Mount Aragats

Etymology and names

The name of the mountain is less often spelled Aragatz or Aragac. According to Armenian tradition, Aragats originates from the words Արա Ara + գահ gah, which translates to "Ara's throne". Ara refers to the legendary hero Ara the Beautiful. Aragats was mentioned by the early medieval historian Movses Khorenatsi. In his History of the Armenians Khorenatsi claims that the mountain is named after Aramaneak, the son of Hayk, the legendary father of the Armenian people. Aramaneak called his possessions "the foot of Aragats" (classical Armenian: ոտն Արագածոյ, otn Aragats'oy; modern: Aragatsotn). The modern Aragatsotn Province, dominated by the mountain, was formed in 1995.

A relatively modern name for the mountain is Alagöz, which literally means "variegated eye" in Turkish. This term was widely used up until the mid-20th century in European, Tsarist Russian, and early Soviet sources. A variant of the word, Alagyaz (Ալագյազ), was used in Armenian. A village on the foot of Aragats is named Alagyaz.

Geography and geology

Aragats is isolated from Armenia's other mountain ranges. However, it is considered part and the highest point of the larger Lesser Caucasus mountain range. It has four summits, which are named according to their relative geographic position:

Situated 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Armenian capital Yerevan, Aragats is a large volcano with numerous fissure vents and adventive cones. Numerous large lava flows descend from the volcano and are constrained in age between middle Pleistocene and 3,000 BCE. The summit crater is cut by a 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long line of cones which generated possibly Holocene-age lahars and lava flows. The volcanic system covers an area of 5,000 km² and is one of the largest in the region. More recent activity in flank centres occurred in Tirinkatar (0.48-0.61 Ma), Kakavasar, (0.52-0.54 Ma) and Ashtarak (0.58 Ma), as well as Jrbazhan in the summit area (0.52 Ma). The magmas feeding Aragats are unusually hot for arc-derived magmas, resulting in long and voluminous lava flows.

Glaciation

Observations shortly after World War II showed the presence of firn fields and snowfields on the sides of the crater cirque, as well as moraines and glaciers inside the crater. An analysis in 1896 indicated a surface area of 5.5-5.8 km², but rapidly retreated afterwards. The glaciation has been retreating on account of insufficient snowfall and increasing temperatures. Glacial meltwater dominates the upper part of the rivers descending from Aragats but its importance decreases farther down the valleys. Traces of prehistorical glaciation also exist, including thick moraines in the summit area at an altitude of 2,600-3,000 m.

Geological

The volcano was constructed within four different phases. The first phase (possibly 2.5Ma) occurred in the main crater and subsidiary vents and was basaltic andesite in composition. It crops out in deep gorges. The second phase (0.97–0.89 Ma, by K-Ar) involved the main vent, subsidiary structures and was basaltic and andesitic in composition with ignimbrites and pyroclastics, with tuffs and lava flows emanating from satellite centres. It was the most voluminous and included the Shamiram and Egvard subsidiary centres. The third phase (0.74–0.68 Ma) while similar to the second was more restricted in regional extent to the Mantash River basin. The fourth stage (0.56–0.45 Ma) involved mafic lava flows from parasitic vents in the southern parts of the volcano.

Cultural

Numerous engravings have been around the volcano, including rock paintings portraying animals and human-like figures in Kasagh River valley possibly of early Holocene age, and in Aghavnatun on the southern side of the volcano including petroglyps showing animals that were possibly created in the 4th to 1st millennia BCE.

According to an ancient Armenian legend, Aragats and Mount Ararat were loving sisters who parted after a quarrel and separated permanently. Currently, the mountains are further separated politically, with Mt. Ararat being located in Turkey.

Another legend tells that Gregory the Illuminator, who converted Armenia into Christianity in the early 4th century, "used to pray on the peak of the mountain. At nighttime an icon-lamp shone to give light for him, the lamp hanging from heaven using no rope. Some say that the icon-lamp is still there, but only the worthy ones can see it."

On May 28, 2005—the anniversary of the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia—around 250,000 people participated in a Dance of Unity (Armenian: Միասնության շուրջպար) around Mount Aragats in a mass display of national unity. The quarter million participants, among them then-President Robert Kocharyan, formed a 163-kilometre (101 mi) ring around the mountain. The organizers hoped the event would be included in the Guinness World Records. Prior to the dance, some 110,000 trees were planted on the slopes of Aragats.

Nearby settlements

The following settlements are located on the slopes or foot of Aragats: Ashtarak, Artik, Aparan, Talin, Oshakan, Byurakan.

Aragats has historically played a significant role in Armenian history and culture. Numerous historical and modern monuments are located on its slopes, some of which are listed below.

The 4th century mausoleum of the Arsacid (Arshakuni) dynasty is located in the village of Aghtsk, on the slopes of Aragats.

The early medieval fortress of Amberd and the nearby 11th century Vahramashen Church are located on the slopes of Aragats, at an altitude of 2,300 m (7,500 ft). One source calls Amberd the "biggest and the best preserved fortress" in modern-day Armenia.

The Byurakan Observatory, established in 1946 by Victor Ambartsumian, is located on the southern slopes of Aragats, near the village of Byurakan, at an altitude of 1,405 m (4,610 ft). It made Armenia one of the world's centers for the study of astrophysics in the 20th century.

The Alphabet Park (տառերի պուրակ, lit. "park of the letters") is located near the village of Artashavan. It was founded in 2005 on the 1600th anniversary of the invention of the Armenian alphabet. It features sculptures of the 39 letters of the Armenian alphabet and statues of notable Armenians, such as Mesrop Mashtots (the inventor of the alphabet), Armenia's national poet Hovhannes Tumanyan, Khachatur Abovian (father of modern Armenian literature), and others. In 2012 a 33-metre (108 ft) high cross, composed of 1711 large and small iron crosses, symbolizing the number of years since Armenia's conversion to Christianity in 301, was installed on a hill near the park. A cross is added on an annual basis.

In culture

Mt. Aragats plays a special role in Armenian history and culture. Along with Ararat, it is considered a sacred mountain for the Armenians.

Aragats is a male first name in Armenia, used especially in areas surrounding the mountain.

Mt. Aragats is often associated with Gyumri, Armenia's second largest city. The mountain is depicted on the coat of arms of Gyumri. It is also depicted on the obverse side of the 10,000 Armenian dram banknote (in use since 2003) in the background of Avetik Isahakyan, a poet born in Gyumri.

Numerous Armenians poets (e.g. Avetik Isahakyan) have written about Aragats. Marietta Shaginyan compared Aragats to a "half-open bud of a giant pomegranate flower". In one short poem Silva Kaputikyan compares Armenia to an "ancient rock-carved fortress", the towers of which are Mount Aragats and Mount Ararat.

Numerous artists have painted Aragats. Some examples of paintings of Aragats kept at the National Gallery of Armenia include: