Kayan Berd (also known as Kayanberd or Dsevank, Կայանբերդ or Դսեվանք) is a fortress and a former monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the province of Lori in Northern Armenia. [1]
Kayan Berd (also known as Kayanberd or Dsevank, Կայանբերդ or Դսեվանք) is a fortress and a former monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the province of Lori in Northern Armenia. [1]
The Berd lies between the monasteries Haghpat and Sanahin. The Kayan Berd was strategically built at the edge of the ridge between two canyons above the Debed River. [1]
The exact year of construction of the castle is unknown. It was posible that King Ashot II. Yerkat built it at some point in the 10th century. The castle is largely destroyed. The wall ring is enclosed by a triangular area and was provided by semi-circular defense towers. [2] Inside the area, the Church Surb Astvatzatzin remained (Սուրբ Աստվածածին, "Holy God Mother"), Western Armenian Surp Asdwadsadsin, other transcriptions Surp Astvatsatsin, Surb Astuacacin) of Dsevank. It was built of black tuff. Its blue, red, white dome was damaged in an earthquake in 1827. [2] The dome was built in the right corner of the fortress, with which it shares an outer wall. One can also see in the vicinity numerous ruins of houses, cisterns and water pipes made of clay. [1] In the associated village, there is a burial ground from the Early Iron Age.
In the middle of the 11th century the Haghpat of the religious center of Lori was built and it competed with the brother monastery Sanahin. According to the medieval historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi, the Archbishop of Haghpat, Hovhannes, built the fortress in 1233 as a monastery with massive defensive walls on Sanahin soil. He came from the Georgian-Armenian Zakarid dynasty and was a son of the sister of the Armenian princes Zakare and Ivane Zakarian. The plant was initially named Monastery Surb Nshan. Surp Nschan (Armenian Holy Sign) is a saint name. The terms Dsevank and Kayan Berd or Kayanberd are of more recent origin. [1]
The situation on Sanahin soil led to a conflict between the two monasteries. After the bishop's death, the Tatars demolished the walls of the monastery in 1241. [3] Subsequently, it was restored and destroyed by troops of Timur at the end of the 14th century; it was not rebuilt afterwards. [4]
Lori, is a province (marz) of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. Other important towns include Stepanavan, Alaverdi, and Spitak. It is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Haghpat and Sanahin monasteries and the well-preserved Akhtala monastery, where Armenians, Georgians, and Greeks make an annual pilgrimage on September 20–21.
Haghpat is a village in the Lori Province of Armenia, located near the city of Alaverdi and the state border with Georgia.
Alaverdi, is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province at the northeastern part of Armenia, near the border with Georgia. It is located at the only direct rail link between Armenia and Georgia. Situated at the bottom of the Debed river gorge, Alaverdi is an important commercial and industrial centre in northern Armenia.
Sevanavank is a monastic complex located on a peninsula at the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, not far from the town of Sevan. Initially the monastery was built at the southern shore of a small island. After the artificial draining of Lake Sevan, which started in the era of Joseph Stalin, the water level fell about 20 metres, and the island transformed into a peninsula. At the southern shore of this newly created peninsula, a guesthouse of the Armenian Writers' Union was built. The eastern shore is occupied by the Armenian president's summer residence, while the monastery's still active seminary moved to newly constructed buildings at the northern shore of the peninsula.
Oshakan is a village in the Ashtarak Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia located 8 kilometers southwest from Ashtarak. It is well known to historians and pilgrims of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the site of the grave of Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet.
Amberd is a 10th-century fortress located 2,300 meters (7,500 ft) above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Aragats at the confluence of the Arkashen and Amberd rivers in the province of Aragatsotn, Armenia. The name translates to "fortress in the clouds" in Armenian. It is also the name incorrectly attributed to Vahramashen Church, the 11th-century Armenian church near the castle. The village of Byurakan is 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) from the site of Amberd.
Makaravank is a 10th-13th century church complex near the Achajur village of Tavush Province, Armenia, located on the slope of Paitatap Mountain. Though the monastery is no longer used for services, the complex is well preserved. There are 4 churches, a gavit (narthex) that serves the two largest of the churches, and other buildings which served secondary roles. At one time, there used to be vast settlements around Makaravank, the presence of which was of great importance for the growth of the monastery.
Haghartsin is a 13th-century monastery located near the town of Dilijan in the Tavush Province of Armenia. It was built between the 10th and 13th centuries ; much of it under the patronage of the Bagratuni Dynasty.
The Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, alternatively known as the Kingdom of Lori or Kiurikian Kingdom by later historians, was a medieval Armenian kingdom formed in the year 979 by the Kiurikian dynasty, a branch of the Bagratuni dynasty, as a vassal kingdom of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia. The first capital of the kingdom was Matsnaberd, currently part of modern-day Azerbaijan.
Akhtala, is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province of Armenia, located along the Shamlugh river, on the slopes of Lalvar mountain, at a distance of 186 km north of the capital Yerevan and 62 km north of provincial centre Vanadzor.
Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank, is a medieval monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia, built between the 10th and 13th century.
Akhtala, also known as Pghindzavank is a 10th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery located in the town of Akhtala in the marz of Lori, 185 kilometers (115 mi) north of Yerevan and 87 kilometers south of Tbilisi. The monastery is currently inactive. The fortress played a major role in protecting the north-western regions of Armenia (Gugark) and is among the most well preserved of all in modern Armenia. The main church at the compound is famous for its highly artistic frescoes, which cover the inside walls, the partitions, and the bearings of the building. The modern name of Akhtala was first recorded in a royal decree of 1438. The etymology of the name Akhtala is believed to be of Turkic origin, meaning white glade. The original Armenian name of the settlement where the monastery is built is Pghindzahank, which means copper mine.
Karmravor, also known as the Church of Holy Mother of God is a 7th-century Armenian Apostolic church in the town of Ashtarak in the Aragatsotn Province.
Zoravor Surp Astvatsatsin Church is the oldest surviving church in Yerevan. It was previously known as Surp Astvatsatsin. However, the name Zoravor was added because the church was home to the 13th century bible of Zoravor.
Sanahin Monastery is an Armenian monastery founded in the 10th century in Sanahin in the Lori Province of Armenia.
Holy Mother of God Katoghike Church of Avan (Armenian: Ավանի Սուրբ Աստվածածին Կաթողիկե Եկեղեցի, romanized: Avani Surb Astvatsatsin Kat'oghike Yekeghets'i; also known as the church of Katoghike Tsiranavor, later renamed Surp Hovhannes, is a ruined 6th-century church located in the Avan District of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It is the oldest surviving church inside Yerevan's city limits.
Vorotnavank is a monastic complex located along a ridge overlooking the Vorotan gorge, between the villages of Vaghatin and Vorotan in the Syunik Province of Armenia. The complex is surrounded by a high stone wall for defense against foreign invasions and once housed workshops, stores, a seminary, resort, cemetery and an alms-house. A pillar stood in the yard of the monastery symbolizing that there were monks entering into religious service and kings inaugurated at this location. Hovhan Vorotnetsi (1315-1398), an Armenian medieval philosopher and theologian as well as the founder of Tatev Vardapetaran University lived and worked at the monastery.
Jukhtak Vank is an 11th– or 12th-century monastery situated in a clearing within Dilijan National Park, 3.2 km northwest from the town of Dilijan in the Tavush Province of Armenia. It sits in close proximity to the church of Matosavank as well as a cemetery that surrounds the church.
Neghuts Monastery is a monastery founded in the 10th or 11th century, situated in a clearing on a hillside overlooking a valley and the village of Arzakan in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. The monastery is located approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northwest of the village center. There are other churches in the vicinity, most notably the 13th-century monastic/church ruins of Ghuki Vank, the church ruins of S. Astvatsatsin (1207), and the 13th-century ruins of Surb Gevorg.
Saint Christopher Monastery, is a restored Armenian church of the 7th century, located in a cemetery 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) southeast of the outskirts of Dashtadem village and Dashtadem Fortress in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. Adjacent to the church (north) is a 13th-century stone rectangular tower (bell/defensive/funerary) with sloped walls. It has small windows on the upper portion of the wall, but no access to the interior. The surrounding cemetery has been in use from the 6th century to modern times, and contains several interesting khachkars. A low-stone wall surrounds the complex and a section of the old cemetery. Dashtadem Fortress may be seen in the distance from the monastery.
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