Ashaghi Garagoymaz is a village in the Echmiadzin uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Talin district, and currently in the Aragatsotn province. The provincial centre lies 40 km to the northwest of the town of Ashtarak, on the western side of Alagoz Mountain, and at a height of 1,800 m above sea level. It was marked as “Garagovmaz” on the five-verst map of the Caucasus.

The village was solely inhabited by Azerbaijanis: 49 in 1831, 265 in 1873, 356 in 1886, 233 in 1897, 394 in 1904, 418 in 1914 and 322 Azerbaijanis in 1916. In 1918 the village was exposed to Armenian aggression and its inhabitants were deported from their historical-ethnic land. In 1915–1918 the Armenians and Kurds, who had been removed from the Turkish provinces of Sasun, Taron, Mush and Khnis (Hnis), were settled there. At present, Armenians live in the village.

The toponym was coined by combining the word “gara” used in Turkic in the sense of “big”, “a hill”, “the top of a mountain”, “a peak” and the word combination consisting of the word “koy” which is the form of the word “koy” used in Turkish in the sense of “a village” and the word “mes” (maz – I.B.) meaning “the southern steep of the mountain”, “the side of the mountain without woods”, “the sunny side of the mountain”. It denotes “a village situated in the sunny, southern part of a big mountain, hill”.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR dated 12 November 1946, the village was renamed “Nerkin Sasunashen”. 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 Aragatsotn province.

Geographic coordinates: latitude: 40°21’ N., longitude: 43°58’ E.