Ashtarakball

Ashtarakball is a cityball and capitalball of Armenia's Aragatsotn marz. In Armenian his name means tower or fortress

History
Back when Armenia can into kingdom, Ashtarakball was a part of the Aragatsotn canton of the Ayrarat province. He was one of the oldest settlements in Armenia. At the beggining of the 16th century Ashtarakball was a part of Safavid dynastyball. A century later he was rebuilt. He was part of the Erivan Khanateball during the Afsharid dynastyball and later Qajar dyanasty. When Russian Empireball and Persiaball were fighting over the caucasus, Ashtarakball became a battlefield which resulted a Perian victory. Russia wanted a rematch and won. After World War I Ashtarakball became a part of the first republic of Armenia. In 1995 Ashtarak became the capital of Aragatsotn marz. Many Armenians came to Ashtarakball from Javakhk and middle eastern countries. Eventually Armenians from Syriaball cam to escape Evil. He has a lot of churches and monuments. Now he celebrates the walnut festival every year.