Gursali is a village in the Alexandropol uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Hamamli (Spitak) district, and currently in the Lori province. The provincial centre lies 15 km to the northwest of the Vanadzor town (Boyuk Garakilsa), adjacent to the Pambak River, at the foot of Kamarli Mountain, at a height of 1,580 m above sea level. It had been subordinated to the Gugark (Garakilsa) district until the Hamamli (Spitak) district was established in 1937.

The village was inhabited only by Azerbaijanis – 73 in 1831, 445 in 1873, 545 in 1886, 713 in 1897, 824 in 1904, 999 in 1914, and 877 Azerbaijanis in 1916. In 1918 the inhabitants were attacked by Armenian armed forces and left the village. The Azerbaijanis who left the village managed to return to their ancestral lands following the establishment of Soviet power in present-day Armenia. The village was inhabited only by Azerbaijanis – 839 in 1922, 954 in 1926, 1,033 in 1931, 1,215 in 1939, 1,271 in 1959, 1,998 in 1970, 1,978 in 2002 and 2,700 Azerbaijanis in 1987. In late November 1988 the Azerbaijanis were massacred or deported from their historical and ethnic lands by the Armenian government. At present, the village is inhabited only by Armenians.

The toponym was coined by combining the personal name “Ali” and the ethnonym “Khurs” from the Turkic Kangar tribe. It means “a village belonging to Ali from the Khurs (Gurs) tribe”. Currently, the village is named “Arjahovit”.

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 Lori province.

Geographical coordinates: latitude: 40°49’ N., longitude: 44°20’ E.