Goravan is a village in the Iravan uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Vedi (Ararat) district, and currently in the Ararat province. The provincial centre is located 19 km to the southeast of the town of Gamarli (Artashat), on the banks of the Vedi River, to the south of the Vedi village, at a height of 925 m above sea level. It was marked as “Kuravan” in “The Iravan Province Review Book”, and as “Goravan” on the five-verst map of the Caucasus.

The village was inhabited by 59 Azerbaijanis in 1831, 244 in 1873, 325 in 1886, 530 in 1897, 634 in 1904, 697 in 1914 and 614 Azerbaijanis in 1916. In February 1918 the Azerbaijanis were massacred or expelled by Armenian armed forces, and the Armenians removed from the Turkish regions of Mush, Chatakh and Van were settled there. The village was inhabited by 393 Azerbaijanis and 164 Armenians in 1922, 403 Azerbaijanis and 132 Armenians in 1926, 466 Azerbaijanis and 135 Armenians in 1931, and 706 Azerbaijanis and 145 Armenians in 1939. According to the decision of the USSR Council of Ministers “On the resettlement of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR” dated 23 December 1947, the population of the village was deported to Azerbaijan. At present, only Armenians reside in the village.

The toponym is formed by adding the word “avan” (van), which is a phonetic form of the word “abani” or “ebani” in the Urartian language meaning “a country, place”, to the ancient Turkic word “kora”, which implies “a shed for cattle”, “a yard”. The word “kura” constitutes the root of the “Kuravan” form of the toponym. This word also means “a cattle shed” in the form of “kura” in Old Turkic. “Kora” and “kura” are the words with different phonetic forms, yet denoting the same meaning.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR dated 4 April 1944, the village was renamed “Yenikend”. Later, by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR dated 3 July 1968, the name of the village was changed to “Goravan” again. According to the law “On the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Armenia” dated 7 November 1995, it was integrated into the administrative territory of the Ararat province.

Geographical coordinates: latitude: 39°54’ N., longitude: 44°44’ E.