Vedi
Coordinates: 39°54′38″N 44°43′40″E / 39.91056°N 44.72778°E / 39.91056; 44.72778
Vedi (Armenian: Վեդի), is a town in the Ararat Province of Armenia, located along the Vedi river, 50 kilometres (31 miles) south of the capital Yerevan, and 18 50 kilometres (31 miles) southeast of the provincial centre Artashat. According to the 2011 census, the population of the town is 11,384.
Etymology
The name Vedi is derived from the Arabic word wadi (Arabic: وادي), meaning valley. It may has been incorporated to Armenian through the Persian language.
History
The territory of Vedi has been settled since the Urartian period. However, the name Vedi was first mentioned during the 13th century by historian Stephen Orbelian in his book History of the Province of Syunik.
Vedi has been a large settlement until the 17th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, the settlement was known as Verin Vedi (Upper Vedi). At that time, the town had around 250 families with a majority of Cucasian Tatars (95%) and a minority of Armenians (5%). However, after signing the Treaty of Turkmenchay by Persia and the Russian Empire in 1828, Vedi became part of Russia, and around 500 Armenians were allowed to move from Maku in Persia to Vedi. In 1849, it was incorporated into the Erivan Governorate. In 1918, it has become a separate gavar (district). 1929, it was turned into a rayon and the town was named Böyuk Vedi within the Armenian SSR. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Armenian population became majority in Böyuk Vedi. In 1962, it was turned into an urban-type settlement and named Vedi. After the independence of Armenia, the settlement was given the status of a town in 1996.
