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Artashat (), Greek language as Artaxata () and Artaxiasata (), was a major city and commercial center of ancient Armenia that served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia from its founding in 176 BC to 120 AD, with some interruptions. It was founded during the reign of King Artaxias I (Artashes), the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty. Its ruins are located in the Ararat Province of modern-day Armenia, on the left bank of the Araks River, at the site of the monastery of Khor Virap. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD, before finally being abandoned.
The remains of the great walls of the city and some of its buildings are still visible today.
The story of its foundation is given by the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi: "Artashes Artaxias traveled to the confluence of the Arax and Akhurian River rivers and, taking a liking to the hill there, he chose it as the location of his new city, naming it after himself." The Greek historians Plutarch and Strabo relate an apocryphal story according to which the site of Artaxata was chosen on the advice of the Ancient Carthage general Hannibal. There is, however, no direct evidence to support this story.
Artaxias I built Artaxata's citadel on the height later called Khor Virap (best known as the location where Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned by Tiridates III of Armenia) and added other fortifications, including a moat.
Strabo and Plutarch describe Artaxata as a large and beautiful city and call it the "Armenian Carthage." Excavations have revealed that Artaxata was a major urban center with paved streets, numerous bathhouses, markets, workshops and administrative buildings. The city had its own treasury, mint and customs house. A focal point of Hellenistic culture in Armenia, Armenia's first theater was built here. Movses Khorenatsi writes that numerous pagan copper statues of the gods and goddesses of Anahit, Artemis and Tir were brought to Artaxata from the religious center of Bagaran and other regions, and that Jews from the former Armenian capital of Armavir were relocated to the new capital.
Due to its advantageous position, Artaxata soon became an important junction on the trade routes linking Persia and Mesopotamia with the Caucasus, the Black Sea ports and Anatolia, contributing to its growth and prosperity, as well as that of the surrounding region. The city had a population of several thousand, consisting of Armenians, Greeks, Jews, and Syrians who worked as artisans, craftsmen, and merchants.
The city remained a hotly contested military target for the next two centuries. Mark Antony marched on Artaxata in 34 BC and took King Artavasdes II captive. In AD 58–59, it was occupied and razed to the ground by legions under the Roman Empire general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo during the first, short-lived, Roman conquest of Armenia. After Emperor Nero recognized Tiridates I as king of Armenia in AD 66, he granted him 50 million sesterces and sent architects and construction experts to aid in the reconstruction of the ruined city. The city was temporarily renamed Neroneia, in honor of its sponsor.
The Roman emperor Trajan Roman Armenia in 115/6 and briefly made it a Roman province. The Romans established a garrison at Artaxata during this time, as has been proved by the discovery of Latin inscription there mentioning Trajan.
After Trajan's death, the Romans led by Statius Priscus invaded Armenia and destroyed Artaxata in 163/64. After this, Artaxata was replaced by Vagharshapat as the capital of Armenia, at least temporarily. In the mid-3rd century, during the reign of Khosrov III the Small, the royal court was moved to Duin. In the late 360s, Artaxata was thoroughly destroyed by the invading army of Sasanian Empire king Shapur II, along with the other cities of Armenia. Following the partition of Armenia between Sasanian Iran and the Eastern Roman Empire, Artaxata became one of three authorized points for trade between the two empires.
In 449, prior to the Armenian rebellion of 450–451, the political and religious leaders of Christian Armenia convened a council at Artaxata to discuss the threats of the Sasanian king Yazdegerd II. During the rebellion, the city was destroyed again by pro-Sasanian Armenian forces. With the rise in prominence of Duin as the capital and chief city of Armenia, Artaxata rapidly declined. The changing courses of the Araks and Mestamor rivers and consequent flooding probably led to the settlement's final abandonment.
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