as the location where Gregory the Illuminator was to be imprisoned by Trdat the Great) and added other fortifications, including a moat. During the reign of Tigranes II, the Armenian kingdom expanded and conquered many territories in the south and west, ultimately reaching the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the remoteness of Artashat in the greater context of the empire, Tigranes built a new capital called Tigranakert. However, in 69 the Roman general Lucullus invaded Armenia, defeated Tigranes' forces at the outskirts of Tigranakert, and sacked the new capital. As the harassed Roman forces continued to move northeast in pursuit of the Armenian king, a second prominent battle took place, this time at Artashat where, according to Roman sources, Tigranes II was defeated once again. Artashat was restored as capital of Armenia in 60 B.C. In 449, just before the Battle of Avarayr, the city witnessed the "Artashat Council" where the political and religious leaders of Christian Armenia gathered to discuss the threats of the Persian Sassanian king Yazdegerd II. However, after losing its status as a capital to Vagharshapat and later Dvin, Artashat gradually lost its significance. The exact location of ancient Artashat was identified during the 1920s, with archaeological excavations beginning in 1970. The archaeological site of Ancient Artashat is south of the modern city of Artashat, near the monastery of Khor Virap. Modern history The modern town of Artashat was founded by the Soviet government in 1945 as an urban community, with the merger of three villages: Upper Ghamarlu, Lower Ghamarlu and Novruzlu, with Upper Ghamarlu being the largest one. It was named after the historical city of Artashat, located 8 km northwest of the modern town. Until the 1920s, Upper Ghamarlu had many small manufacturers of Armenian cognac. During the Soviet Days, the town has gradually grown as an industrial hub, mainly in the sphere of food-processing and building materials production. In 1970, Artashat was given the status of a "city of republican subordination" within the Armenian SSR. In 1995, with the new law of the territorial administration of the Republic of Armenia, Artashat became the provincial centre of the newly formed Ararat Province. Geography Artashat is situated at the east of the central part of modern-day Armenia, occupying the southeastern part of the Ararat plain, only 3.5 km east of Araks river on the Armenia-Turkey border. At an approximate height of 830 meters above sea level,