Erebuni Fortress

The archeological searches of Erebuni Fortress prove that people resided in this area about three thousand years ago. No wonder this area is considered one of the most ancient populated residence. Forerunner  of Yerevan, Erebuni is one of the rare examples of anciently populated land.

Erebuni Fortress is also know as Arin Berd. It is a fortified city from the ancient kingdom of Urartu. The present-day Yerevan is located on this fortress. The name of Yerevan is derived from Erebuni.  The transformation was developed like this: Irpuni, Erivuni, Erivan and Yerevan.
This fortress was founded by King Argishti in 782 B.C. The origin of Yerevan is also counted from this date. It was built on top of a hilled called Arin Berd which in the Armenian translation means “a fortress of blood”.  During the archaeological excavation in 1950 the walls of the citadel came into view on the top of the elevation. The scrutinous research of many years resulted in a thorough investigation of the citadel with its auxiliary buildings: water tubes have likewise been discovered in addition to frescoes, statuettes, ornaments, weapons and twenty-three cuneiform inscriptions sidelighting the construction of various structures of the citadel.
The Erebuni citadel is a unique architectural complex. It has religious, palace and economic structures. On the left of the entrance there is the temple of God Haldie, on the right there are economic structures and grain storehouses, in the front of the temple there is the palace complex with pillar courtyard and a separate temple (Susi), dedicated to 'God Ivarsha. A century later after the foundation of Erebuni, King Rusa II built the city of Teishebaini (to God Teisheba) in the Ararat. This city became a large economic center. Many objects that had been made in, Erebuni were moved there.
In 1968 when the 2750th anniversary of Yerevan was celebrated, the citadel – an interesting piece of architecture, was partly fortified and partly restored and made into an open-air museum. Today thousands of visitors have the opportunity of taking a look at the museum.
A small two-storey building has been erected on the western slope of the elevation where objects dug out during the excavation of the citadel and scientific auxiliary items are exhibited which give the visitor a comprehensive idea of the history of Erebuni – the citadel of Urartu.