Artaxata

Artaxata was the royal capital of the Armenian Artaxiad kingdom, situated in the Araxes valley beneath Mount Ararat, roughly 30 kilometers south of Yerevan. Ancient sources claim it was founded in the early 2nd century BC on the advice of Hannibal, who had sought refuge at the Armenian court after his flight from Carthage — a detail that historians debate but cannot dismiss. The city grew into a major node of Hellenistic culture in the South Caucasus, serving Armenian kings for several centuries before the Roman general Corbulo razed it in 58 AD on orders from Nero. By the 4th century AD it had lost its status as a royal seat permanently. Today the site consists largely of earthen mounds and scattered wall remnants, first systematically excavated during the Soviet era and still yielding archaeological finds.