Ushi, Ushu,or Ushayan is a village in the Echmiadzin uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Ashtarak district, and currently in the Aragatsotn province. The provincial centre is located 3 km to the north of the town of Ashtarak and at a height of 1,400 m above sea level. The 9th-11th- century historical monuments attributed to the Azerbaijanis’ life have survived there. The name of the village is noted in “The Iravan Province Comprehensive Book” compiled in 1590, in “The Iravan Province Review Book” dated 1728 and marked on the five- verst map of the Caucasus.

The village was solely inhabited by Azerbaijanis: 167 in 1831, 909 in 1873, 1,105 in 1886, 1,249 in 1897, 1,360 in 1908, 1,444 in 1914, 1,486 in 1916, 1,380 in 1918 and 500 Azerbaijanis in 1919. Armenian armed groups attacked the village first in 1905, committed massacre and ousted the inhabitants. After the situation stabilized, the surviving Azerbaijanis managed to return to their homes. The Azerbaijanis were massacred or displaced again by Armenian armed units in 1918. In 1920 the Armenians from the Turkish provinces of Bitlis, Mush, Ahlat and Van were removed and settled in the village. After the establishment of Soviet power on the territory of present-day Armenia, the surviving Azerbaijanis could return to their ancestral lands. Along with the Armenians, the village was inhabited by 291 Azerbaijanis in 1922, 296 in 1926 and 33 Azerbaijanis in 1931. By a special decree of the USSR government, Azerbaijanis were forcibly ousted from their historical-ethnic lands and relocated in Azerbaijan between 1948 and 1949. At present, the village is inhabited by Armenians only.

The toponym is coined from the Turkic word “uch or ush” meaning “a crest or peak”. In Turkic “ush/uch” is used in the meanings of “an end”, “a beginning”, “up”, “a peak”, “an edge”. Also, in the Garagalpac language “usha” means “a mountain peak, a summit”. The ending “-i” is a toponym-forming suffix.

According to the law “On the Administrative- Territorial Division of Armenia” dated 7 November 1995, the village was integrated into the administrative area of the Aragatsotn province.

Geographic coordinates: latitude 40°20’N., longitude 44°22’E.