The name “Yerevan” finds its roots in the ancient fortress of Erebuni. The earliest known reference to Yerevan in medieval sources dates back to the year 607. Nestled at one of the lowest points of the Armenian Highlands, the city lies on the easternmost edge of the Ararat Plain, at the confluence of the Getar and Hrazdan Rivers, in the Ayrarat province of historic Armenia. Encircling Yerevan are remnants of several ancient and medieval Armenian capitals. From the early 15th century, Yerevan served as the administrative hub of Chukhur-Saad; by the mid-18th century, it became the center of the Erivan Khanate. In 1918, it was declared the capital of the First Republic of Armenia; from 1920, it served as the capital of Soviet Armenia, and since 1991, it has been the capital of the Republic of Armenia.
Yerevan occupies a region that has been continuously inhabited for millennia—an area historically regarded as among the most fertile in all of Armenia. The prevailing scholarly consensus holds that the city’s name derives from the Urartian fortress of Erebuni, built in the 8th century BCE. Earlier, the scholar Wilhelm Eilers suggested a different origin, linking the name to the Armenian vankʿ (monastery) or the verbs erewim/erewecʿay—meaning “to become visible” or “to appear.” This interpretation drew from folk etymology and legends, particularly the biblical tradition that associates the founding of the city with the time of Noah, whose ark is said to have come to rest on Mount Ararat. The 17th-century French traveler Jean Chardin recorded that, according to Armenian belief, Yerevan was the oldest human settlement in the world, having been home to Noah and his family both before and after the flood.
Long before the discovery of inscriptions at the Arin Berd mound on Yerevan’s southeastern edge, Erebuni was already known from another inscription etched into the rocks near Van by the Urartian king Argishti I. It records the relocation of 6,600 warriors from the land of Tsupa to the newly founded city of Erebuni. Subsequent archaeological findings confirmed the founding date of the fortress as 782 BCE. The earliest settlers were of mixed Proto-Armenian, Luwian, and Hurrian origins, likely bringing with them an early form of the Armenian language. Erebuni served as a major economic, political, and military center in the kingdom of Urartu, functioning as a royal residence during military campaigns in the northern regions.
Even after the fall of Urartu, the city remained inhabited. During the Achaemenid era, it underwent several reconstructions and saw the construction of new buildings.
The earliest mention of Yerevan in Armenian sources appears in the Book of Letters, where a document from 607 references a clergyman named Daniel of Yerevan. At the Council of Dvin, he opposed the Chalcedonian doctrine under the urging of Catholicos Abraham. By that time, the Church of Saints Paul and Peter had already been built in Yerevan, believed to date from the 6th or early 7th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Yerevan—situated in the Araks River valley—witnessed many battles and invasions. In the early 7th century, the city became a flashpoint in the Byzantine-Persian wars. The 7th-century historian Sebeos refers to Yerevan, mentioned as Hērewan, describing how its fortress resisted an Arab siege: “They came, gathered at Erevan, fought against the fortress, but could not take it.” Later sources identify the city’s main stronghold as Tsitsernakaberd. Byzantine historian John Skylitzes, writing in the 11th–12th centuries, refers to the same fortress under the name Chelidonion. In 1047, Byzantine forces laid siege to it, though it had already fallen a few years earlier to Abu’l-Aswar Shaddadid from the Armenian kingdom.
Yerevan’s strategic importance is also underscored in the chronicles of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia. John Drasxanakertci, writing in the early 10th century, refers to a battle near the town of Yerevan during the 7th century, although the exact date is unknown. The 12th-century historian Samuel of Ani, citing older sources, recounts a revolt in Yerevan in the year 660. Though a small town during the Bagratid era, Yerevan benefited from Armenia’s economic growth and developed closer ties with neighboring regions.
In the 13th century, Mkhitar of Ayrivank records that in 1031, Prince Apirat built the monastery of Kecharis and directed a water channel to Yerevan. Stepanos Orbelian refers to a 9th-century inscription mentioning Yerevan, believed to have been commissioned by Prince Grigor of Syunik and placed at the Makenots Monastery on the southern shore of Lake Sevan. According to Orbelian, vineyards in Yerevan were donated to the monasteries of Makenots and Sevanavank. The oldest surviving inscription bearing the name “Yerevan” is from Sevanavank and dates to the year 874.
Yerevan is also mentioned in lapidary inscriptions dated to 901, 981, 1201, and 1204. The name appears again in a 1264 inscription on the wall of the Church of St. Katoghike, located in the city center.
Between the 11th and 13th centuries, Yerevan evolved into a feudal town recognized as the center of the Kotayk region. In his Geography, the 13th-century scholar Vardan the Great writes: “Kotayk—the city of Yerevan with its province.” At the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, joint Armenian-Georgian forces liberated northern Armenia from the Seljuks with local Armenian support, creating semi-autonomous principalities under the Georgian crown, ruled by the noble Zakaryan family. In the early 13th century, Yerevan and surrounding areas were governed by Ivane Zakaryan and his son Avag. Like other medieval cities, Yerevan was feudal property. Most of its peasants were subjected to the authority of secular and ecclesiastical lords, though a class of free craftsmen, merchants, and peasants existed—obligated nonetheless to pay dues and provide labor to the ruling elite.
The poet Terter Yerevantsi was born in Yerevan in the late 13th century. Evidence from surviving coins indicates that the city was a major urban center in the Araks valley, located along a vital trade route from Dvin to Barda. Among the earliest coins minted in Yerevan are a 1333 gold coin of the Mongol ruler Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan and a 1344 silver coin attributed to Nushirvan Khan.
Yerevan’s development suffered a significant setback in the late 14th century due to the invasions of Timur (Tamerlane). In 1387, the city was devastated, resulting in the deaths of approximately 500 people, as recorded by Grigor Khlatetsi in his Colophons of Disaster. According to historian Bakikhanov, Timur relocated 50,000 families of the Qajar tribe to the region during this period: “Emir Timur (Tamerlane) resettled 50,000 Qajar families in the Caucasus, placing them in Erivan, Ganja, and Karabakh, where they multiplied over time. Many Qajars under the Safavid shahs later held high offices and governed Armenia and Shirvan.”
Under the Turkoman confederations of the Kara Koyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu, Yerevan emerged as a significant cultural center, despite periods of political instability and economic stagnation. During this time, the Kara Koyunlu ruler Iskander appointed a member of the Armenian Orbelyan family as governor of Yerevan and the wider province of Ayrarat.
In the early 16th century, the city fell to Safavid Shah Ismail I, only to be conquered a few years later by the Ottoman sultans Selim and Suleiman. Like the rest of Eastern Armenia, Yerevan became a focal point in the prolonged struggle between the Ottoman and Persian empires—a contested stronghold for generations.
In the 15th century, when the Kara Koyunlu made Yerevan the administrative center of the Ararat Province, travelers and historians began to frequently mention it as one of the prominent cities of the region. From that time onward, Yerevan emerged as a vital hub of trade and craftsmanship in Eastern Armenia. By the 16th century, it had evolved into the primary seat of Persian authority in the region, maintaining its status as the area’s central city.
Yerevan became a focal point in the Ottoman-Safavid conflict of the 16th century, as both empires vied for dominance over the city and the broader region of Eastern Armenia. In 1554, after capturing Kars and Nakhichevan, the Ottomans seized Yerevan, massacred many of its inhabitants, and set part of the city ablaze. Once entrenched in the area, they appointed a succession of governors. Among them was Farhad Pasha, who, between 1582 and 1583, constructed a new, formidable fortress to serve as the Ottoman stronghold against Safavid attacks. Control over the fortress oscillated between the warring empires, with each restoring its defenses after every conquest.
In 1604, Shah Abbas I captured the fortress, only to be repelled shortly thereafter by the Ottomans. During this campaign, the Shah adopted a scorched-earth strategy: Yerevan was devastated, and its population forcibly deported deep into Persia. The historian Arakel of Tabriz vividly recounts this mass deportation of Armenians to Isfahan:
“…Shah Abbas ignored the Armenians’ desperate pleas. He summoned his nakharars, appointing them as overseers and escorts to expel the inhabitants. Each noble, with his retinue, was to relocate an entire district. The residents of Yerevan itself, the Ararat region, and nearby districts were entrusted to Amir-Guna Khan.”
This episode, later known as the “Great Sürgün” (Deportation), led to a dramatic decline in the Armenian population of Eastern Armenia. Nonetheless, until the end of the 17th century—despite wars, invasions, and forced relocations—Armenians likely remained the majority population in the region. The 17th-century traveler Jan Struys noted that “Yerevan was inhabited mostly by poor Armenians.” Meanwhile, lands vacated by the deported were resettled with Qizilbash Turks, particularly of the Qajar tribe and others.
In 1635, Yerevan once again became a battleground. Finally, the Treaty of Zuhab in 1639 placed Eastern Armenia, including Yerevan, firmly within the Persian sphere of influence. Under Safavid rule, peace and prosperity returned. Yerevan once more became a major trading post along caravan routes, as recorded by numerous European travelers.
Taking advantage of the Safavid state’s collapse, the Ottomans seized Yerevan again in 1723. They garrisoned the city and rebuilt its fortress. For over a decade, they governed the area through a series of appointed officials and imposed heavy taxes on the local population. Historian Abraham of Yerevan, a contemporary observer, chronicles the Armenian resistance to Ottoman rule. Their control came to an end following the victory of Nader Qoli Khan, the future Shah of Iran. Thereafter, Yerevan remained part of Persia, becoming the capital of the newly formed Erivan Khanate.
The khanate, administered by a succession of khans, became a focal point of political maneuvering during the internal turmoil that gripped Persia in the second half of the 18th century. During this period, the Erivan khans were occasionally subordinate to Georgian King Heraclius II, Panah Khan, or Ibrahim Khalil Khan of Karabakh—rulers who all sought to expand their influence across the South Caucasus. Ultimately, Yerevan came under the authority of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar and his successor, Fath-Ali Shah.
Under Persian rule, the Shahs frequently appointed local khans as beglerbegs (governors) of provinces, thus formalizing the administrative structure of the Chokhur Saad or Erivan Khanate. The khanate spanned approximately 12,000 square kilometers, bordered to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Ganja and Karabakh khanates, to the south by Nakhichevan and the Azerbaijan province, and to the west by the Ottoman Empire. It was subdivided into fifteen administrative districts, or maghals.
Armenians held a prominent role in commerce and various professions, contributing significantly to the economic fabric of the Persian administration. Exports from Yerevan included dried fruits, salt, hides, and copper. Yerevan’s Armenians also supplied all the beeswax used in the royal court. The location of Etchmiadzin—the spiritual center of the Armenian Church—within the boundaries of the khanate further cemented its religious and political importance for all Armenians, especially in the absence of an independent Armenian state.
Seventeenth-century Russian traveler Fedot Kotov wrote, “Not far from Yerevan lies Uchkilisa, as the Armenians call it, or the Three Churches, as we say in Russian; they are large and beautiful. This entire area, including Yerevan, was once an Armenian kingdom.”
Although the entire khanate was ruled by a khan—often referred to as the sardar—from the mid-17th century until 1828, the Armenian population fell under the direct jurisdiction of the Melik of Yerevan from the noble Melik-Aghamalyan family. The formation of this melikdom likely dates to the aftermath of the 1639 Treaty of Zuhab, part of a broader administrative reorganization following decades of war and upheaval. The first to bear the title of Melik of Yerevan was Melik Aghamal.
The Meliks wielded full administrative, legislative, and judicial authority over their community, with the sole exception of capital punishment, which required the sardar’s approval. The Melik also served as a military commander, leading Armenian contingents within the sardar’s army. Other Meliks and village headmen (tanuters) within the khanate were subordinate to the Melik of Yerevan. All Armenian villages, except those under the direct control of local leaders, were obliged to pay him an annual tribute. The Kond district, where the Aghamalyan family resided, was home to four of Yerevan’s ten oldest churches.
During the Qajar period, Yerevan experienced a period of relative prosperity. The city itself covered more than 1.6 square kilometers, while its surrounding gardens and outskirts extended over 28.9 square kilometers. The layout and architecture of the city followed the urban patterns typical of Middle Eastern cities of that era. Yerevan was divided into four mahallas (districts): Shari, Tappa-Bashi, and Demir-Bulag. The city boasted over 1,700 houses, 850 shops, 8–9 mosques, 7 churches, 10 bathhouses, 7 caravanserais, 5 squares, 2 bazaars, and 2 schools.
Among the key surviving structures from earlier times were the bell tower of a 12th-century Armenian cathedral, four small 17th-century churches (St. Zoravor, St. Hovhannes, St. Sarkis, and St. Petros-Poghos), a 1664 bridge over the Getar River, and a 1679 bridge across the Hrazdan River. The city’s two most prominent mosques were the Shira Mosque, built in 1687, and the Blue Mosque, constructed in 1776 near the end of Persian rule. The Khan’s palace was located adjacent to one of these mosques. The Blue Mosque, renowned for its elegance, was the largest mosque in the city.
Beyond the city proper lay the villages of Avan to the northeast—home to the ruins of a notable 7th-century Armenian church—and Kanaker, traditionally governed by the Abovian family, who were related by marriage to the Melik-Aghamalyans.
With Georgia’s annexation by Russia and the onset of the first Russo-Persian War in 1804, Yerevan once more assumed strategic significance as a Persian stronghold in the Caucasus. The city’s formidable fortress, situated on elevated terrain and encircled by thick walls, moats, and artillery, initially withstood Russian advances. In 1804, General Tsitsianov’s offensive was repelled by the superior Persian forces led by Abbas Mirza. In 1807, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar appointed Hussein Khan Qajar as beglerbeg of Erivan. Over the course of his two-decade rule, the skilled administrator rebuilt Armenian trust in Persian governance and turned the khanate into a model province.
In 1808, Russian forces under General Gudovich launched another assault on the city, but the fortress held firm and the Russians were forced to retreat. Although the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 recognized Russia’s gains across much of the South Caucasus, Yerevan remained in Persian hands. The city, alongside Tabriz, became a key base for Persian operations aimed at reclaiming lost territory.
In October 1827, amid the final phase of the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828), the Russian Imperial Army, under the command of General Ivan Paskevich, launched a decisive assault on the fortress city of Erivan. The city, long considered the cornerstone of Persian defense in the South Caucasus, had withstood multiple Russian campaigns. Yet, despite the formidable fortifications—its high ramparts, deep moats, and heavy artillery—the Persian garrison succumbed after fierce fighting. The fall of Erivan marked a turning point in the war and had profound geopolitical consequences.
Following this victory, the Treaty of Turkmenchay was signed in February 1828. Under its terms, Persia officially ceded the Erivan Khanate—along with the Nakhchivan Khanate and other territories in the South Caucasus—to the Russian Empire. Thus, the city of Erivan transitioned from a Persian provincial capital into a strategic Russian stronghold, becoming the administrative center of the newly established Armenian Oblast within the empire.
The annexation by Russia ushered in a new era of transformation for Erivan. The once Persian-dominated city began to witness significant demographic and administrative shifts. One of the most immediate effects was the organized repatriation of Armenian families who had previously been displaced or deported deep into Persia during the wars and earlier forced migrations, particularly the great “surgun” under Shah Abbas I. Encouraged by Russian authorities, thousands of Armenians returned to their ancestral lands in Eastern Armenia, bolstering the local population and altering the ethnic composition of the region in favor of the Armenians.
Throughout the 19th century, Erivan evolved from a provincial khanate capital into a growing imperial outpost. Russian engineers and military planners redesigned parts of the city along European lines, building administrative offices, military barracks, and public institutions. However, much of the city still retained its Persian-Islamic architectural flavor, seen in its mosques, caravanserais, and urban layout. The Blue Mosque, originally erected in 1776, continued to stand as a testament to the city’s Persian heritage.
Culturally and economically, the integration of Erivan into the Russian Empire facilitated new opportunities for the local Armenian population. Education, trade, and crafts flourished under relative stability. The city also began to emerge as a focal point of Armenian cultural revival, benefiting from its proximity to Etchmiadzin, the spiritual seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Religious and national identity, long suppressed under foreign rule, began to find expression through new institutions and intellectual movements.
The Russian authorities retained many local Armenian nobles and dignitaries in administrative roles, preserving certain traditional structures while gradually integrating them into the imperial bureaucracy. The hereditary Melik-Aghamalyan family, once rulers under the Persian system, now became influential intermediaries between the Armenian population and Russian officials.
As the 19th century progressed, the city witnessed the gradual decline of its Persian and Ottoman influences. With the steady construction of new Russian-style neighborhoods, Erivan grew both physically and socially. By the end of the century, it was no longer a remote frontier town, but a budding urban center poised to become the nucleus of modern Armenian statehood in the decades to come.
As the 20th century dawned, Erivan had grown into a modest yet vibrant provincial city within the Russian Empire. Its population, though still relatively small, reflected a striking demographic transformation—Armenians now formed a majority, a reversal of earlier centuries under Persian and Ottoman dominance. The city pulsed with cultural energy: Armenian schools, printing houses, and theatrical societies emerged, giving voice to a burgeoning national consciousness.
However, the first decades of the century brought immense upheaval. The collapse of the Russian Empire following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution set in motion a wave of political chaos across the Caucasus. In the vacuum of imperial authority, the Armenians, Georgians, and Azerbaijanis each sought to establish independent national states. Amid the shifting tides of war and diplomacy, Erivan was proclaimed the capital of the newly established First Republic of Armenia on May 28, 1918—a fledgling state born in the shadow of genocide and war.
The young republic faced formidable challenges: famine, disease, a refugee crisis, and continued border conflicts with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Erivan, now capital in both name and function, struggled to accommodate the sudden influx of tens of thousands of destitute Armenian refugees fleeing the massacres in the Ottoman Empire. Makeshift shelters sprung up throughout the city. Its infrastructure, never designed for such demands, strained under the burden.
In 1920, Soviet forces invaded Armenia, bringing an end to the short-lived republic. On December 2, 1920, Erivan was captured without resistance, and the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was declared. In the early Soviet years, the city’s name was officially reformed to Yerevan—a change that not only reflected linguistic modernization but symbolized a new ideological era.
The Soviet transformation of Yerevan was dramatic. Under the guidance of prominent Armenian architect Alexander Tamanian, the city was reimagined as a showcase of Soviet urban planning. Tamanian’s master plan, approved in the 1920s, sought to turn Yerevan into a modern metropolis. Wide boulevards radiated from Republic Square, and neoclassical Soviet buildings blended with Armenian architectural motifs, using volcanic tuff stone that gave the city its iconic pink glow.
Industrialization followed swiftly. Factories, power stations, and rail links connected Yerevan to the rest of the Soviet Union. Universities and research institutes, such as Yerevan State University and the Academy of Sciences, turned the city into a hub of intellectual life. Soviet Yerevan also became a focal point of Armenian national identity, paradoxically flourishing under the very system that often sought to suppress nationalism elsewhere.
Throughout the 20th century, Yerevan grew exponentially. From a dusty border town of less than 30,000 in the early 1900s, it became a city of over a million inhabitants by the 1980s. Public parks, opera houses, museums, and monuments celebrated both Soviet ideals and Armenian heritage. The Matenadaran, housing ancient manuscripts, stood atop a hill like a temple of national memory, while monuments to writers, scientists, and victims of the genocide—most notably the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial—etched the collective Armenian narrative into stone.
Even as the Soviet system began to falter in the 1980s, Yerevan remained a center of reform and protest. The Karabakh Movement, demanding the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Soviet Armenia, was born in Yerevan’s public squares and university halls. These protests evolved into a broader demand for independence.
Finally, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Yerevan became the capital of a newly independent Republic of Armenia. Its long arc—from Persian garrison town to Russian imperial outpost, from Soviet republic center to national capital—had come full circle.
When the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, Yerevan emerged not only as the capital of a sovereign Armenian state but as the symbolic heart of a people long denied full self-determination. The euphoria of independence, however, was swiftly tempered by the severe realities of a crumbling economy, regional conflict, and social dislocation.
The Nagorno-Karabakh War of the early 1990s cast a long shadow over Yerevan’s early years of independence. As the center of military coordination, diplomacy, and refugee resettlement, the city bore the brunt of war’s consequences. Rolling blackouts, fuel shortages, and food rationing became commonplace. Yet amid this austerity, a spirit of national endurance and cultural renaissance persisted. Yerevan’s citizens clung to the hope that their hard-won freedom would lay the foundation for a more stable and prosperous future.
In the decades that followed, Yerevan began a tentative transformation. Market reforms gradually replaced the Soviet command economy. New businesses emerged, and the once-monolithic state structures gave way to a diverse, if uneven, private sector. The city’s skyline changed with it: sleek glass façades and foreign-branded hotels rose beside the neoclassical buildings of the Soviet era. Construction boomed, particularly in the city center, spurred on by diaspora investment and a desire to align the capital with European urban aesthetics.
But this rebirth was not without tensions. The redevelopment of central Yerevan, especially projects around Northern Avenue and Republic Square, often came at the cost of architectural heritage and long-standing neighborhoods. Critics lamented the destruction of old courtyards and buildings, which held the memory of pre-Soviet and early Soviet Yerevan. Still, for many, the new construction was a necessary signal that Armenia was moving forward, modernizing in both form and function.
In cultural terms, post-independence Yerevan blossomed. Art galleries, theaters, and concert halls experienced a revival, often fueled by a younger generation of creators eager to define a distinctly Armenian modernity. Cafés lined the sidewalks of Abovyan Street, jazz musicians filled open-air stages in the summer months, and book festivals returned to the steps of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts at the Cascade. The city’s ancient love for poetry, song, and conversation found new, post-Soviet expressions.
Politically, Yerevan became the crucible of Armenian civic life. Its streets have seen massive protests, political reckonings, and democratic awakenings. Most notably, the Velvet Revolution of 2018 was born in Yerevan’s thoroughfares, as tens of thousands of citizens peacefully demanded—and achieved—a transfer of power from entrenched elites. The city, once subdued by Soviet conformity, had evolved into a forum for vibrant, participatory democracy.
In recent years, Yerevan has taken confident strides toward asserting itself on the global stage. As Armenia’s main international gateway, it hosts embassies, international conferences, and diaspora gatherings. Tech startups cluster in the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies and Engineering City, showcasing the capital’s potential as a regional innovation hub. Tourism, too, has surged—drawn by the city’s pink stone elegance, hospitable atmosphere, and seamless blend of past and present.
Yet Yerevan remains a city of contrasts. Between ancient ruins and modern skyscrapers, between trauma and renewal, it stands at the crossroads of East and West, tradition and modernity, memory and aspiration. The city continues to wrestle with urban inequality, environmental strain, and the legacies of past upheavals—but it does so with resilience carved into its very foundations.
