Editing Yerevan (section)

===Ancient Kingdom of Armenia===
{{see also|Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)}}
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2023}}
After [[Alexander the Great]]'s victory over the Achaemenid Empire, the Orontid rulers of the Armenian satrapy achieved independence as a result of the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC, founding the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]]. With the establishment of new cities such as [[Armavir (ancient city)|Armavir]], Zarehavan, [[Bagaran (ancient city)|Bagaran]] and [[Yervandashat (ancient city)|Yervandashat]], the importance of Erebuni gradually declined.

With the rise of the [[Artaxiad dynasty]] of Armenia who seized power in 189 BC, the Kingdom of Armenia greatly expanded to include major territories of [[Asia Minor]], [[Atropatene]], [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]], [[Phoenicia]] and [[Syria (region)|Syria]]. The Artaxiads considered Erebuni and Tushpa as cities of Persian heritage. Consequently, new cities and commercial centres were built by Kings [[Artaxias I]], [[Artavasdes I of Armenia|Artavasdes I]] and [[Tigranes the Great]]. Thus, with the dominance of cities such as [[Artaxata]] and [[Tigranocerta]], Erebuni significantly lost its importance as a central city.
[[File:Sb Astvatsatsin Chapel, Avan, Yerevan1.JPG|thumb|The ruins of the 4th-century Holy Mother of God Chapel in Avan, north of Yerevan]]

Under the rule of the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia]] (54–428 AD), many other cities around Erebuni including [[Vagharshapat]] and [[Dvin (ancient city)|Dvin]] flourished. Consequently, Erebuni was completely neutralized, losing its role as an economic and strategic centre of Armenia. During the period of the Arsacid kings, Erebuni was only recorded in a [[Manichaeism|Manichaean]] text of the 3rd century, where it is mentioned that one of the disciples of the prophet [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]] founded a [[Manichaeism|Manichaean]] community near the Christian community in Erebuni.

According to the medieval Armenian geography ''[[Ashkharhatsuyts]]'', Erebuni was part of the canton ({{Transliteration|xcl|gawaṙ}}) of Kotayk (not to be confused with the current Kotayk Province) of the province of [[Ayrarat]], within Armenia Major.

Armenia became a Christian nation in the early 4th century AD, during the reign of the Arsacid king [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Tiridates III]].