Ardanish is a village in the Novo-Bayazid uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Chambarak (Krasnoselsk) district, and currently in the Gegharkunik province. The provincial centre lies 72 km to the northeast of the town of Kavar (Gavar), on the shore of Lake Goycha, and at a height of 1,975 m above sea level. It was marked as “Ardanuj” in “The Iravan Province Review Book” and as “Ardanij” on the five-verst map of the Caucasus.

The village was solely inhabited by Azerbaijanis: 119 in 1831, 389 in 1873, 602 in 1886, 788 in 1897, 1,000 in 1908, 1,045 in 1914, 1,158 in 1916 and 1,154 Azerbaijanis in 1919. In the early 1919 (February-March) the inhabitants of the village were massacred or ousted by Armenians, and as a result fled to Azerbaijan. The surviving Azerbaijanis managed to return to their native village following the establishment of Soviet power in the present- day Armenian territory. The village was inhabited by 1,138 Azerbaijanis in 1922, 1,257 in 1926, 1,246 in 1931, 1,643 in 1939, 1,406 in 1959, 2,034 in 1970, 2,037 in 1979 and 2,500 Azerbaijanis in 1986. On 24-28 November 1988 the inhabitants of the village were ousted from their historical-ethnic land by the state of Armenia. At present, Armenians live there.

The toponym consists of the word “art” meaning “a mountain”, “a mountainous area”, “a mountainous village” in Old Turkic and the word-building suffixes “-an” and “-ış” denoting location. It implies “a village located in the mountainous area”. The relief of the village corresponds to this meaning.

According to the law “On the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Armenia” dated 7 November 1995, it was integrated into the administrative area of the Gegharkunik province.

Geographic coordinates: latitude: 40°29’ N., longitude: 45°21’ E.