Armavir, Armenia edit
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Armavir, Armenia edit
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| Armavir Արմավիր |
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  Armavir
Արմավիր |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country |  Armenia |
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| Marz | Armavir |
| Population (2008) | |
| - Total | 26,387 |
Armavir (Armenian: Արմավիր, known as Hoktemberyan, Hoktemberian, or Oktemberyan - Armenian: Հոկտեմբերյան - during the Soviet era up to 1992, and Sardarabad, Sardarapat or Sardar-Apad before 1932) is a city located in southwestern Armenia. The 1989 census reported that the city had a total population of 46,900, but this has declined considerably: the 2001 census counted 32,034; estimate for 2008 is 26,387. It is the capital of the Armavir province (marz). The city of Armavir in Russia, founded by Armenians in the 19th century, was named after this city.
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Armavir was inhabited from the 5th-6th millennium BC onwards. Various obsidian instruments, bronze objects and pottery have been found from that period. Armavir was regarded as an old capital of Armenia, said to have been founded by King Armais in 1980 BCE. King Argishtis I of Urartu built a fortress in the area and named it "Argishtikhinili". In 331 BC when Armenia reasserted its independence under the Orontid Dynasty from the Achaemenid Empire, Armavir was chosen as the capital of Armenia. Slabs of clay have been found from the Achaemenid period written in the Elamite language concerning episodes of the Gilgamesh epos. Various inscriptions in Hellenistic Greek carved around the 3rd century BC, include poetry from Hesiod, lines from Euripides, a list of Macedonian months, and names of Orontid Kings.
Movses Khorenatsi (fifth century) has the tradition that when King Vaharshak settled in Armavir (149 BCE), he built a temple there and asked his favorite, the Jew Shambu Bagarat (Bagratuni), to give up his religion and worship idols. Shambu refused compliance. Movses also relates that when King Tigranes II (whom he places on the throne from 90-36 BCE), in order to take revenge on Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, sent an expedition to Palestine, he carried a great number of Jews into captivity, and settled them in Armavir and in Vardges. Modern historians are not convinced that Tigranes II was still alive when Cleopatra became queen of Egypt. Movses goes on to state that later the Jews were transferred from Armavir to Ernanda; and under King Arsaces (whom he dates to 85-127) again transferred into the new capital Artashat. When King Sapor II of Persia invaded Armenia (360-370), he led away from Artashat 30,000 Armenian and 9,000 Jewish families, the latter brought by King Tigranes from Palestine, and then completely destroyed the city.1
Armavir was taken by the Seleucids, Parthians, Kingdom of Armenia, Roman Empire, Sassanids and Byzantine Empire before Arabic conquest in 645.
Arabic sovereignty lasted until the first quarter of the 9th century. The Sajids managed this region in the 9th century. After that, the Bagrationi Dynasty managed this region. The Bagrationi dynasty was of Jewish origins and played an important role in Georgian and Armenian histories.
Byzantine Empire reconquered this region in 1045 but this region passed to Seljuk Turks in 1064. Seljuk renamed her as Serdarabad. This region was passed among Georgians, Atabegs of Azerbaijan (Ildegizids) and Khwarezmid Empire after Seljuk's decline. Mongols captured this region in 1239 and founded Ilkhanid state in 1256. This region was passed to Chupanids in 1353, Jalayirids in 1357 and Kara Koyunlu in 1388. Tamerlane captured this region in 1400. Qara Yusuf retook this region in 1407 from Timurid Empire. However Shah Rukh who was Timurid ruler captured this region in 1421 and in 1429. Jahan Shah who was Kara Koyunlu ruler captured it in 1447.
Kara Koyunlu's sovereignty lasted until Uzun Hasan's conquest in 1468. Uzun Hasan was the ruler of Ak Koyunlu, which was main rival of Kara Koyunlu. Ak Koyunlu's sovereignty lasted until 1501, Ismail I's conquest. Ismail I was founder of Safavid Dynasty. This region was temporarily occupied by Ottoman Empire in 1514, in 1534, in 1548 and in 1553. It was conquered by Ottoman Empire in 1585 but retaken by Abbas I of Persia who was Safavid ruler in 1603. It was occupied by Ottomans between 1635–1636 and 1724–1736. It was bounded to Erivan Khanate who was a Muslim principality mostly under the dominion of the Persian Empire, after death of Nader Shah in 1747.
The Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) was started due to Persians' demand to reconquer the territories lost to Russia between 1804 and 1813.
At first, the Persians repulsed the Russians from Azerbaijan in 1826. However, Russian general Ivan Paskevich, appointed to command the Russian forces, not only reconquered Azerbaijan but also occupied territories of Erivan Khanate in 1827.
This region formally passed from Persian sovreignty to a Russian one after the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828. Armavir became the Serdarabad uyezd of the Armenian Oblast, which itself became the Erivan guberniya in 1840. This situation lasted until the February Revolution in 1917.
After the February Revolution, the region was under the authority of Special Transcaucasian Committee of the Russian Provisional Government and subsequently the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.
When the TDFR was dissolved in May 1918, this region passed to Democratic Republic of Armenia, having a conspicuous role in Armenian history due to Battle of Sardarapat. There, the Armenian forces repulsed the Ottoman Army whose Caucasus Campaign was aimed at occupying Revan.
However, the Ottomans did occupy most of the Erivan Governorate, so that the Armenians had to sign the Treaty of Batum in June 1918. The Ottoman Army retreated after signing Armistice of Mudros and Sardarapat returned to Democratic Republic of Armenia in November 1918.
The Soviet Union's 11th Red Army invaded the republic on the 29th of November 1920. The Soviets took Yerevan on 4th of December 1920 after the signing of Treaty of Alexandropol. This treaty was replaced by Treaty of Kars. The Soviets proclaimed Armenian a Soviet Socialist Republic under under the leadership of Aleksandr Miasnikyan. It was to be included into the newly created Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1922. The name of the city was changed from Sardarapat to Hoktemberyan (also known as Oktemberyan) in 1935.
Two years after Armenia declared independence from the USSR, in 1992, the name of the city was reverted back to Armavir.
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