(Vostan Dvin), a major artisan and commercial city, center for transit of goods in Armenia from the fourth century to the 13th. Located 35 km south of Yerevan.

In the 330’s, the Armenian rulers, the Arsacids, built a fortress in Dvin and moved their residence there. After the fall of the Armenian Empire in 428. Dvin became the home of Armenia’s Persian rulers, and in 640. the center of the Arabemirate of Armenia. In 1236, Dvin was razed by the Mongols.

Systematic excavations of Dvin, including the fortress, the urban quarters, and the suburbs, have been under way since 1937. They offer much material on the culture of Armenia, of the fifth century to the I3th. Uncovered in the fortress were ruins of the palaces of the Armenian rulers, constructed after the earthquake of 893 (with ruins of palatial structures of the fourth century through the ninth under them), potters’ studios, and the apartments of functionaries, dating from the tenth century through the 13th. Also uncovered in the center of the city were remains of a cathedral which had been rebuilt in the seventh century from a basilica-like pagan temple of the third century, the palace of the Armenian catholicos (fifth century), a basilican church (sixth century), and the structure of a large caravansary (sixth century). Among the discoveries were artisan quarters, including workshops for pottery, glazed earthenware, glass-blowing, weaving, carpet-making, and jewelry, as well as residential homes, a system of water pipes, wine cellars, storehouses, and baths.