Garni is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

, situated approximately 28 km southeast from Yerevan

Yerevan

Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...

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The village is rich in history. The area was first occupied in the 3rd millennium BC along easily defensible terrain at one of the bends of the Azat River

Azat River

The Azat is a river in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. Its source is on the western slope of the Geghama mountains. It flows through Garni, Lanjazat and Arevshat. It flows into the Aras near Artashat.-See also:*Rivers and lakes in Armenia...

. In the 8th century BC the area was conquered by the Urartian

Urartu

Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....

 King Argishti I

Argishtis I of Urartu

Argishti I was the sixth known king of Urartu, reigning from 785 BC to 763 BC. He founded the citadel of Erebuni in 782 BC, which is the present capital of Armenia, Yerevan....

. The fortification at Garni was erected probably sometime in the 3rd century BC as a summer residence for the Armenian Orontid and Artaxiad royal dynasties.