Yerevan

Archaeological evidence indicates that an Urartian military fortress called Erebuni (Էրեբունի) was founded in 782 BC by the orders of King Argistis I at the site of current-day Yerevan, to serve as a fort/citadel guarding against barbarian attacks from the north Caucasus, thus making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Since then the site has been strategically important as a crossroads for the caravan routes passing between Europe and India. It has been called Yerevan since at least the 7th century A.D., when it was the capital of Armenia under Persian rule.

Due to its strategic significance, Yerevan was constantly fought over and passed back and forth between the dominion of Persia and the Ottomans for centuries. In 1827 it was taken by Russia and formally ceded by the Persians in 1828. After the 1917 Russian revolution it enjoyed three years as the capital of independent Armenia, and in 1920 became the capital of the newly formed Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yerevan became the capital of the independent Republic of Armenia in 1991.