The ancient city of Dvin was built by
Khosrov III Kotak in 335 on a site of an ancient settlement and fortress from the 3rd millennium BC. Since then, the city had been used as the primary residence of the Armenian Kings of the
Arsacid dynasty. Dvin boasted a population of about 100,000 citizens in various professions, including arts and crafts, trade, fishing, etc. After the fall of the
Armenian Kingdom in 428, Dvin became the residence of
Sassanid appointed
marzpans (governors), Byzantine
kouropalates and later
Umayyad- and
Abbasid-appointed
ostikans (governors). Under Arsacid rule, Dvin prospered as one of the most populous and wealthiest cities east of
Constantinople. Its prosperity continued even after the
partition of Armenia between Romans and Sasanids, when it became the provincial capital of
Persian Armenia, and eventually it became a target during the height of the
Early Muslim conquests. The palace at Dvin contained a Zoroastrian fire-temple. According to
Sebeos and Catholicos
John V the Historian, Dvin was captured by the
Arabs in 640 during the reign of
Constans II and Catholicos Ezra. During the
Arab conquest of Armenia, Dvin was captured and pillaged in 640, in the first raids. On January 6, 642 the Arabs stormed and took the city, with many deaths. Dvin became the center of the Muslim province of
Arminiya, the Arabs called the city Dabil. Although Armenia was a
battleground between Arabs and Byzantine forces for the next two centuries, in the 9th century it still flourished. Frequent earthquakes and continued warfare led to the decline of the city from the beginning of the 10th century. During a major
earthquake in 893, the city was destroyed, along with most of its 70,000 inhabitants. '' Following a devastating
Buyid raid in 1021, which sacked the city, Dvin was captured by the
Kurdish Shaddadids of
Ganja, and ruled by
Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl, who successfully defended it against three
Byzantine attacks in the latter half of the 1040s. In 1046, Byzantine forces under
Constantine IX Monomachos attacked Dvin. The
Byzantines assembled a large force under the command of
Michael Iasites and
Constantine the Alan and allied with the
Armenians under the command of Vahram Pahlavuni and Liparit Orbelean. To defend the city, the
Shaddadid ruler Abu'l-Aswar flooded the surrounding fields, limiting the attacking army's mobility and causing it to fall victim to defenders' arrows. The attackers were completely broken by the
Kurds, and Vahram was killed. In 1064, the
Seljuk Turks occupied the city. The
Shaddadids continued to rule the city as Seljuk vassals until the Georgian King
George III conquered the city in 1173. In 1201–1203, during the reign of
Queen Tamar, the city was again under Georgian rule. It was captured by
Jalal al-Din Mangburni in 1225. Rule of
Khwarezmian Empire lasted till
Battle of Yassıçemen in 1230. After the battle, Georgians regained it. In 1236, the city was conquered and completely destroyed by
Mongols. Dvin was the birthplace of
Najm ad-Din Ayyub and
Asad ad-Din Shirkuh bin Shadhi,
Kurdish generals in the service of the
Seljuk Zengids; Najm ad-Din Ayyub's son,
Saladin, was the founder of the
Ayyubid dynasty. Saladin was born in
Tikrit, Modern Iraq, but his family had originated from the ancient city of Dvin. ==Cathedral of St. Grigor==