Early history and Middle Ages inscriptions of Arshakuni king
Tiridates II of Armenia rewarding Hrodomithr the new city of Nig (modern-day Aparan) from the Gntuni princes.|center In
antiquity, the region of Aparan was known as
Nig or
Nigatun. The first reference to the town of Aparan was made by
Ptolemy during the 2nd century.
Ptolemy referred to the settlement as
Casala (Κασάλα in
greek); the Hellenized version of the Armenian name of
Kasagh. It was the centre of the
Nig canton of the
Ayrarat province of ancient
Armenia. Kasagh was under the administration of the
Gntunik Armenian noble family, under the rule of the
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. The Gntunik princes founded the
Basilica of Kasagh by the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries. Between the 9th and 11th centuries, Aparan was part of the
Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia with the Gntuni princes being registered as vassal princes of the Bagratids. Starting from the 10th century, the settlement of Kasagh became known as Aparan. The new name was originated from the village of
Aparank located in the
Moxoene province of the
Kingdom of Armenia, when some remains from the ancient Armenian monastery of
Surp Khach of Aparan were transferred to the town of Kasagh. From the mid 10th to the late 12th centuries, Aparan came under the control of various Muslim dynasties, namely the Kurdish
Shaddadids and the Turkic Delimks (originating from modern-day
Iran). During this period, Aparan was locally administered by the Armenian
Pahlavouni princes. In 1410, Armenia fell under the control of the
Kara Koyunlu Shia Oghuz Turkic tribe.
Early modern period Between 1502 and 1828, Armenia became part of the Persian state under the rule of
Safaavid,
Afsharid and
Qajar dynasties, with short periods of
Ottoman rule between 1578 and 1603 and later between 1722 and 1736. In the 16th century, the
Latin diocese of Nakhchivan's actual see (not the title) was moved to more central Aparan, closer to the actual Catholic communities. Around 1620,
Pope Gregory XV instigated the founding of a
Fratres Unitores (exclusive Armenian Dominican order branch)
seminary in Aparan. The see was elevated on 21 February 1633 as non-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nakhchivan, but diocesan activity seemingly effectively halted later that century. It would be suppressed in 1847, apparently vacant since 1765, as its faithful had fled the country during the devastating wars between the
Ottomans and
Safavids. The Armenian historian
Zacharia of Kanaker, used the name Kasagh to refer to Aparan during the 17th century. Starting from the 18th century, Aparan became known as
Bash-Aparan in Persian and Turkic documents. Bash-Aparan was the centre of the
Aparan Mahal (district) of the
Erivan Khanate of Persia. During that time, it had no settled population of
Armenians or
Muslims due to it being located on the northern frontier in a frequent war zone. The mahal was claimed by
Turkic nomads of the
Büyuk-chobankara tribe, who used it as land for their pastures and temporary settlements. On July 8, 1826, the town of Bash-Aparan was captured from the Khanate (under
Qajar suzerainty) by the Russian army. In 1828, after the
Russo-Persian War, Aparan was among the lands that were handed over to the
Russian Empire as a result of the
Treaty of Turkmenchay signed on 21 February 1828.
Modern history During the years of the
Armenian genocide, many Armenian refuge families arrived in Bash-Aparan from the Western Armenian cities of
Van,
Mush,
Alashkert and
Karin between 1914 and 1918. Many other families had also arrived from the Eastern Armenian town of
Khoy. The town was the site of the
Battle of Abaran against the
Turkish army on May 21, 1918, during the
Caucasus Campaign of
World War I, when the Turkish invasion of the newly independent
Republic of Armenia was turned around. During the brief period of independence, Bash-Aparan became a
gavar (administrative district) of Armenia. Under the Soviet rule, the
Bash-Aparan raion was founded in 1930. In 1935, the name was officially changed to Aparan. In 1963, Aparan was granted with the status of an
urban-type settlement. An impressive monument to the Battle of Abaran was erected in 1978 just north of the town, designed by architect
Rafael Israelyan. Following the independence of Armenia from the
Soviet Union, Aparan was given the status of a town within the
Aragatsotn Province, as per the administrative reforms of 1995. ==Geography==