Gyumri, Armenia Postcard

The name of the city has been changed many times in history. It was first known as Kumayri or Gyumri, then Alexandropol, (1840-1924), then Leninakan (1924–1990), then again as Gyumri to this day. Gyumri is one of the oldest cities in Armenia. The region of Gyumri is mentioned in different Urartian inscriptions since the 8th century BC. The first settlement at Gyumri is believed to have been founded some time in the 5th century BC by early Greeks. Ottoman forces captured Gyumri on May 11 1918 during the Caucasus Campaign in World War I but withdrew from it on December 24, 1918 after being required to under the Armistice of Mudros. During the Turkish-Armenian War, Turkey attacked Gyumri and occupied the city on November 7, 1920, after winning the Battle of Alexandropol. After the battle, the Turkish forces were headquartered in Gyumri. From this city the Turks presented the Armenian republic with an ultimatum that Armenia was forced to accept—otherwise Turkey would have invaded Yerevan, Armenia's capital, from their headquarters in Gyumri. Armenia was forced to sign the Treaty of Alexandropol to stop the Turkish advance towards Yerevan, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Armenia, thus ending the Turkish-Armenian War. Turkish forces withdrew from Alexandropol afterwards Treaty of Batum. In 1924 the name was changed to Leninakan after Vladimir Lenin. Leninakan was a major industrial center for the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and its second largest city, after Yerevan. The city suffered major damage during the 1988 Spitak earthquake, which devastated large parts of the country. The famous eccentric character Gurdjieff was born to a Greek father and Armenian mother in Alexandropol, then part of the Russian Empire.The Turks & Persians called Georgia "Gurjistan," which may account for the root of the name "Gurdjieff