Welcome to the kingdom of Ethiune

Lchashan

During the rule of the Artashisians and the Arshakunis (II - V centuries BC), the upper basin of the Hrazdan River, including Lchashen and its surroundings, was included in the Varazhnunik province of the Airarat province of the Greater Hayk kingdom, where the Varazhnunis ruled. According to the historian Movses Khorenatsi (5th century), this dynasty was founded by Varazh, the son of Prince Dat, descended from the lineage of the patriarch Gegham, to whom King Artashes I donated the province on the banks of the Hrazdan River for his brave deeds. After the fall of the Arshakuni royal dynasty, especially during the Arab rule (VII-IX centuries), the power of the Varazhnuniks ended, and the Varazhnunik province was called Tsaghkotn province or Tsaghkunyats valley. During the Bagratunya kingdom (IX-XI centuries), the famous Pahlavunis ruled here, and in the Sevan basin itself, also in Lchashen, the Syunyat princes ruled. Lchashen is experiencing development, which is significantly facilitated by the Dvin-Partav trade caravan route that passes through the village and is part of the Great Silk Road. Starting from Dvin, it went up to Lchashen along the banks of the Hrazdan River, then turned to the commercial "free city" Berdkunk, reached the famous town of Kot, passed through the Sotki mountain pass to Artsakh and entered Partav, the capital of Aghvank.

Thanks to its favorable location, the village experienced a rise in the following centuries. during the tsarist rule, it was involved in the system of transit roads Yerevan-Tiflis and Yerevan-Nor Bayazet. According to the famous ethnographer Yervand Lalayan, at the beginning of the 20th century, the village had wide streets, beautiful one-story and two-story houses, and shops.

Being at the crossroads of important roads and being close to Sevan Island, Lchashen has always attracted the attention of various conquerors, becoming a zone of military movements and bloody battles. Let's remember the raids of the kings of Van through Lchashen to the Sevan basin, the military movement of King Artashes I through the Sevan basin to the capital Yervandashat, the raids of various Arab armies, Seljuks, Mongols and other nomadic tribes to the Sevan basin and Sevan Island in the Middle Ages.  

XVIII c. As a result of the Turkish-Persian wars and the conquests of various Muslim tribes, the basin of Lake Sevan, as well as Lchashen, were emptied of the Armenian population. XIX c. At the beginning, when Eastern Armenia came under Russian rule, the population is returning. Armenians who migrated from Maku (mainly Khalfalu village), Bayazet and Diadin settled in Lchashen, who spoke Bayazet dialect flavored with elements of Maku speech. After the establishment of Soviet rule in Armenia, in the 1920s and 1930s, the Sevan Lake basin underwent a series of administrative territorial changes. In 1937, the region of Sevan was formed, which included Lchashen. The village has considerable success in the socio-economic and educational and cultural arenas. milk processing, soft drinks and bread factories, livestock farms, and a carpet factory are established.

Currently, Lchashen is located in the Gegharkunik Marz of the Republic of Armenia. The village preserves its best traditions, zealously engages in the honorable work of preserving and popularizing the rich cultural heritage.