Artashat () is a town and administrative centre of the Artashat Municipality and the Ararat Province of Armenia. It is located on the Araks River in the Ararat plain, 30 km southeast of Yerevan. Artashat was founded in 1945 by the Soviet government of Armenia and named after the nearby ancient city of Artashat. Modern Artashat is on the Yerevan-Nakhchivan-Baku and Nakhchivan-Tabriz railway and on Yerevan-Goris-Stepanakert highway. The name of the city is derived from Iranian languages and means the "joy of Arta". Founded by King Artashes I in 176 BC, ancient Artashat served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia from 185 BC until 120 AD, and was known as the "Vostan Hayots" or "court" or "seal of the Armenians". The town of Artashat is northwest of the ancient city of Artashat. As of the 2011 census, the population of Artashat was 22,269. As per the 2016 official estimate, the town has a population of 18,700. Etymology Modern Artashat is located around 8 km north of the ancient city of Artashat. Ancient Artashat itself is named after king Artashes; the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. The name of the city is derived from Iranian languages and means the "joy of Arta". Founded by King Artaxias I in 176 BC, Artaxata served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia from 185 BC until 120 AD, and was known as the "Vostan Hayots" ("court/seal of the Armenians. History Antiquity King Artashes I founded Artashat in 176 BC in the Vostan Hayots canton within the historical province of Ayrarat, at the point where Araks river was joined by Metsamor river during that ancient eras, near the heights of Khor Virap. The story of the foundation is given by the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi of the fifth century: "Artashes traveled to the location of the confluence of the Yeraskh and Metsamor [rivers] and taking a liking to the position of the hills [adjacent to Mount Ararat], he chose it as the location of his new city, naming it after himself." According to the accounts given by Greek historians Plutarch and Strabo, Artashat is said to have been chosen and developed on the advice of the Carthaginian general Hannibal. However, modern historians argue that there is no direct evidence to support this. Artashes also built a citadel (which was later named Khor Virap and gained prominence