Tavush Province

Tavush ( [tɑˈvuʃ], Armenian Տավուշի մարզ, in scientific transliteration Tavovši marz, translated province of Tavush; alternative transcriptions Tavush or Tavush) is a province in northeastern Armenia. The province has an area of 2704 km².

Tavush is home to 112,920 people (as of 2011). The capital is Ijevan. Other cities are Dilijan and the former urban-type settlements of Ajrum, Berd and Nojemberjan, which were elevated to cities in the 1990s. In addition to these five urban municipalities, there are 57 rural municipalities with a total of 62 villages; the largest villages (each with a population of over 2,000) are Ajgehowit, Arzwaberd, Asatamut (also an urban-type settlement until the 1990s), Atschadschur, Bagrataschen, Berdawan, Gandsakar, Hagharzin and Koghb (as of 2011).

Tavush borders Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan from the northeast to the southeast, enclosing the Azerbaijani exclaves of Barxudarlı and Yuxarı Əskipara, which were occupied by Armenia in 1992 in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Armenian province of Lori adjoins to the west, Kotajk province to the southwest on a short section, and Gegharkunik province to the south.

The province was formed during the administrative reorganization in the framework of the decentralization in 1995 from the rajons of Ijevan, Nojemberjan and Tavush (until 1990 Shamshadin), which had existed in the ArmenianSSR of the Soviet Union since 1930/1937, as well as the rajon-free cities of Dilijan and Ijevan.

In the province are the ruins of the monasteries of Samsonavank, Kirants and Aghavnavank.