Erebuni Fortress

Erebuni Fortress () also known as Arin Berd (; meaning the "Fortress of Blood") is a fortified city from the ancient kingdom of Urartu, located in what is present-day Yerevan, Armenia. It was one of several fortresses built along the northern Urartian border and was one of the most important political, economic and cultural centers of the vast kingdom. The name Yerevan itself is derived from Erebuni.

Etymology

On an inscription found at Karmir Blur, the verb erebu-ni is used in the sense of "to seize, pillage, steal, or kidnap" followed by a changing direct object. As an unchanging direct object, scholars have conjectured that the word may also mean "to take" or "to capture" and thus believe that the Erebuni at the time of its founding meant "capture", "conquest", or "victory."Israelyan. Erebuni, pp. 12-13.

The Circassian historian Amjad Jaimoukha gives an alternative etymology,Jaimoukha, Amjad. The Chechens: A Handbook. Page 29. Available at Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=PnjAlei9fe0C&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=Dvals+Nakh&source=bl&ots=cBdFzCg2sy&sig=bdh7fSoSDfDFUb_DrlkA1PmpA6A&hl=en&ei=dn4bTMHAIYSBlAeZ593mCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false however: eri (referring to the Èrs, the people living in the area) + buni. Buni...
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