Ararat Province

Ararat Արարատ
Province
From the top, View of Mount Ararat from the Ararat Plain, Surp Hovhannes Church in Artashat, Havuts Tar, Khosrov Forest, Khor Virap
Location of Ararat within Armenia
Coordinates: 39°55′N 44°43′E / 39.917°N 44.717°E / 39.917; 44.717
Country	Armenia
Capital and largest city	Artashat
Government
• Governor	Sedrak Tevonyan[2]
Area
• Total	2,090 km2 (810 sq mi)
• Rank	9th
Population  (2022)
• Total	248,982[1]
• Estimate  (1 January 2019)	256,700[3]
• Rank	3rd
Time zone	AMT (UTC+04)
Postal code	0601-0823
ISO 3166 code	AM.AR
FIPS 10-4	AM02
HDI (2017)	0.728[4] high · 8th
Website	Official website

Ararat (Armenian: Արարատ, Armenian pronunciation: [ɑɾɑˈɾɑt] ^ⓘ) is a province (marz) of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is the town of Artashat.

The province is named after the biblical Mount Ararat. It is bordered by Turkey from the west and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from the south. It surrounds the Karki exclave of Nakhichevan which has been controlled by Armenia since its capture in May 1992 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Domestically, Ararat is bordered by Armavir Province from the northwest, Kotayk Province from the north, Gegharkunik Province from the east, Vayots Dzor Province from the southeast and the city of Yerevan from the north.

Two former capitals of Armenia are located in the modern-day Ararat Province, Artaxata and Dvin. It is also home to the Khor Virap monastery, significant as the place of Gregory the Illuminator's 13-year imprisonment and the closest point to Mount Ararat within Armenian borders.