Ararat Province
Ararat (, ), is a province ("marz") of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is the town of Artashat. The province is named after the biblical Mount Ararat. It is bordered by Turkey from the west and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from the south. It surrounds the Karki exclave of Nakhichevan which has been controlled by Armenia since its capture in May 1992 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Domestically, Ararat is bordered by Armavir Province from the northwest, Kotayk Province from the north, Gegharkunik Province from the east, Vayots Dzor Province from the southeast and the city of  Yerevan from the north. Two former capitals of Armenia are located in the modern-day Ararat Province, Artaxata and Dvin. It is also home to the Khor Virap monastery, significant as the place of Gregory the Illuminator's 13-year imprisonment and the closest point to Mount Ararat within Armenian borders. Etymology. Ararat Province is named after the historic Ayrarat province of Ancient Armenia. According to Movses Khorenatsi and the "Ashkharatsuyts" medieval Armenian geographical book of Anania Shirakatsi, Ayrarat was one of the 15 provinces of Armenia Major. It was considered the central province of the Armenian Highland. It is  believed that the name "Ararat" is the Armenian equivalent of the toponym "Urartu". Geography. Ararat has an area of 2,090 km (7% of total area of Armenia). It occupies the east of the central part of modern-day Armenia. From the north, it has borders with Armavir Province, Yerevan and Kotayk Province. From the east, its bordered by Gegharkunik and Vayots Dzor. Iğdır Province of Turkey and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic respectively form the western and southern borders of the province. Historically, the current territory of the province mainly occupies the "Vostan Hayots" canton of Ayrarat province of Ancient  Armenia. The province is located at the southeast of the Ararat plain, surrounded by the Yeranos mountains from the north, the mountains of Gegham, Dahnak and Mzhkatar from the east, Urts mountains from the south and the Araks 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 of Khosrov Forest located at the northeast of the province, used to be the stronghold of the Endangered Caucasian leopards in Armenia. Between October 2000 to July 2002 tracks of no more than 10 individuals were found in an area of . History. The region of modern-day Ararat Province is among the earliest locations that was settled  by the people of the Armenian Highland. It mainly includes the 3 cantons of "Vostan Hayots", "Urstadzor" and "Arats" of the historic Ayrarat province. "Vostan Hayots" was known since the establishment of the Artaxiad Kingdom of Armenia at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. The ancient Armenian capitals of Artaxata founded in 176 BC, and Dvin founded during the 4th century AD, were both located within the "Vostan Hayots" canton. The other cantons of "Urtsadzor" and "Arats" were first mentioned in the 5th century AD by Yeghishe 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 the Sasanian Empire of Persia until the Arab conquest of Armenia in the mid-7th century. According to the 8th-century historian "Ghevond", the Armenian princes of "Urtsadzor" canton participated in the failed revolution of 775 in Erciş against the Abbasid rulers of Arminiya. At the end of the 9th century, the 3 cantons became part of the newly established Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia. However, between the 11th and 15th centuries, the region suffered from the Seljuk, Mongol, Ag Qoyunlu and Kara Koyunlu invasions, respectively. At  the beginning of the 16th century, the territory of modern-day Ararat became part of the "Erivan Beglarbegi" within the Safavid Persia. During the first half of the 18th century, the territory 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 by the Russian Empire as a result of the Russo-Persian War of 1826–28 and the signing of the Treaty of Turkmenchay. With the fall of the Russian Empire and as a result of  the decisive Armenian victories over the Turks in the battles of Sardarabad, Abaran, and Gharakilisa, the region became part of the independent Armenia in May 1918. After 2 years of brief independence, Armenia became part of the Soviet Union in December 1920. From 1930 until 1995, modern-day Ararat was divided into 3 raions within the Armenian SSR: "Masis raion", "Artashat raion", and "Ararat raion" (known as "Vedi raion" until 1968). With the territorial administration reform of 1995, the 3 raions were merged to form the Ararat Province. Demographics. Population. According to the 1989 Soviet census, the Ararat Province (then  part of the Ararat, Artashat, and Masis districts in 1930–1995) 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). According to the 2011 official census, Ararat has a population of 260,367 (74,103 men and 133,146 women), forming around 8.6% of the entire population of Armenia. The urban population is 74,103 (28.46%) and the rural is 186,264 (71.54%). The province has 4 urban and 93 rural communities. The largest urban  community is the provincial centre of Artashat, with a population of 22,269. The other urban centres are Ararat, Masis and Vedi. With a population of 8,376, the village of Ayntap is the largest rural municipality of Ararat. Ethnic groups and religion. The majority of the Ararat Province population are ethnic Armenians who belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The regulating body of the church is the Araratian Pontifical Diocese, headed by Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan (seat in Yerevan). However, the village of Verin Dvin is predominantly populated by Assyrians belonging to the Assyrian 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 of Dimitrov 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. Administrative divisions. Ararat is currently divided into 95 municipal communities ("hamaynkner"), of which 4 are urban and 91 are rural: Rural communities and included settlements: During the recent years, many rural settlements in Ararat became abandoned, including the village of Kakavaberd. Culture. 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. The House-museum of Vazgen Sargsyan is operating in the village of Ararat since 2001. Transportation. The M-2 Motorway that connects the capital Yerevan with southern Armenia and the Iranian border, passes through the Ararat Province. The towns of Artashat and Ararat used to have a railway station that connected Yerevan with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic during the Soviet years. Economy. Agriculture and  viticulture. Being located at the fertile Ararat plain, the province contributes with 15% in the annual total agricultural product of Armenia. Around 75% (1,567 km) of the total area of the province are arable lands, out of which 17.23% (270 km) are ploughed. 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 in wine 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 and Azat. The Geghanist village has a specialized plant in producing fertilizers and irrigation system design. The province has 2 large poultry farms in the village of Kaghtsrashen and the town of Masis. Recently, fish farming has significantly developed in the province. The largest fish farming ponds are located at the vicinity of Armash village. Industry. 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. Tourism . The Khor Virap monastery is among the regular tourist destinations in Ararat Province. The ancient settlements of Artaxata and Dvin are among the attractive sites for archaeologists. The province is home to many protected areas of nature including the Khosrov Forest State Reserve, the Goravan Sands Sanctuary and the Khor Virap Wildlife Sanctuary. Education. As of the 2015-16 educational year, Ararat Province has 112 schools, 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. 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. Sport. 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 of FC 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: the Ayg Stadium of Ararat and the Artashat City Stadium. The latter is the regular home of the annual National Athletics Championship of Armenia.