Erebuni Fortress

Erebuni Fortress, located near Yerevan, Armenia, is a Urartian walled city. It is located 1,017 meters (3,337 feet) above sea level. It was one of numerous fortifications erected along the northern Urartian frontier and was one of the enormous kingdom's most significant political, economic, and cultural centers. Erebuni is the root of the name Yerevan.

Urartian King Argishti I (r. 785–753 BC) established Erebuni in 782 BC. It was constructed on top of Arin Berd, a hill overlooking the Aras River Valley, as a military fortress to guard the kingdom's northern frontiers. It was "planned as a huge administrative and ecclesiastical center, a completely regal capital," according to one account. According to Margarit Israelyan, Argishti began building Erebuni after capturing the lands north of Yerevan and west of Lake Sevan, roughly equivalent to the modern location of Abovyan. As a result, the men and women prisoners he seized during these battles were employed to help build his town.

Location: Yerevan