It is part of the Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran, which are inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

By the 14th and 15th centuries, the Saint Stepanos Monastery was at the height of its cultural and intellectual influence, producing paintings and illuminated manuscripts in religion, history, and philosophy.

In the early 15th century, the new Safavid dynasty protected the Armenians, but the region was at the center of the conflicts with the Ottomans, who invaded Western Armenia in 1513.

Yerevan was conquered by the Russians in 1827, and per the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the border between Iran and Russia was subsequently established on the Araxes.

The Qajar rulers continued to protect the Armenians, and encouraged the rebuilding of the Saint Stepanos Monastery between 1819 and 1825.