Artashat (ancient city)
View of mount Ararat from Khor Virap. The hill where the church was built is the location of ancient Artashat (near the village of Lusarat)
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 Shown within Armenia
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| Location | South of the modern town of Artashat, Ararat Province, Armenia |
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| Coordinates | 39°53′06″N 44°34′35″E / 39.88500°N 44.57639°ECoordinates: 39°53′06″N 44°34′35″E / 39.88500°N 44.57639°E |
| History | |
| Builder | King Artaxias I |
| Founded | 176 BC |
| Abandoned | 7th century |
Artashat (Armenian: Արտաշատ); Hellenized as Artaxata (Greek: Ἀρτάξατα), was a large commercial city and the capital of ancient Armenia during the reign of king Artaxias I; the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. The name of the city is derived from Iranian languages and means the "joy of Arta". Founded by King Artaxias I in 176 BC, Artaxata served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia from 185 BC until 120 AD, and was known as the "Vostan Hayots" ("court/seal of the Armenians").
King Artashes I founded Artashat in 176 BC in the Vostan Hayots canton within the historical province of Ayrarat, at the point where Araks river was joined by Metsamor river during that ancient eras, near the heights of Khor Virap. The story of the foundation is given by the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi of the fifth century: "Artashes traveled to the location of the confluence of the Yeraskh and Metsamor [rivers] and taking a liking to the position of the hills [adjacent to Mount Ararat], he chose it as the location of his new city, naming it after himself." According to the accounts given by Greek historians Plutarch and Strabo, Artashat is said to have been chosen and developed on the advice of the Carthaginian general Hannibal:
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Wikipedia