Norashen, Ararat

The 893 Dvin earthquake occurred on 28 December at around midnight. It had a magnitude of approximately 6 and a maximum intensity of approximately IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It destroyed the city of Dvin in Armenia, causing approximately 30,000 casualties. The similarity of the Arabic name for Dvin, 'Dabil' to Ardabil in northwestern Iran, has caused confusion in written records, such that the 893 Ardabil earthquake appears in several catalogues, although it is generally regarded as a false event. It was also recorded as an event during the classical period of India in several early catalogues at an unspecified capital.

Verin Artashat (Armenian: Վերին Արտաշատ) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia. It sits adjacent to the ruins of the ancient city of Dvin.

Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya (Armenian: Արմինիա ոստիկանություն, Arminia vostikanut'yun) or the Emirate of Armenia (Arabic: إمارة أرمينية, imārat armīniya), was a political and geographic designation given by the Muslim Arabs to the lands of Greater Armenia, Caucasian Iberia, and Caucasian Albania, following their conquest of these regions in the 7th century. Though the caliphs initially permitted an Armenian prince to represent the province of Arminiya in exchange for tribute and the Armenians' loyalty during times of war, Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan introduced direct Arab rule of the region, headed by an ostikan with his capital in Dvin. According to the historian Stephen H. Rapp in the third edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam:Early Arabs followed Sāsānian, Parthian Arsacid, and ultimately Achaemenid practice by organising most of southern Caucasia into a large regional zone called Armīniya (cf. the Achaemenid satrapy of Armina covering much of southern Caucasia and the subsequent Kūst-i Kapkōh of the Sāsānians).

Dvin (Classical Armenian: Դուին Duin or Դվին Dvin) was a large commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia. It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia, the city of Artaxata, along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan. The site of the ancient city is currently not much more than a large hill located between modern Hnaberd (just off the main road through Hnaberd) and Verin Dvin, Armenia. Excavations at Dvin since 1937 have produced an abundance of materials, which have shed light on the Armenian culture of the 5th to the 13th centuries.

Dvin (Armenian: Դվին) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia. It is located near the ruins of the ancient city of Dvin.

Hnaberd (Armenian: Հնաբերդ) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia.

Verin Dvin (Armenian: Վերին Դվին) is a village in the Verin Dvin Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia, located 30 kilometers south of Yerevan. The largest Assyrian community in Armenia is in Verin Dvin, where around 2,000 out of the 2,700 residents in the village are ethnic Assyrians. The village is home to 2 Assyrian churches including the church of Mar Tuma (Saint Thomas) dating back to 1828. The village is built near the ruins of the ancient city of Dvin. The secondary school of the village has a majority of ethnic Assyrian students and provides lessons in Assyrian history and language.

Narek (Armenian: Նարեկ) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia. In 1984, the town was named after Grigor Narekatsi. Narek was also a village in Western Armenia (Eastern Anatolia).

Berdik (Armenian: Բերդիկ) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia.

Aygestan (Armenian: Այգեստան) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia.

Kaghtsrashen (Armenian: Քաղցրաշեն) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia.

Mrganush (Armenian: Մրգանուշ) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia.