The northern part of the Kars Province is home to the Artaan district, which has preserved its historical name since time immemorial. In ancient times, this territory was the extensive Artan district of the Gugark province in Greater Armenia.
The center of the district, as well as the later mentioned region, was the city of Artaan, which still serves as the administrative center of the eponymous province in Western Armenia. The Artan district encompasses the basin of the upper reaches and sources of the large river Kur, or Kor, which translates from Armenian as “winding.”
In Russian, the river is known as the Kura, following the term “river” in the feminine gender, similar to the French hydronyms Seine, Saône, Rhône, and Garonne. The Georgians call this river Mtkvari. After the Euphrates and the Tigris, the Kura is the third longest and largest river in the Armenian Highlands.
It originates from the Konder Plateau (Hills) northwest of Kars, flows successively northeast, east, and southeast, and empties into the Caspian Sea within the boundaries of Paytakaran, the easternmost district of Greater Armenia.
The city of Artaan is located on the eponymous marshy plain in the upper reaches of the Kura River, initially on its right bank and later on both banks. The Artan plain stretches 18-20 kilometers along the river in a latitudinal direction, bounded to the south by the medium-altitude Abhehnk and Hordzenkar ranges and to the north by the foothills of the Arseats or Arsian range.
The average elevation of the Artan plain above sea level is 1800 meters, and its climate is cold continental, with winters often lasting up to 7-8 months. The part of Artaan located on the right bank of the Kura suffered a major fire in 1892, after which a new quarter, Nor Tah, was established on the left bank. In the old quarter (Hin Tah), the Artaan fortress was situated on a rocky hill.
According to Armenian and Georgian historians, the Artaan fortress was founded in the pre-Urartian period. The Armenian king Ervand Arshakuni rebuilt the fortress and settled it with “people with rough speech” (“divakhos,” literally “demon-speakers”) and renamed it Kadjatun, while the surrounding city became known as Kadjaz Kakhak.
It is essential to note that the repeated toponyms with the root “kadja” (among others, the Syunik Kadjaran) in Armenia have nothing to do with the word “kadja” meaning “brave.” This is a classic example of the later reinterpretation of the ancient root “kadjak.” In the ancient Armenian pantheon, this term referred to a numerous group of coarse and malevolent spirits of mountains, underground, and other inaccessible places, in contrast to “alk”—benevolent spirits of lakes, meadows, and forests.
Thus, all names like Kadjatun, Kadjaran, Alvard, and Alberd (Alaverdi) are associated with the cults of spirits, providing powerful linguistic evidence of the indigenous and ancient nature of the Armenian people who conceived them.
Kadjatun translates as “house (of spirits) kadjak,” and Kadjaz Kakhak means “city (of spirits) kadjak.” Much later, the Turks borrowed the concept of “kadja” meaning “spirit” and began calling such places “Shaitan-kale” (literally “devil’s fortress,” which is the same as the Armenian “fortress of spirits” or Kadjaberd, Kadjatun).
In the case of Artaan, Ervand Arshakuni did not invent anything new. The city of Kadjaz Kakhak existed nearby since ancient times, founded as Ur (Hur, Uraya) by the tribes of Hayasa, one of the early Armenian states, 12 kilometers northeast of Artaan, on the left bank of the Kura River, near the confluence of its left tributary, the Zoraget.
The ancient Armenian root “hur” served as the basis for the famous Sumerian Ur and Uruk, as well as for the later Armenian Urek, Orek, Orean (Khorean), the Georgian Ureki, the Arabic Viran, and the later Turkish Oran, all having the meaning of fire. Near the ruins of the city of Hur (Kadjaz Kakhak), two villages with the same name, Hur and Hurakats, were founded.
The first is now called Kaladibi (literally “at the foot of the fortress”), while the second is destroyed. Near it are the ruins of the Hur outpost—Dresi dur fortress (“outer gate”). Another fortress called Kadjaberd is located downstream of the Kura River, 36 kilometers east of Artaan, near the city of Berd (now Çıldır), and is called Shaitan-kale in Turkish.
Notably, the nearby pass is called Ajabad, a distorted Armenian Kadzapat, and the neighboring mountain (probably also called Kadjak or Kadjasar in ancient times) is Ziarat, meaning Holy. Finally, in the neighboring district of Javakhk (later Akhalkalaki region), the ruins of another Kadjatun, called Tsunda by Georgians, are located directly at the foot of the famous Tmbkaberd fortress.
The abundance of coarse spirits “kadjak” on the map of this part of Armenia is thought to be related to its harsh climate, cold winters, and numerous steep cliffs along both banks of the upper Kura River.
Even today, the Artaan, Javakhk, and Ashotsk districts are referred to as “Armenian Siberia,” where the lowest winter temperatures in the Armenian Highlands are recorded.
Initially, the city of Artaan was called Parakan, named after the ancient Hayasa city slightly to the north, whose fortress was called Aramassan. The etymology of the toponym Artaan can be traced to the ancient Armenian root “art” (field, arable land, farmland), to which ‘an is added.
The ending with an aspiration ‘an (literally “removed”) in Armenian toponymy indicates proximity to an element of the landscape, a close connection with something in nature. For example, on the Armenian Highlands, the hydronym Karahan or Karahan often recurs, which can be translated as “(river) carrying stones.”
Thus, Artaan or Artahan means “place near the field” or “removed from the field.” Naturally, there is no connection with the later “han” (ruler). Also, the Russian form Ardahan is incorrect.
In 1914, according to Russian data, more than 2,000 Armenians lived in Artaan. There were two churches—Surb Astvatsatsin and Surb Gevorg, a school, and a gymnasium. An Armenian amateur theater operated in the city, and there were several factories.
In addition to the semi-ruined Artaan fortress, the city had buildings destroyed by the 1892 fire, including the post office, market, hospital, and others. In the eastern part of Artaan, on the road to Kars, a monument was erected to soldiers who died in the Russo-Turkish wars. Upon the city’s return to the Turks, it was, of course, destroyed.
Like around Kars, there were many Russian villages in the Artaan district. The most significant and largest were the villages of Nikolaevka (formerly the Armenian Tsertsav, on the road to Artanudj, northwest of the city), near the southern outskirts of Artaan—Nesvetayevo and Novoselovka, and on the marshy left bank of the Artaan plain—Artahanka or Ardahanka (now the destroyed village of Çiftlik) and others. There were also Greek villages in the Artaan district. One of them, Beberik (now Nurandede), distinguished itself by its heroic self-defense on July 14, 1915.
Among the Armenian villages in the Artaan district, the historical villages of Geghaberd or Gyukhberd and Vokhjak (Olchak), located 10-12 kilometers east of the city, in the lower reaches of the right tributary of the Kura River, Sevjur, are worthy of mention.
These were large villages with a significant Armenian population, churches, and schools. On the plain and in the foothills of the Arseats Mountains, there were several less significant Armenian villages—Tandzgom, Lori, Sers (Heva), Arevis (Revaz), Chikolart, Moratil, Hasgeh, Gindzatman.
At the southwestern end of the Artaan plain, on the densely forested slopes of the Abhehnk Mountains, are several ancient fortresses. These include the Abhe or Abala fortress with the ruins of the village of the same name, Ardaneak or Ardenek (which could be a participant in or derivative of the etymology of Artaan), Dzadjur (Krmanz Jukh), Blatukh, and others.
The southern foothills of the Abhehnk range transition into another marshy valley between the Kura and Sevjur rivers, where the Kura forms a significant bend and changes its flow direction from northwest to northeast.
This is the Khordzenk plain and swamp, where the ruins of the ancient city of Khordzean or Khordzin are located (the Turks call these ruins, like hundreds of others in the Armenian Highlands, Karaba or Karabah, meaning “ruined”). This Khordzean should not be confused with another toponym, the Khordzean plain or Khordzin district of the Tsopk province in Greater Armenia.
Further south, the Khordzean plain transitions into the expansive swampy Koh plain at the sources of the Kura River. This plain historically formed the Koh district, which alternated between being part of the Gugark and Tayk provinces. Today, the plain and its central town, Koh, are misnamed as Geole.
Geole or Gyule is a Turkish transcription of the Armenian root “koh,” meaning “rib,” “spur,” or “side.” Among the villages in the Koh district, notable mentions include Urut (Vorotan, Urta), Ambur (Heva), Khordzean (Krzen, Kirzian), Vargeniz, Arpashen, Vokham, Vokhji, Kriakunk (literally “source of Kura”), Korovenk, Bagarsak (Dortkilise, meaning “Four Churches”), and many others. Each of these villages has its own centuries-old history, unique character, and traditions belonging to their original Armenian inhabitants who should one day return.
Moving back to the Artaan district, to the southwest of the Artaan plain, on the densely forested slopes of the Abhehnk Mountains, lie several ancient fortresses. Among them are the Abhe or Abala fortress with the ruins of the village of the same name, Ardaneak or Ardenek (a name potentially linked to the etymology of Artaan), Dzadjur (Krmanz Jukh), Blatukh, and others.
The southern foothills of the Abhehnk range transition into another marshy valley between the Kura and Sevjur rivers, where the Kura forms a significant bend and changes its flow direction from northwest to northeast.
This is the Khordzenk plain and swamp, where the ruins of the ancient city of Khordzean or Khordzin are located (the Turks call these ruins, like hundreds of others in the Armenian Highlands, Karaba or Karabah, meaning “ruined”). This Khordzean should not be confused with another toponym, the Khordzean district of the Tsopk province in Greater Armenia.
Further south, the Khordzean plain transitions into the expansive swampy Koh plain at the sources of the Kura River. This plain historically formed the Koh district, which alternated between being part of the Gugark and Tayk provinces. Today, the plain and its central town, Koh, are misnamed as Geole.
Geole or Gyule is a Turkish transcription of the Armenian root “koh,” meaning “rib,” “spur,” or “side.” Among the villages in the Koh district, notable mentions include Urut (Vorotan, Urta), Ambur (Heva), Khordzean (Krzen, Kirzian), Vargeniz, Arpashen, Vokham, Vokhji, Kriakunk (literally “source of Kura”), Korovenk, Bagarsak (Dortkilise, meaning “Four Churches”), and many others. Each of these villages has its own centuries-old history, unique character, and traditions belonging to their original Armenian inhabitants who should one day return.
The Artaan district, with its rich history and cultural heritage, stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of the Armenian people. Despite the challenges and changes over the centuries, the region’s historical significance and the enduring presence of its ancient sites remind us of the deep roots and resilience of the Armenian nation.
Artatsolum
Based on the article by Grigor Beglaryan
