Dvin

Dvin was founded in the fourth century and was the capital of Armenia for some six hundred years, a city of tens of thousands with a cathedral, a palace and a trading quarter, on the plain within sight of Ararat. Repeated sacking, a devastating earthquake in 893 and finally the Mongol conquest of the thirteenth century ended it, and what remains is a low mound of excavated foundations: the cathedral outline, the palace of the catholicos, sections of wall. A small museum holds the finds.

History

King Khosrov III Kotak built the city in 335 on the site of a settlement and fortress of the 3rd millennium BC, and it became the main residence of the Arsacid kings; after the Armenian kingdom fell in 428 it was the seat of Sasanian marzpans and later of Byzantine and Arab governors, the capital of Persian Armenia, with a Zoroastrian fire temple in its palace. Arab raiders sacked it in 640, and on 6 January 642 they stormed it with great loss of life, making it, as Dabil, the centre of the Muslim province of Arminiya; at its height in the 8th and 9th centuries it may have held around 100,000 people, before the Mongols laid it waste in the 13th century (Wikipedia, Dvin - ancient city).

What to look for

• The cathedral foundations - the outline of the main church on the citadel mound.
• The palace remains - the catholicos's residence beside it.
• The city walls - sections of the defences around the mound.
• The museum - pottery, glass and metalwork from the excavations.

When to go

April to June and September to November are comfortable; the plain is very hot in midsummer. Mornings give the clearest view of Ararat from the mound. The museum keeps limited hours.

What to expect

What survives is foundations and low walls; anyone expecting a standing medieval city will be disappointed. Interpretation on site is thin. The turning off the main road is poorly signed.

Nearby

Artashat is nearby on the plain, and Khor Virap is west with Ararat behind it.

Key facts