Gyumri is one of the oldest localities in Armenia. The region of Gyumri is
mentioned in different Urartian inscriptions since the 8th century BC. The
first settlement at the location occupied by today's city of Gyumri is believed
to have been founded some time in the 5th century BC, perhaps ca. 401 BC,
by Greek colonists. An alternative theory suggests that the city was founded by
Cimmerians, based on the fact that
