharakilisa, the Armenians declared independence on May 28, 1918.
After 2 years of brief independence, Armenia became part of the Soviet Union in December 1920. From 1930 until 1995, modern-day Aragatsotn was divided into 3 raions within the Armenian SSR: Talin raion, Aparan raion, and Ashtarak raion. With the territorial administration reform of 1995, the 3 raions were merged to form the Aragatsotn Province.
Demographics
Population
According to the 1989 Soviet census, the Aragatsotn Province had a population of 141,611. 24,277 or 17.14% of which was urban, distributed in the city of Ashtarak, and 117,334 or 82.86% were rural, distributed in the districts of Aparan, Aragats, Ashtarak, and Talin.According to the 2011 official census, Aragatsotn has a population of 132,925, forming around 4.4% of the entire population of Armenia. The urban population is 31,376 and the rural is 101,549. Aragatsotn has the highest percentage of rural population in Armenia.
The province has 3 urban and 111 rural communities. The largest urban community is the provincial centre of Ashtarak, with a population of 19,615. The other urban centres of Aparan and Talin have a population of 6,451 and 5,310 respectively.
With a population of 4,780, the village of Oshakan is the largest rural municipality of Aragatsotn.
Ethnic groups and religion
The province is primarily inhabited by Armenians who migrated from Moush, Manzikert, Sasun, Kars, Khoy, and Alashkert in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as a minority of Armeno-Tat who belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The regulating body of the church is the Diocese of Aragatsotn, headed by Bishop Mkrtich Broshyan. The Saint Mesrop Mashtots Church of Oshakan of is the seat of the diocese.There is also a significant presence of Yazidis in the province. The 20 following villages of Aragatsotn are almost entirely populated by Yazidis: Alagyaz, Arevut, Avshen, Charchakis, Ddmasar, Hako, Jamshlu, Kanch, Kaniashir, Metsadzor, Mijnatun, Mirak, Otevan, Rya Taza, Sadunts, Shamiram, Shenkani, Sipan, Sorik and Tlik. The villages of Arteni, Oshakan, Vardenut and Voskevaz have a significant Yazidi population as well. Yazidis are also found in the towns of Aparan and Talin.
The village of Alagyaz is also home to a small number of Kurds.
Administrative divisions
As a result of the administrative reforms completed during 2019, Aragatsotn is currently divided into 9 municipal communities, of which 3 are urban and 6 are rural:- A cross denotes a town, otherwise, the settlements are villages.
Many villages in Aragatsotn are currently abandoned or uninhabited, including Arum, Buravet, Karmrashen, Kasagh, Kyalashbek, Lusaghbyur, Nigatun, Shenik, Verin Kalakut and Zovuni.