

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 arrived in the area.

Under Iranian and Russian rule, it was the center of the Erivan Khanate from 1736 to 1828 and the Erivan Governorate from 1850 to 1917, respectively.

Erebuni was "designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital." By the late ancient Armenian Kingdom, new capital cities were established and Yerevan declined in importance. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BCE, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BCE by King Argishti I of Urartu at the western extreme of the Ararat Plain. The city also serves as the seat of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese, which is the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world. It has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat Plain. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country, as its primate city. Yerevan ( UK: / ˌ j ɛr ə ˈ v æ n/ YERR-ə- VAN, US: /- ˈ v ɑː n/ - VAHN, Armenian: Երևան ( listen), sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.
