Site Background
Yerevan Fortress was one of the most important military and administrative centers of the South Caucasus and repeatedly stood under Iranian rule, reflecting Armenia’s long incorporation into the Iranian imperial world. The fortress was first significantly developed under the Safavid Empire in the early 16th century, after Shah Ismail I incorporated Eastern Armenia into Safavid Iran. From 1502 onward, Yerevan became the capital of the Erivan Beglarbegi (later Erivan Khanate) and remained under Safavid control for most of the 16th and 17th centuries, despite repeated Ottoman–Safavid wars. During this period, the fortress was rebuilt and strengthened, and Yerevan functioned as a key Iranian frontier stronghold.
After a brief Ottoman occupation, Iranian control was restored under Nader Shah and the Afsharid Empire in the 1730s, followed by continued Iranian rule under the Qajar Empire from the late 18th century. In total, Yerevan Fortress was under the authority of Iranian dynasties for roughly three centuries, serving as the political and military heart of Iranian administration in Eastern Armenia until 1827, when it was captured by Russian forces during the Russo-Persian War. The fortress thus embodies the deep historical layers of Iranian governance in Armenia and illustrates how Yerevan developed within an Iranian imperial framework before becoming part of the Russian Empire.
Yerevan History Museum, located near Republic Square, showcases the city’s development from ancient times to the modern era. Its exhibits highlight periods when Yerevan was under Persian (Safavid and Qajar) rule, featuring artifacts, documents, and maps that illustrate the city’s political, cultural, and economic ties with Iran.
Pre-Visit Activities (Bus Session)
Instructors provide an overview of Yerevan’s historical development, explain Persian influences, and review relevant Persian vocabulary. Students may ask clarifying questions and preview discussion topics.
On-Site Activities
Students participate in guided tours, interactive discussions, and reflection in Persian. Visits conclude with a Q&A session to consolidate historical knowledge and language learning.
To be confirmed: Watching “Cup of Salvation” by Vahe Keushkarian
Cup of Salvation is a personal documentary about memory, exile, and cultural survival told through wine. The film follows Vahe Keushguerian, an Armenian winemaker born in Syria and raised in the Armenian community of Lebanon, who later lived in Italy and the United States before settling in Armenia. Although not Iranian by birth, Vahe’s work is deeply connected to Iranian wine heritage, shaped by long-standing Armenian ties to Iran and the region’s shared viticultural history.
A central episode recounts how Vahe traveled to Iran to smuggle indigenous Iranian grape varieties into Armenia, aiming to preserve a wine culture that could no longer be practiced openly in Iran. In Armenia, he produced Iranian wine in exile, naming it Moulana, after Jalal ad-Din Rumi, as a symbolic link to Persian spiritual and cultural heritage.
The film uses this journey to explore how traditions survive displacement and how taste carries memory across borders. A meeting with Vahe Keushguerian adds a living dimension to the story, offering first-hand insight into cultural rescue, the ethics of preservation, and Armenia’s role as a refuge where displaced traditions can take root again.