Introduction
Town in Tavush Province, Armenia
Place in Tavush, ArmeniaIjevan
ԻջևանFrom top left:Aghstev River • Ijevan central parkIjevan Vineyards • Mother ArmeniaIjevan Wildlife Sanctuary • Ijevan DendroparkIjevan skyline and Gugark mountains
SealIjevanShow map of ArmeniaIjevanShow map of TavushCoordinates: 40°52′45″N 45°08′50″E / 40.87917°N 45.14722°E / 40.87917; 45.14722Country ArmeniaProvinceTavushMunicipalityIjevanFounded1780sCity status1961Area • Total4.6 km2 (1.8 sq mi)Elevation755 m (2,477 ft)Population (2022) • Total18,689 • Density4,100/km2 (11,000/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+4 (AMT)Postal code4001, 4002Area code(+375) 263Vehicle registration57Ijevan at GEOnet Names Server
Ijevan (Armenian: Իջևան [id͡ʒɛˈvɑn]) is a town and urban municipal community in the Ijevan Municipality of the Tavush Province of Armenia, also serving as the province's administrative centre. It is located at the center of the region, at the foot of Ijevan ridge of Gugark Mountains, on the shores of Aghstev River. Ijevan is the seat of the Diocese of Tavush of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Ijevan is located at a road distance of 137 km northeast of Yerevan. The Yerevan-Tbilisi highway passes through Ijevan. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 21,081, making it the most populated town in the province. Ijevan is also famous for its beautiful mountains. As of the 2022 census, the population of the town was 18,689.
Etymology
[edit]
The town's current name Ijevan, and its former name Karavansara (until 1919), both mean "inn" (caravanserai), in Armenian and Persian, respectively. The area of modern-day Ijevan used to have many roadside inns known as caravanserais that served travelers between historic Syria and the North Caucasus. The name Ijevan became official in 1961 when the settlement became a town.
History
[edit]
Chamber tombs found at the centre of present-day Ijevan, as well as late Bronze Age cemetery on the left bank of Aghstev river, attest to the early occupation of the site.
Ijevan countryside
Historically, the area of modern-day Ijevan was part of ancient Utik and Gugark; the 12th and 13th provinces of Greater Armenia respectively. Separated by the Aghstev river, the eastern half of Ijevan was part of the Tuchkatak canton of the historic Utik, while the western half belonged to the Dzorapor canton of the historic Gugark.
Being located on a vital route of trade between the Levant and Northern Caucasus, the region of present-day Ijevan was home to many rest-houses and caravanserais during the Middle Ages, serving as rest-houses for the passing merchants and their caravans, mainly on the road from Tbilisi to Dvin. The remains of a medieval caravanserai stands on the banks of Aghstev river on a site called Hamam-Jala.
Under the Persian rule who had gained control over the Eastern Armenian territories since 1501–02, the village of Karavansara was founded during the 1780s. The territories of present-day Lori and Tavush along with the neighboring Georgia, became part of the Russian Empire in 1800–01. The territories became an official region of Russia as per the Treaty of Gulistan signed between Imperial Russia and Qajar Persia in October 1813, following the Russo-Persian War of 1804–13.
In 1840, the Elizavetpol uezd was formed and most of the territories of Tavush became part of the newly founded administrative division of the Russian Empire. Later in 1868, the Elizavetpol Governorate was established and Tavush became part of the newly formed Kazakh uezd. Under the Russian rule, approximately 6,000 Armenian families from Karabakh were allowed to move to the valley of Aghstev river to be resettled in the region of Tavush including the territory of the village of Karavansara. The village witnessed a notable revival during the 1860s and 1870s, as a result of the new road opened between Kazakh (Qazax) and Erivan (Yerevan), passing through Karavansara.
The statue of king Ashot Yerkat in Ijevan
Following the 1918 independence of Armenia, the name of Karavansara was changed to Ijevan in 1919. On 29 November 1920, Ijevan, along with Noyemberyan, was the first Armenian settlement where Soviet rule was established, after being invaded by the Red Army from Soviet Azerbaijan in the northeastern part of the country. In 1930, it became the centre of the newly formed Ijevan raion.
The first major plan of the town was adopted in 1948, revised later in 1967. In 1951, the Ijevan Wine-Brandy Factory was opened, followed by the rug and carpet factory in opened in 1959–65. With the gradual development of the industrial sector, Ijevan was given the status of a town in 1961. In 1970, it was turned into a city of republican sub-ordination of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Following the independence of Armenia in 1991, Ijevan became the provincial centre of the newly founded Tavush Province as per the administrative reforms of 1995.
