Two former capitals of Armenia are located in the modern-day Ararat Province,Artaxata andDvin. It is also home to theKhor Virap monastery, significant as the place ofGregory the Illuminator's 13-year imprisonment and the closest point toMount Ararat within Armenian borders.
Historically, the current territory of the province mainly occupies theVostan Hayots canton ofAyrarat province of Ancient Armenia.
Spitakasar mountain (3560 m.)
The province is located at the southeast of theArarat plain, surrounded by the Yeranos mountains from the north, the mountains ofGegham, Dahnak and Mzhkatar from the east, Urts mountains from the south and theAraks river from the west. The mountains of Yerakh are located at the centre of the province. Approximately, 30% of the territory is plain, while the rest is dominated by mountains.
The highest point of Ararat province is the Spitakasar peak of Gegham mountains with a height of 3560 meters. The lowest point is 801 meters at the Araks valley. Araks,Hrazdan,Azat and Vedi, are the 4 major rivers the flow through the province. The climate within the territory of the province is highly diversified. It ranges between extremely arid climate at the lower plains and cold snowy climate at the heights.
The cliffy terrain ofKhosrov Forest located at the northeast of the province, used to be the stronghold of theEndangeredCaucasian leopards in Armenia. Between October 2000 to July 2002 tracks of no more than 10 individuals were found in an area of 780 km2 (300 sq mi).[7]
Drawing of the central square of the ancient Armenian capital city ofDvin. The main cathedral of St. Grigor (3rd-5th century), with a small church of St. Sarkis to the right (6th century), and the residence of the Catholicos on the left (5th century)
The region of modern-day Ararat Province is among the earliest locations that was settled by the people of theArmenian Highland. It mainly includes the 3 cantons ofVostan Hayots,Urstadzor andArats of the historicAyrarat province.Vostan Hayots was known since the establishment of theArtaxiad Kingdom of Armenia at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. The ancient Armenian capitals ofArtaxata founded in 176 BC, andDvin founded during the 4th century AD, were both located within theVostan Hayots canton. The other cantons ofUrtsadzor andArats were first mentioned in the 5th century AD byYeghishe the historian in his "History of Vardan and the Armenian War" historical work.
After the fall of the Armenian Kingdom in 428, the region became part of theSasanian Empire of Persia until theArab conquest of Armenia in the mid-7th century. According to the 8th-century historianGhevond, the Armenian princes ofUrtsadzor canton participated in the failed revolution of 775 inErciş against theAbbasid rulers ofArminiya.
At the end of the 9th century, the 3 cantons became part of the newly establishedBagratid Kingdom of Armenia. However, between the 11th and 15th centuries, the region suffered from the Seljuk, Mongol,Ag Qoyunlu andKara Koyunlu invasions, respectively. At the beginning of the 16th century, the territory of modern-day Ararat became part of theErivan Beglarbegi within theSafavid Persia. During the first half of the 18th century, the territory became part of theErivan Khanate under the rule of theAfsharid dynasty and later under theQajar dynasty of Persia. It remained under the Persian rule until 1827–1828, when Eastern Armenia was ceded by theRussian Empire as a result of theRusso-Persian War of 1826–28 and the signing of theTreaty of Turkmenchay.
With the fall of the Russian Empire and as a result of the decisive Armenian victories over the Turks in the battles ofSardarabad,Abaran, andGharakilisa, the region became part of theindependent Armenia in May 1918, however, its western reaches remained occupied by theOttoman Empire (by virtue of theTreaty of Batum) until the latter's withdrawal in late 1918. In July 1919, lasting until mid-1920, theAzerbaijanis-inhabited regions of Ararat,Vedibasar andZangibasar, revolted against the Armenian government as part of theMuslim uprisings in Kars and Sharur–Nakhichevan.[8]
After 2 years of brief independence, Armenia became part of theSoviet Union in December 1920. From 1930 until 1995, modern-day Ararat was divided into 3raions within theArmenian SSR:Masis raion,Artashat raion, andArarat raion (known asVedi raion until 1968)—there was also theGharabaghlar raion which was formed in 1937 but later dissolved and attached to theVedi raion in 1951, its administrative center was the townUrtsadzor.[9] With the territorial administration reform of 1995, the 3raions were consolidated into the Ararat Province.[10]
According to the1989 Soviet census, the Ararat Province (then part of theArarat,Artashat, andMasis districts in 1930–1995)[11] had a population of 266,527. 52,429 or 19.67% of which was urban, distributed in the cities of Ararat (20,105) and Artashat (32,324), and 214,098 or 80.33% were rural, distributed in the districts of Ararat (64,657), Artashat (73,269), and Masis (76,172).[12]
The village ofVerin Dvin, predominantly populated by Assyrians
According to the 2022 official census, Ararat has a population of 248,982 (122,939 men and 126,043 women), forming around 8.5% of the entire population of Armenia. The urban population is 66,759 (26.8%) and the rural is 182,223 (73.2%). The province has 4 urban and 93 rural communities. The largest urban community is the provincial centre of Artashat, with a population of 19,020. The other urban centres are Ararat, Masis and Vedi.[1]
With a population of 8,376, the village ofAyntap is the largest rural municipality of Ararat.
The majority of the Ararat Province population are ethnic Armenians who belong to theArmenian Apostolic Church. The regulating body of the church is theAraratian Pontifical Diocese, headed by Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan (seat in Yerevan).
However, the village ofVerin Dvin is predominantly populated byAssyrians belonging to theAssyrian Church of the East, whose ancestors migrated to Armenia from Iran during the 1st half of the 19th century. Almost half of the population of the village ofDimitrov is also Assyrian. The provincial centre Artashat is also home to a small Assyrian community. The approximate number of the Assyrians in Ararat Province is around 2,500.
There are cultural palaces as well as public libraries in the towns of Ararat, Artashat, Masis and Vedi. The provincial centre Artashat is also home to the Amo Kharazyan drama theatre.
The province has many art academies, sport schools and musical schools, mainly in the urban settlements.
Being located at the fertileArarat plain, the province contributes with 15% in the annual total agricultural product of Armenia.[15] Around 75% (1,567 km2) of the total area of the province arearable lands, out of which 17.23% (270 km2) are ploughed.[16]
Orchards mainly produce grapes, apricot and peach. Other products include pear, apple, melon, watermelon, eggplant, grains and dry seed. Ararat is among the leading provinces of Armenia inwine production in terms of grape cultivation and wine export (along with the provinces of Ararat and Vayots Dzor).
The irrigation infrastructure of the province is quite developed. 90% of the farmlands are irrigated, mainly using canals opened from the rivers of Vedi andAzat.
TheGeghanist village has a specialized plant in producing fertilizers and irrigation system design.
The province has 2 large poultry farms in the village ofKaghtsrashen and the town of Masis.
Recently,fish farming has significantly developed in the province. The largest fish farming ponds are located at the vicinity ofArmash village.
Ararat is among the most industrialized provinces of Armenia with many large industrial firms. It currently has a contribution of 10% in the annual total industrial product of Armenia.
Wine cellars of "Shahumyan-Vin Winery"
Production of alcoholic drinks is among the leading sectors in Ararat with a large number of factories spread all over the communities of the province. Major producers of the province include:
Aregak Brandy Factory, founded in 1889 inDalar (privatized in 1992).
Ararat Wine Factory, founded in 1903 in Ararat village.
Artashat Vincon Winery, founded in 1905 inMkhchyan (privatized in 1995).
Ararat Cognac Factory AKZ for brandy and wine, opened in 1932 inAvshar.
Preserved food production is also developed in the province. The "Artfood" Artashat Cannery (since 1961), the "Araratyan LLC" for dairy products in Kaghtsrashen, the "Lula LLC" for dairy products in Dalar, and the "Armenian Dried Fruits" plant of Surenavan (since 2007) are the leading firms in this sector.
The town ofMasis has an industrial hub that is home to many large firms. The town is a major centre for tobacco products in Armenia with its two factories: the "Masis Tobacco" company (SINCE 1999) and the "International Masis Tabak" company (since 2002). Other industries of Masis include the "ElektraMachTrade" factory for industrial equipments (since 1979), the "Grand-Master" corrugated cardboard packaging manufacturing ang label printing factory (since 1995), the "Masis Garun" clothing factory (since 1995), the "Berma" plant for asphalt concrete (since 1997), and the "Medical Horizon" factory for drugs and pharmaceuticals (since 2005).
The controversial gold tailing dump in Ararat. The town of Ararat, the cement factory and the gold processing facility could be seen at the background from left to right, respectively
The town ofArarat is home to the "Ararat Cement" factory and the "Geopromining Gold" recovery plant. However, there is a major controversy over the pollution and the toxic waste caused by the various enterprises based on the manufacturing of building materials and the gold processing facility in the town of Ararat. The Ararat Gold Recovery extracts gold from the raw ore sent from thegold mine inSotk located 20 kilometres (12 miles) east ofLake Sevan.[17] About 0.46 grams of gold is extracted from each ton of sand unearthed at the mines. The extraction process involves first pulverizing the raw material, and then filtering out the gold using a cyanide nitrate chemical process.[17] The soupy byproduct of the cyanide nitrate chemical process is both toxic and radioactive and collects in a tailing dam. There have been numerous incidents of animals dying near and around the plant's area.[17] Also, within the years 2003 and 2008, there have been at least 10 accidents at the plant, some of which have resulted in the discharge of the cyanide soup into neighboring agricultural lands and fisheries, killing off cows and fish stock.[17]
Other major firms in the province include the "AraratShin" construction company and building materials producers in Ararat (since 1984), the "Manana Stone" plant for building materials inSurenavan (since 1995), the "Vedi Plast" plastic products plant (since 1998) in Vedi, the "Zovashen" company for electrical power plants inLanjazat (since 2001), the "Abit" Armenian-Russian asphalt factory (since 2009) in Surenavan, the "Izipanel"sandwich panels manufacturing plant in Artashat (since 2012), the "Ararat Group" mineral water factory in Artashat (since 2012), the "Kavashen" plant for building materials in Ararat, and the "Travertine" stone-processing plant in Vedi.
TheKhor Virap monastery is among the regular tourist destinations in Ararat Province. The ancient settlements ofArtaxata andDvin are among the attractive sites for archaeologists.
As of the 2015-16 educational year, Ararat Province has 112 schools,[18] out of which 107 are operated by the province administration, while 5 are under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education and Science. As of the end of 2015, the number of the students in the schools of the province is 31,457.[19]
There are many public libraries and cultural houses in the towns of Artashat, Ararat, Masis and Vedi.
However, there are no higher education institutions in the province.
Araks Ararat founded in 1960 had represented the province in domestic and international football competitions. However, the club was and dissolved in 2001 due to financial difficulties.
At the end of 2001, another football club with the name ofFC Araks was founded in Ararat, but lasted only 4 years before being dissolved.
FC Dvin Artashat founded in 1982, was also a prominent football club in the province. The remained in professional football until 1999, before being dissolved like most Armenian football clubs outside the capital Yerevan.
Masis FC played in the domestic completions between 1992 and 1994 when they were also dissolved.
There are 2 stadiums in the province: theAyg Stadium of Ararat and theArtashat City Stadium. The latter is the regular home of the annual National Athletics Championship of Armenia.
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