Artashat is a town and administrative center of the Artashat Municipality and the Ararat Province of Armenia. It is located on the Azat River in the Ararat Plain, 30 km southeast of Yerevan.

Artashat was originally a village called Ghamarlu, established by Armenian migrants from Iran in 1828-29. It grew into a large village by the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1945, it was renamed after the ancient city of Artashat (Artaxata), the ruins of which are located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) southeast of the city. It received the status of an urban-type settlement in 1946 and that of a city in 1962, growing into an important industrial center in subsequent years.

Artashat is located on the Yerevan-Goris-Stepanakert highway and the currently inoperative Yerevan-Nakhchivan-Baku and Nakhchivan-Tabriz railway. As of the 2022 census, the town had a population of 19,020.

Modern Artashat is named after the ancient city of Artashat (also known as Artaxata), the ruins of which are located around 8 km southeast of the modern city. Ancient Artashat served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly 350 years, with some interruptions, after its founding in 176 BC. It was named after its founder King Artashes I, the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty. The name of the city is derived from Iranian languages. It can be interpreted as meaning "the joy of Arta (truth)," although it is actually a shortening of Artaxšas-šat, meaning 'the joy of Artashes.' Old Artashat was also known as Ostan Hayots’, meaning 'court/seat of the Armenians,' which was also the name of the canton in which it was located. The modern settlement was a village called Ghamarlu (from Turkic, popularly understood as 'moonlike' or 'moonlit') or Verin ('upper') Ghamarlu until it was renamed Artashat in 1945.

According to the Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories, the site of the modern town of Artashat was uninhabited prior to the conquest of the territory by the Russian Empire in 1828. The new village of Ghamarlu (or Verin Ghamarlu) was founded there in 1828-29 by Armenians immigrating from the districts of Khoy and Salmas in Iran. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ghamarlu had become a large village where gardening, cotton growing, and viticulture were developed. The village produced home-made Armenian brandy and had a winery (founded 1904). These economic activities declined from 1914 to 1920. In 1930, the Ghamarlu District was founded with Ghamarlu as its center. In 1945, the village and district were both renamed Artashat. Artashat received the status of an urban-type settlement in 1946 and a plan for the city was drawn up in 1948. It received the status of a "city of district subordination" city in 1962 and was re-planned in 1968. The former villages of Nerkin (Lower) Ghamarlu and Novruzlu were incorporated into the city. In 1970, Artashat received the status of a "city of republican subordination." During the Soviet period, particularly after World War II, industry was developed in Artashat and the city became an industrial center, mainly in the spheres of food processing and building materials production. In 1995, with the new law of the territorial administration of the Republic of Armenia, Artashat became the capital of the newly formed Ararat Province.