Garni

Garni (Armenian: Գառնի, also Romanized as Garrni; until 1936, Bash Gyarni) is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia, situated approximately 28 km southeast from Yerevan. The village is rich in history. The area was first occupied in the 3rd millennium BC along easily defensible terrain at one of the bends of the Azat River. In the 8th century BC the area was conquered by the Urartian King Argishti I. The fortification at Garni was erected probably sometime in the 3rd century BC as a summer residence for the Armenian Orontid and Artaxiad royal dynasties. Later around the 1st century BC the fortress of Garni became the last refuge of King Mithridates of Armenia, where he and his family were assassinated by his son in law and nephew...