AŠTIŠAD

AŠTIŠAD. – An ancient city of Armenia, in the province of Duruperan, on the Arazani, a tributary of the Euphrates, very famous in pagan antiquity as a sacred city; it was the center of the cults of the deities of pre-Christian Armenia, hence the name: afd, šad “city of reconciliation.” In Christian Armenia too, A. retained its foremost place as the center of the worship of the new true religion; there the first church of Christian Armenia was built through the work of St. Gregorio Illuminatore. A. was also renowned for its great sanctuaries.