Yerevan

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Yerevan , Rus. Erivan, city (1989 pop. 1,201,539), capital of Armenia, on the Razdan River. A leading industrial, cultural, and scientific center, Yerevan is also a rail junction and carries on a brisk trade in agricultural products. The city's industries produce metals, machine tools, electrical equipment, chemicals, textiles, and food products. Educational and cultural facilities include a university, the Armenian Academy of Sciences, a state museum, and several libraries. There are ruins of a 16th-century Ottoman fortress.

Archaeological evidence indicates that the fortress of Yerbuni stood on Yerevan's site in the 8th cent. BC The city, known in the 7th cent. AD, was the capital of Armenia under Persian rule and became historically and strategically important as a crossroads of the caravan routes between Transcaucasia and India. After the downfall (15th cent.) of Timur's empire, to which Yerevan belonged, the city passed back and forth between Persia and Turkey. In 1440 it became the center of East Armenia. During the 17th cent. Yerevan was a frontier fort and a caravan trading point. It became the capital of the Yerevan khanate of Persia in 1725. Taken by Russia in 1827, the city was formally ceded by the Treaty of Turkmanchai (1828). Yerevan was the center of independent Armenia from 1918 to 1920, when it became the capital of the newly formed Armenian SSR; in 1991 it once again became independent Armenia's capital. Yerevan was severely damaged by the Dec., 1988, Armenian earthquake.

Yerevan, Armenia Erebuni, Erivan′ A very ancient walled citadel, the capital of Urartu, the meaning of whose name is not certain. In 1968 the inhabitants of Yerevan celebrated the 2 750th anniversary of the foundation of their city in 782 bc by King Argishti I of Urartu. The name may come from that of a local people. However, according to local legend, it was founded by Noah who, stranded in his Ark on Mt Ararat, looked out to the east and exclaimed ‘Yerevats’ ‘I have seen it’—meaning land and thus a place in what is now the Valley of the Aras River for a new city. The present name is certainly derived from Erebuni, which is said to come from aireri bun ‘abode of heroes’ from air ‘hero’ or ‘titan’. Erivan′ was the official Russian spelling until 1936. It has been the capital of Armenia since 1920. Under the rule of many invaders from earliest times, it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1582, to the Persians in 1604, and, as a Persian‐protected khanate, was annexed by the Russians in 1828.

Yerevan Capital of Armenia, on the River Razdan, s Caucasus. One of the world's oldest cities, it was capital of Armenia from as early as the 7th century (though under Persian control). A crucial crossroads for caravan routes between India and Transcaucasia, it is the site of a 16th-century Turkish fortress. It is a traditional wine-making centre. Industries: chemicals, plastics, cables, tyres, metals, electrical appliances, vodka. Pop. (1994) 1,247,200.

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