In Armenian legends, modern Armenia is presented as an important region where many patriarchs lived. Beginning with Aramaneak, the son of Hayk, many generations lived and ruled in the Araratian Plain and its surrounding areas. Aramayis, Shara, Amasya, Gelam, Harma, Sisak, and others left their names in local toponyms. It was also in the Araratian Plain that the legendary capital Armavir — which was also a real city — was located. This fact is used as an argument for the Etiuni theory, since Etiuni was likewise situated in what is now the Republic of Armenia.
However, Hayk himself, who represents the eponymous patriarch of the Hay people (Armenians), was primarily active near Lake Van. His main domain was in Hark in Taron, west of Lake Van. He battled Bel in Hayoc' Dzor, which was located southeast of Lake Van. At least two settlements associated with him — Haykashen and Haykaberd — are also situated near Lake Van. The latter, Haykaberd, is today known as Cavushtepe, from where several ancient DNA samples have been obtained.
Assuming that legendary memory is not an arbitrary construct, this could suggest that the regions around Lake Van were as important for the ethnogenesis of Armenians as modern Armenia.
We have already observed indications of this in the available ancient DNA. However, the existing data is not sufficient to reach definitive conclusions. In any case, this does not change the broader picture of Armenian origins derived from Middle Bronze Age migrations. Most likely, however, important details will emerge with new data from the Lake Van region.
