Yerevan

Yerevan Երևան
City
From top left: Yerevan skyline with Mount Ararat • Karen Demirchyan Complex • Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial • Saint Gregory Cathedral • Tamanyan Street and the Yerevan Opera • Cafesjian Museum at the Cascade • Republic Square at night
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): "The Pink City" (վարդագույն քաղաքvardaguyn k'aghak' , literally "rosy city")
Location within Armenia
Coordinates: 40°11′N 44°31′E / 40.183°N 44.517°E / 40.183; 44.517Coordinates: 40°11′N 44°31′E / 40.183°N 44.517°E / 40.183; 44.517
Country	Armenia
Founded as Erebuni by Argishti I	782 B.C.
City status by Alexander II of Russia	1 October 1879
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Body	City Council
• Mayor	Taron Margaryan (Republican)
Area
• Total	223 km2 (86 sq mi)
Elevation	990 m (3,250 ft)
Highest elevation	1,390 m (4,560 ft)
Lowest elevation	865 m (2,838 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	1,060,138
• Density	4,800/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Yerevantsi(s)
Time zone	AMT (UTC+4)
Area code(s)	+374 10
Website	www.yerevan.am

Yerevan (/ˌjɛrəˈvɑːn/; Armenian: Երևան, classical spelling: Երեւան [jɛɾɛˈvɑn],  listen ) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital since 1918, the thirteenth in the history of Armenia, and the seventh located in or around the Ararat plain.

The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by king Argishti I at the western extreme of the Ararat plain. Erebuni was "designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital." During the centuries long Iranian rule over Eastern Armenia that lasted from the early 16th century up to 1828, it was the center of Iran's Erivan khanate administrative division from 1736. In 1828, it became part of Imperial Russia alongside the rest of Eastern Armenia which conquered it from Iran through the Russo-Persian War between 1826 and 1828. After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia as thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire settled in the area. The city expanded rapidly during the 20th century as Armenia became part of the Soviet Union. In a few decades, Yerevan was transformed from a provincial town within the Russian Empire, to Armenia's principal cultural, artistic, and industrial center, as well as becoming the seat of national government.