Lake Martiros (Verin, Upper) is located in the Vayots Dzor region of Armenia, 1.5 km east of Martiros village, at an altitude of 2145 m above sea level. Since 2008, the lake has been included in the list of state natural monuments of the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia.
"Martiros" is a Greek word meaning a person who accepted a martyr's death for faith and idea. For the Armenians, "martiros" is "marteri heros", which means "battles hero".
There is the following legend about the origin of the name "Martiros". According to historian Stepanos Orbelyan, after the end of the Avarayr battle, the warriors who had arrived in Avarayr from different parts of Armenia began leaving the battlefield in groups. One of the Armenian groups returning to Artsakh was pursued by the Persian cavalry, commanded by Atashhuda. In order to stop the attack of the numerous Persian army, the Armenian warriors commanded by the brave prince Martire entered the battle on the territory of Vayots Dzor, at the confluence of the Arpa River and its tributary Yeghegis. Martire and his warriors heroically died in the battle, but the Persian cavalry stopped pursuing the Armenians. Later, in order to perpetuate the memory of Martire, the people of Vayots Dzor renamed one of the settlements in the province by Martiros in honor of Martire.
Martiros village consists of old and new settlements. The village is located at the foot of Mount Gogi, at an altitude of 2000 m above sea level. In the 1960s, the old village was recognized as uninhabitable because of landslide zone. In 1968, Martiros village was shifted and a new village was built 2 km to the east of it.
