Maralik () is a town in the Ani Municipality of the Shirak Province at the northwest of Armenia. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 5,398, down from 5,782 reported in the 2001 census. As per the 2016 official estimate, the population of Maralik is around 5,500. Etymology Maralik literally means little deer in the Armenian language. According to a local traditional legend, every year on the feast of Saint Stephen, a mountain deer was willingly approaching to the Saint Stephen Monastery of the town to be sacrificed. The villagers were catching the deer and sacrificing it in honor of Saint Stephen. However, once a hunter killed the deer with his rifle. Since then, no more deers were seen in the area. Maral and Maralik are common feminine names in the Armenian diaspora. History Historically, Maralik has been part of the Shirak canton of the ancient Ayrarat province of Greater Armenia. During the reign of the Arsacid dynasty (52-428 AD) and later under Sasanid Persia (428-651), the area of Maralik was ruled by the Kamsarakan Armenian noble family. With the Arab invasion of Armenia in 654, the region was granted to the Bagratid dynasty, who founded the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia later in 885. Under the Bagratid rule, many religious and educational complexes were built in the area of present-day Maralik, according to inscriptions found among the remains of medieval Armenian churches and khachkars of the 9th and 11th centuries. After the fall of Armenia to the Byzantine Empire in 1045 and later to the Seljuk invaders in 1064, the entire region of Shirak entered an era of downfall in all aspects. With the establishment of the Zakarid Principality of Armenia in 1201 under the Georgian protectorate, the region of Shirak, entered into a new period of growth and stability. After the Mongols captured Ani in 1236, Zakarid Armenia turned into a Mongol protectorate as part of the Ilkhanate. After the fall of the Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century, the Zakarid princes controlled over Shirak until 1360 when they fell to the invading Turkic tribes. By the last quarter of the 14th century, the Aq Qoyunlu Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribe took over Armenia, including Shirak. In 1400, Timur invaded Armenia and Georgia, and captured more than 60,000 of the survived local people as slaves. Many districts including Shirak were depopulated. In 1410, Armenia fell under the