Odzun

{{Infobox settlement |official_name = Odzun |native_name = Օձուն |native_name_lang = hy |image_skyline = Odzoun-Vue générale (1).jpg |pushpin_map = Armenia |mapsize = 150px |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{Flag|Armenia}} |subdivision_type1 = [[Administrative divisions of Armenia|Province]] |subdivision_name1 = [[Lori Province|Lori]] |population_footnotes = <ref name="2011census">{{Cite web|url=https://www.armstat.am/file/article/1._bajin_1_182-311.pdf|title=The results of the 2011 Population Census of the Republic of Armenia|author=[[Statistical Committee of Armenia]]}}</ref> |population_as_of = [[Census in Armenia|2011]] |population_total = 4,048<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/armenia/lori/|title=Lori (Armenia): Towns and Villages in Municipalities|website=www.citypopulation.de|access-date=2025-04-18}}</ref> |area_total_km2 = 5.32 |timezone = [[Armenia Time|AMT]] |utc_offset = +4 |coordinates = {{coord|41|03|14|N|44|36|41|E|region:AM|display=inline,title}} |elevation_m = 1100 }}

'''Odzun''' ({{langx|hy|Օձուն}}) is a village in the [[Lori Province]] of [[Armenia]]. It is situated on a [[plateau]] above the left bank of the [[Debed]] river [[gorge]], about a thousand metres above the Yerevan–Tbilisi highway, a few kilometres south of the town of [[Alaverdi, Armenia|Alaverdi]]. It is famous for the 5th–7th century [[Odzun Church]], an Armenian [[basilica]] with a [[cupola]], overlooking the gorge.

== Toponymy == According to one explanation, the name of the village derives from the Armenian word {{Lang|hy-Latn|odz}} 'snake'; thus, ''Odzun'' means 'having many snakes' or 'place of snakes'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harutyunyan |first=Sargis |title=Hay aṛaspelabanutʻyun |publisher=Hamazkayin |year=2000 |location=Beirut |pages=236 |language=hy |script-title=hy:Հայ առասպելաբանություն |trans-title=''Armenian mythology'' |oclc=45792779}}</ref> The name of the village is attested in various forms, such as ''Otsun'', ''Ozun'', ''Adzun'' and ''Udzun''. Turkic speakers called the village ''Uzunlar'', formed by [[etymological reinterpretation]] of the Armenian name (''uzun'' means 'tall' or 'long', and ''-lar'' is a plural-forming suffix).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hakobyan |first=T. Kh. |author-link=Tadevos Hakobyan |title=Hayastani ev harakitsʻ shrjanneri teghanunneri baṛaran |last2=Melik-Bakhshyan |first2=S. T. |last3=Barseghyan |first3=H. Kh. |publisher=[[Yerevan State University|Erevani hamalsarani hratarakchʻutʻyun]] |year=2001 |volume=5 |pages=[http://nayiri.com/imagedDictionaryBrowser.jsp?dictionaryId=61&dt=HY_HY&pageNumber=4371 473]–475 |language=hy |script-title=hy:Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան |trans-title=Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories |chapter=Odzun |script-chapter=hy:Օձուն}}</ref> The village was officially known by this latter name from the beginning of the 19th century until 1967,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Shakhkian |first=G. |title=Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran |title-link=Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Armenian Encyclopedia Publishing House|Haykakan hanragitarani glkhavor khmbagrutʻyun]] |year=1986 |editor-last=Arzumanian |editor-first=Makich |editor-link= |volume=12 |location=Erevan |page=[https://hy.wikisource.org/wiki/%D4%B7%D5%BB:%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%8D%D5%B8%D5%BE%D5%A5%D5%BF%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B6%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%A3%D5%AB%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B6_(Soviet_Armenian_Encyclopedia)_12.djvu/540 540] |pages= |language=hy |script-title=hy:Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան |trans-title=Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia |chapter=Odzun |script-chapter=hy:Օձուն}}</ref> when it was renamed ''Odzun''.<ref name=":0" />

== History == [[File:12 Օձունի տաճար Emma YSU.jpg|thumb|[[Odzun Church]]|left]] In antiquity, Odzun was located in the Tashir district of the province of [[Gugark]].<ref name=":0" /> It is mentioned in written sources from the 8th century onward and is one of the oldest settlements in the district of Tashir. In the early medieval period, it served as the center of that district.<ref name=":1" /> The 8th-century head of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Church]], Catholicos {{Ill|John of Odzun|hy|Հովհան Գ Օձնեցի}} (Hovhan Odznetsi), hailed from this village. In the 13th century, [[Vardan Areveltsi]] referred to the settlement as a large village or small town ({{Lang|xcl-Latn|avan}}). There are antiquities from various periods in the village and its vicinity. The [[Odzun Church]], an Armenian [[basilica]] with a [[cupola]], is located in the center of the village. There was once an extensive cemetery with [[Khachkar|''khachkars'']] surrounding the church. The date of the church's construction is disputed. According to some authors, it was constructed in the 8th century and consecrated by John of Odzun, while others believe it was built as early as the end of the 6th century and later renovated by Catholicos John. Near the church is a funerary monument with carved images dating to the 5th–6th centuries, but which tradition attributes to one of the [[Bagratid Armenia|Bagratid kings]]. The remains of a 5th-century single-[[nave]] church called Tsaghkavank are located on the outskirts of the village.<ref name=":0" />

== Geography == === Topography === The village is situated on a high plateau on the left bank of the [[Debed|Debed River]]. It is spread out and surrounded by fruit trees and fertile fields. The village receives its drinking water from a source located {{convert|17|–|18|km|sp=us}} away.<ref name=":0" />

=== Climate === {{Weather box | location = Odzun (1991–2020) | source = NOAA<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Armenia/CSV/Odzun_37627.csv |title=World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020: Odzun-37627 |website=ncei.noaa.gov |access-date=10 March 2024 |publisher=[[NOAA|National Oceanic and Atmosoheric Administration]] |no-pp=y |type=Excel |format=CSV |postscript=.}}</ref> | metric first = Y | single line = Y | collapsed =

| humidity colour = | time day = | daily = | Jan humidity =75.7 | Feb humidity =75.4 | Mar humidity =76.4 | Apr humidity =76.3 | May humidity =77.2 | Jun humidity =73.6 | Jul humidity =69.4 | Aug humidity =68.4 | Sep humidity =74.1 | Oct humidity =79.2 | Nov humidity =79.5 | Dec humidity =76.4 | year humidity = }}

== References == {{Commons}} {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Populated places in Lori Province]]