Artashat ( ) is a city in Armenia, the administrative centre of the Ararat Province. It is located in the central part of the Ararat Plain, on the left bank of the Araks River, 30 km southeast of the capital Yerevan.
The city got its name from the settlement founded in 176 BC by King Artashes I, which served as the capital of Greater Armenia for almost four centuries, for which it received the nickname "Armenian Carthage" in ancient historiography. The current city is located 5 km northwest of historical Artashat.
Name
Modern Artashat is named after the ancient city of Artashat (also known as Artaxata), the ruins of which are located around 8 km southeast of the modern city. Ancient Artashat served as the capital of the Greater Armenia for nearly 350 years, with some interruptions, after its founding in 176 BC. It was named after its founder King Artashes I, the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty. The name of the city is derived from Iranian languages. It can be interpreted as meaning "the joy of Arta (truth)," although it is actually a shortening of Artaxšas-šāt, meaning 'the joy of Artashes.' Old Artashat was also known as , meaning 'court/seat of the Armenians,' which was also the name of the canton in which it was located. (Sun for 1981-2010)
Demographics
According to official data and estimates as of early 2025, the city's population is approximately 19,100–20,500. The population peaked in the late 1980s (over 32,000 people), but socioeconomic changes in the 1990s and migration led to a significant decline. In recent years, the rate of population decline has slowed due to the development of the agricultural sector and the city's proximity to the Yerevan metropolitan area.
Artashat's population is highly ethnically homogeneous. The overwhelming majority of residents (over 98%) are Armenian. The city is also home to members of the Yazidi and Russian communities.
The population's age and gender distribution shows a slight predominance of women (approximately 53%). The average age of the city's residents is 34. A rise in commuting is being recorded: a significant portion of the working-age population commutes daily to work in Yerevan, while maintaining permanent residence in Artashat. The literacy rate of the population is close to 100%.
The population of Artashat since 1945 is as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Population
|-
|1945
|4,200
|-
|1959
|7,277
|-
|1974
|14,905
|-
|1976
|16,774
|-
|1989
|32,000
|-
|2001
|22,600
|-
|2011
|22,269
|-
|2016
|18,700
|-
|2022
|19,020
- Clamart, France (2003)
- Pestszentlőrinc-Pestszentimre (Budapest), Hungary (2003)
Notable people
- Sergo Karapetyan, politician and former minister of agriculture
- Varuzhan Yepremyan, painter
- Gegham Kadimyan, footballer
- Arayik Gevorgyan, wrestler
- Anna M. Sargsyan, chess player
- Gilbert Pogosyan, retired professional footballer
- Hrachya Margaryan, Armenian wrestler, member of the Armenian freestyle wrestling team European youth champion, master of sports international․
See also
- Verin Artashat