ԱՐՑԱԽԻ ԹԱՂԱՎԱՐԴ ՏԵՂԱՆՈՒՆԸ

The earliest attestation of the toponym Taghavard, from Artsakh’s Martuni region, dates back to the 17th century. This coincided with the founding of Avetaranots, the settlement of Varanda’s rulers Melik-Shahnazaryan. Taghavard is located on the right bank of the Köndalan river and to the roads to Avetaranots. This article discusses the identical meaning of river-name Köndalan with the place-name Taghavard and the important role for its interpretation. Taghavard’s geographic location and its function as an entrance to Melik’s settlement deduced the meaning of the toponym as a “corridor pavilion.”