Kichik Zeyva is a village in the Echmiadzin uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Uchkilsa (Echmiadzin, Vagharshapat) district, and currently in the Armavir province. It lies 5 km to the southeast of the Echmiadzin settlement. The other names for the village were “Turk Zeyvasi”, “Tatar Zeyvasi”. It was marked on the five-verst map of the Caucasus.

The village was solely inhabited by Azerbaijanis: 234 in 1831, 492 in 1873, 516 in 1886, 580 in 1897, 550 in 1904, 598 in 1914 and 491 Azerbaijanis in 1916. In 1920 the Azerbaijanis were deported from their historical and ethnic lands having been exposed to aggression by Armenian armed units.

The toponym was coined by combining the word “kichik” (small), which denotes a sign of distinctiveness in the Azerbaijani language, and the word “zaviye” meaning “a nook, corner, angle” in Arabic. It is a toponym with a complex structure on the basis of a relief.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR dated 25 January 1978, the village was renamed “Aratashen”. 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 Armavir province.

Geographical coordinates: latitude: 40°07’ N., longitude: 44°11’ E.