Gorchulu

Gorchulu is a village in the Novo-Bayazid uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Akhta (Hrazdan) district, and currently in the Kotayk province. It is located on the right tributary of the Miskhana (Marmarik) River, on the right and left banks of the Boyukchay, a tributary of the Zangi River, at a height of 1,800 m above sea level.

The village was inhabited by 82 Azerbaijanis in 1831, 170 in 1873, 257 in 1886, 279 in 1897, 300 in 1908, 440 in 1914 and 342 Azerbaijanis in 1916. In 1918 the Azerbaijanis were attacked by Armenian armed forces and massacred or deported from the village. Following the establishment of Soviet power in the territory of present-day Armenia, the Azerbaijanis managed to return to their native lands. Armenians were settled in the village in 1918-1920. The village was inhabited by 142 Azerbaijanis in 1922, 148 in 1926, 195 in 1931 and about 250 Azerbaijanis in 1987. In 1988 the Azerbaijanis were deported from their historical and ethnic lands by the Armenian government. Currently, the village is inhabited only by Armenians.

The toponym was coined by adding the possesive suffix “-lu” to the word “gorchu”, which denotes the Shah’s guard during the Safavid period. It means “a village belonging to the Gorchus and inhabited by the Gorchus”. Later “Gorchulu” acquired also the meaning of “a multi-generational family”.

By the law of the Armenian parliament dated 4 July 2006, the name of the village was changed to “Gorgoch”. 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 Kotayk province.

Geographical coordinates: latitude: 40°36’ N., longitude: 44°37’ E.