Armenian temple architecture as a marker of cultural identity. Blog samuelarchitect - the architecture of the temples of the Armenian Apostolic Church

), which, in addition to ensuring the vital activity of cities, were part of their defensive system.

The masterpiece of the ancient architecture of Armenia is Garni, built by the Armenian king Trdat I (54-88) in 76, as evidenced by his inscription found there on Greek.

In addition to the cities themselves, architecture also developed in individual princely possessions, fortresses, and especially church complexes, which, experiencing rapid development, are becoming cultural centers of his time. In the country recently liberated from the Arab yoke, relatively small buildings were first built, the earliest of which are known in mountainous Syunik, on the coast of Sevan.

The first churches built in the 9th century reproduced the compositions of three-apse and four-apse cruciform in terms of the central domed churches of the 7th century (two churches built in 874 on the island of Sevan - Sevanavank and Hayravank). However, in other structures of the same type, an addition of corner aisles is observed (Shoghakavank monastery, 877-888), as well as a tendency to include these aisles in the overall composition of structures (Kotavank and Makenyats monasteries). The domed composition of the 7th century with four free-standing pylons was used in the construction of the Pogoso-Petros temple in Tatev (895-906), and the corner walls of two additional aisles replaced the dome-bearing pylons. The result of such a creative approach to the compositional task was the construction main church Karakop monastery in Vayots Dzor (911), in which there are no pylons bearing the dome, and the dome rests on the corner walls of the four limits. In 903 the church of Kotavank was built, the church of Byurakan belongs to the first quarter of the 10th century, in 936 the domed temple of Gndevank was built in the Gavar of Vayots Dzor, at the end of the 10th century - the church of Makenyats.

The architectural school of Ani-Shirak, which developed on the possessions of the Bagratids (the central possession of Shirak Gavars), becomes more fruitful. The capital of the Ani Bagratids was originally Bagaran, later - Shirakavan, where at the end of the 9th century, following the example of the Aruch temple (VII century), King Smbat I erected a new temple. Later in Kars in the 940s. King Abbas builds a central domed temple. One of the classic examples of the Ani-Shirak school of architecture is the Marmashen church, the construction of which began in 988 and was completed at the beginning of the next century.

In the X-XI centuries. with the spread of the sail structure, the faceted shape of the dome drum gives way to a round one; while the domes are often crowned with an umbrella-shaped covering. In the same period, under the influence of the people's dwelling - glkhatuna - the original centric form of covering monastic buildings - gavits (gavits - a kind of church vestibules that performed various functions: tombs, places for parishioners, halls for meetings and classes) was developed.

fortresses

Amberd fortress, 1026	Fortress of Tygnis, 9th century	City walls of Ani, X-XI centuries

In the middle of the 10th century, the Tashir-Dzoraget school of architecture developed: in 957-966. the monastery of Sanahin is being built, in 976-991. Queen Khosrovanush and his youngest son Gurgen founded Haghpat Monastery - one of the largest architectural and spiritual centers of Armenia. Almost all architectural types of the 7th century were realized in the temples of the 10th century, but Armenian architects especially often turned to the structure of domed halls. In the architecture of the 10th century, the composition of the vestibules - gavits begins to take shape. Armenian architects of the 10th century enjoyed international recognition.

Until the middle of the 11th century, Armenian architecture developed rapidly in Ani. Among the monuments of other regions of the country, the Kecharis Monastery (1033), the Church of St. Virgins in Bjni (1031), Vagramashen (1026), Bkheno Noravank (1062), Vorotnavank (1007) and some others. At the beginning of the 11th century, the monastery of Varagavank and Khtskonk (1029) were built in Western Armenia.

The development of stone civil buildings is closely related to the development of monastic complexes, wonderful examples architectural ensembles. A significant place in them was given to residential and utility buildings, as well as such secular buildings as refectories, schools, book depositories, hotels, gavits (monasteries in Sanahin, X-XIII centuries, in Haghpat (X-XIII centuries).

Interior of Geghard, early 13th century

Secular buildings in the 12th-14th centuries had a particularly strong influence on Armenian architecture. The original four-pillar halls and pillarless rooms with ceilings on intersecting arches stand out, which are especially characteristic of the gavits widely built in monasteries. Four-pillar gavits were most often square in plan with arches thrown between the columns and walls. In the center, on four columns, a dome or tent is made with a round opening at the top (gavit in Sanahin 1181).

In 1188, on the site of the old Getik church, Mkhitar Gosh founded a new building - the cross-domed church Nor Getik or Goshavank. Construction of the main church of St. Astvatsatsin (Virgin Mary) is carried out in 1191-1196. Hysn architect.

Along with the construction of well-maintained highways, the construction of bridges became widespread, as evidenced by the construction of a single-arch bridge in Sanahin across the river. Debed in 1192

Pillarless halls with ceilings on intersecting arches are an outstanding invention of Armenian architects, in which the original constructive system made it possible to build a new type of interior. Bright plasticity and main articulations here are entirely formed by structural elements that create a clear and logical tectonic structure of the centric rib vault; which was the main structure and main decoration of the spacious hall. A light lantern in the form of a dome or a tent, arranged above the square of crossed arches, enriched the composition, giving it harmony and vertical aspiration. A characteristic example is the Great Gavit of Haghpat Monastery (1209). In his composition, the final "dome" itself is a system of intersecting arches carrying a light lantern.

Along with monastic buildings, during the period under review, cities were intensively built up and improved. Public and communal buildings were developed: caravanserais, baths, industrial and engineering structures: water mills, irrigation canals, roads, etc.

A new upsurge in Armenian architecture begins in the last quarter of the 12th century under the rule of the Zakarians. Monuments of the end of the XII - the first quarter of the XIII century show the continuity of the development of architectural traditions, despite more than a century of Seljuk yoke. New style features developed in X-XI centuries are completely preserved, decorative methods become more subtle. Church complexes from the XIII century begin to expand with new buildings. Among the largest and most famous architectural monuments early XIII century Harichavank (1201), Makaravank (1205), Tegher (1213-1232), Dadivank, (1214), Geghard (1215), Saghmosavank (1215-1235), Hovhannavank (1216), Gandzasar (1216-1238) and etc. The elements of building church ensembles, in addition to the actual gavits, were also gavits-mausoleums, libraries, bell towers, refectories, reservoirs and other memorial buildings.

Gtchavank (1241-1246), Khorakert (1251), by the end of the 13th century Tanade (1273-1279) and Haghartsin (1281) belong to the middle of the 13th century.

The architecture of the monasteries received particular development in the 13th century. There were very diverse principles for the planning of monastic complexes. While maintaining the typology of the temples, their proportions were changed, in particular, the drum, facade tongs and tent were significantly increased. Gavits are built with very diverse spatial solutions. The outlined scheme of the vault of the central cell preserved on the southern wall of the gavit of the Astvatsnkal monastery is considered to be the earliest among the known medieval architectural working drawings.

In the XIII century, among the architectural schools, Lori, Artsakh and Syunik stand out, from the end of the same century also Vayots Dzor. Vayots Dzor becomes one of the centers of Armenian culture at the end of the 13th - the first half of the 14th century. Gladzor University also operated here, and where a separate direction of the Armenian miniature school developed. Such architectural monuments as Noravank (1339), Areni Church (1321), Zorats (no later than 1303) and others were built in Vayots Dzor.

Prominent architects, stone craftsmen and artists of the era - Momik, Poghos, Siranes (gavit of the Arates church, 1262, Orbelyan family tomb, 1275) and others.

In the XII-XIV centuries, the buildings of the princely mausoleum-churches developed (the Church of Yeghvard, 1301, Noravank, 1339, Kaputan, 1349). At the same time, the foreign yoke brought the country's economy into a catastrophic situation, the emigration of the population increased, and the construction of a monumental type almost stopped. In the 12th-14th centuries, architecture flourished in the Kingdom of Cilicia, where the traditions of classical Armenian architecture were combined with features of Byzantine, Italian, French art and architecture. The development of architecture was largely due to the development of Armenian cities, which became centers for the development of secular urban architecture. For Armenian architecture, the construction of port cities is a new phenomenon. The principles of building mountain towns and villages were basically the same as in Armenia proper.

Gallery. VIII-XIV centuries

Architecture of Ani

In the IX-XI centuries. on the territory of Armenia, an independent state of the Bagratids arises with its capital in Ani. The architecture of this time continues to develop the principles of architecture of the 7th century. Centric and basilic structures continue to be developed in religious buildings. In centric buildings, the tendency to unite the interior around the central axis, the dominance of the under-dome space in the traditional schemes of the cross-domed church and the domed hall is becoming more and more definite. The proportions of the temple are drawn out. Of great importance is decorative decoration, stone carving (the Church of Gregory in Ani, the end of the 10th century; the Church of Arakelots in Kars, the middle of the 10th century).

The development of the domed basilica is illustrated by the Cathedral of Ani, built by the outstanding Armenian architect Trdat. Its construction began under Smbat II in 989 and was completed during the reign of Gagik I in 1001. The cruciformity is distinguished in the structure of the temple, which indicates the influence of the cross-domed system on the composition. The middle and transverse naves of considerable height (20 m) dominate the interior and facades. The desire for plastic richness was manifested on the facades - in an elegant decorative arcature, and in the interior - in a complex profile of beam-like columns, emphasizing the vertical aspiration of divisions, which also corresponds to the lancet shape of the main arches. The noted details (shooting, vertical dissection of abutments, arcade, etc.) to some extent anticipate the methods of Romanesque and early Gothic buildings that developed somewhat later in European countries.

In fact, Armenian architecture during the XV-XVI centuries developed in the places of compact residence of Armenians on the territory of Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Crimea, Poland.

Since the second half of the 17th century, relative peace has been observed in Armenia, after a three-century break, conditions are being created for the development of national architecture. Construction is developing mainly in three directions: 1) the restoration of old churches and temples, 2) the construction of new ones, 3) the development of existing ones at the expense of new structures. Significant construction work is underway in Vagharshapat, restoration main cathedral and the church of St. Gayane. New church buildings were built according to the principles of Armenian architecture of the 4th-7th centuries - domed basilicas, domed halls and especially three-aisled basilicas. Three-nave basilicas of the 17th century, unlike their early medieval counterparts, are simpler, without much decorative luxury, often made of poorly processed stone. Typical examples of the architecture of the era: the churches of Garni, Tatev (1646), Gndevaz (1686), Yeghegis (1708), Nakhichevan (St. Mother of God in Bist (1637), St. Shmavon in Farak (1680), St. Gregory the Illuminator in Shorot ( 1708)) and others.

In the 17th century, relatively few domed churches were built. The structure of the domed hall had big church Khor Virap (1666) and Shoghakat (1694) of Etchmiadzin. Domed basilica churches were built mainly in Syunik and Nakhichevan. During this period, the main building material was basalt, the use of which was costly. For this reason, simpler materials are starting to be used, mainly brick.

Gallery

XIX century. Early 20th century

In the 19th century, the urban planning and architecture of the cities of western Armenia (Van, Bitlis, Karin, Kharberd, Erznka, etc.) experienced minor changes. The accession of Eastern Armenia to Russia at the beginning of the same century created the conditions for an economic upsurge and a comparative development of architecture and urban planning. Cities partially (Yerevan) or completely (Alexandrapol, Kars, Goris) were equipped according to the canonical plans of the main layouts. The reconstruction and construction of cities developed especially at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, when the listed cities became the centers of the capitalist development of Armenia.

The history of Armenian architecture of the 20th century begins with the engineer-architect V. Mirzoyan. He designed the buildings of the Yerevan Men's Gymnasium on the street. Astafyan (now Arno Babadzhanyan Concert Hall on Abovyan St.), Treasury and Treasury Chamber (now a bank on Nalbandyan St.), Teacher's Seminary.

20th century

In 2005, the construction of the third building of the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia began (architect L. Khristaforyan).

Armenian architects of the 21st century participate in international competitions. Armenians excelled in international competition for the development project of one of the central quarters of Doha - the capital of Qatar. They took the second place (the Spaniards took the first place). Project authors: L. Khristaforyan (team leader), M. Zoroyan, G. Isakhanyan, V. Mkhchyan, M. Sogoyan, N. Petrosyan.

Notes

1. C. V. Trever. Essays on the history of the culture of ancient Armenia (II century BC - IV century AD). - M. L., 1953. - S. 187.
2. Armenians- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd edition)
3. Xenophon, Anabasis
4. Great Soviet Encyclopedia
5. Armenian soviet encyclopedia. - T. 6. - S. 338.(arm.)
6. Plutarch. Comparative Lives, Crassus, § 33
7. Plutarch. Comparative Lives, Lucullus, § 29
8. V. V. Shleev. General History of Arts / Under the general editorship of B. V. Weimarn and Yu. D. Kolpinsky. - M .: Art, 1960. - T. 2, book. 1.
9. Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. - T. 7. - S. 276.(arm.)
10. Treasures of the Armenian mountains - Sevanavank
11. M. Hakobyan. Armenian architecture through the ages
12. Al-Masudi "Gold mines and placers of gems" page 303
13. Armenian Architecture - VirtualANI - The church at Shirakawan
14. Armenian Architecture - VirtualANI - The Cathedral of Kars
15. Armenia // Orthodox Encyclopedia. - M ., 2001. - T. 3. - S. 286-322.
16. Cyril Toumanoff. Armenia and Georgia // The Cambridge Medieval History. - Cambridge, 1966. - Vol. IV: The Byzantine Empire, part I chapter XIV. - S. 593-637.:

    Armenian architects enjoyed an international reputation; thus Odo the Armenian took part in the construction of the Palatine chapel at Aix and Tiridates of Ani restored the church of Holy Wisdom at Constantinople after the earthquake of 989.

17. Armenian Architecture - VirtualANI - The Monastery of Varagavank
18. Armenian Soviet encyclopedia. - T. 1. - S. 407-412.(arm.)

December 28th, 2015 06:05 pm

In all ages, no matter where the fate of the Armenians threw them, they built their temples where they lived. This is not just a national tradition to build Armenian churches in the Diaspora, but rather the spiritual need of a people for whom Christianity is the color of their skin. And today, with the revival of the faith of the people, with the pull of the Armenians of the Diaspora to their spiritual roots, our churches are being built everywhere in the Diaspora.

It is certainly logical that the construction of Armenian churches in the Diaspora almost always began in large cities. Where the community is larger, where there are more wealthy patrons, the sooner such an undertaking can be implemented. But even in relatively small towns and even settlements temples can be built and are being built. The main thing is the presence of the Armenian community and caring, enterprising people who are ready to invest their own, not at all small, funds in this, first of all, charitable and, secondly, patriotic cause.

As experience shows, often a person who decides to take on the responsible mission of initiating and organizing the construction of an Armenian church in his city does not know where to start this business and what difficulties he may encounter in the process. Therefore, on the pages of my blog, I will try to describe all possible questions and problems, and give them as detailed an answer as possible.

In addition, I see one of my tasks to familiarize blog visitors with Armenian religious architecture, with the great classical examples of our temple architecture, as well as with the most interesting (and sometimes vice versa) examples of modern churches. Naturally, there will be architectural analysis and commentary on the merits or demerits of the examples presented. This will help people who are not versed in the intricacies of temple architecture and construction to evaluate a particular temple or temple project, and patrons who are going to order a project from an architect and build a temple will help to distinguish good, professional projects from bad and amateurish ones, which, unfortunately, also not a little.

I hope this blog will be useful for those who are interested in Armenian temple architecture, especially for Diaspora Armenians who are going to build a church in their city. And if you are going to build an Armenian church and you need a project, then you have come to the right place! The customer, who has addressed me, can be sure that the church he built according to my project will become another original example of Armenian temple architecture, and not its mediocre imitation.

However, I hope to be useful in matters of church architecture of other Christian denominations. Perhaps someone in the post-Soviet space will want to build a Russian church in the ancient Byzantine style, i.e. from stone. The customer can be sure that by contacting me with this, he turned to the right address. After all, Byzantine Greek Orthodox church architecture is actually much closer to Armenian than Russian. One way or another, but the theme of the Byzantine stone temple is much closer to the Armenian architect than to the Russian one. Moreover, only Armenian builders can build a stone temple (and not its imitation) on the territory of the former USSR.

All of the above regarding Greek Orthodox churches may be of interest to both Roman Catholics and Protestants. After all, they are not alien to the spirit of ancient Eastern Christianity, a visible manifestation of which can be a stone church, even if it was built in compliance with the special traditions that have developed in Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

own, associated with church architecture You can ask me questions both in the comments to the articles on this blog and in personal messages on LiveJournal. Considering that most of my readers are not registered in LiveJournal, you can also write to me by email addresses:

Best regards, architect Samvel Makyan.

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My projects of Armenian churches.
You can go to the page with each project separately by clicking on its inscription.

On the ancient Armenian land, lovers of antiquity and art will find a great variety of monuments and attractions: man-made artifacts of primitive craftsmen and unique creations of medieval architects; pagan sanctuaries; ancient memorial objects of Christianity and Urartian fortresses; castles and cave cities hidden high in the mountains; gorge-gallery, preserved collections of bas-reliefs; khachkars covered with fine carvings and unique frescoes in dilapidated monasteries. Armenia is often called "an open-air museum".

Armenian monastery Khor Virap located near the border with Turkey. The monastery is famous for its location at the foot of the biblical Mount Ararat, where, according to legend, the righteous Noah found himself on the ark after the Flood.

According to legend, the king of Armenia Trdat III after returning to Armenia in 287 kept St. Gregory the Illuminator in prison for confessing Christianity. Gregory healed Tiridates of insanity, after which he was baptized in 301 and declared Christianity state religion. Subsequently, over the underground prison, in which St. Gregory the Illuminator spent about fifteen years, the monastery of Khor Virap (“deep dungeon”) was erected.

On the site of the ancient Armenian capital Artashat, founded by King Artashes I around 180 BC, there is Khor Virap Hill. The entrance to the underground prison is located in the chapel of St. Gregory, built in 1661. The underground prison is three to six meters deep. On the territory of Khor Virap there is also the Church of Our Lady.

Etchmiadzin Monastery(or "The Descent of the Only Begotten") of the Armenian Apostolic Church is located in the Armavir region, in the city of Vagharshapat. From 303 to 484 and since 1441, the throne of the Supreme Patriarch of the Catholicos of All Armenians has been in the monastery. Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The structure of the ancient monastery complex includes Etchmiadzin Cathedral- ancient christian temple peace, theological educational establishments. The place for the construction of the cathedral to Gregory the Illuminator was indicated by Jesus Christ himself, from where the name came from. After the introduction of Christianity in the country in 303, a wooden cathedral was built, and in the fifth and seventh centuries it was rebuilt in stone.

The interior of the cathedral is decorated with frescoes made in the 17th-18th centuries (Hovnatan Nagash), at the end of the 18th century (H. Hovnatanyan). The cathedral houses a museum (founded in 1955), which houses a collection of medieval arts and crafts.

In Etchmiadzin there is the temple of St. Hripsime, the domed basilica of Gayane with a three-arched gavit, and the church of Shokagat. The three-tiered bell tower was erected in 1653-1658. In the 18th century, six-column rotundas appeared on three sides. The monastery complex includes a refectory (17th century), a hotel (18th century), the house of the Catholicos (18th century), a school (1813), a stone pond (1846) and other buildings.

The environs of Echmiadzin in 1827 were ruined by the Kyzylbash commander Gassan Khan. In the same year, the ringing of bells greeted Field Marshal I.F. Paskevich, who unblocked the monastery. Again, the Etchmiadzin Monastery was saved during the Persian campaign by General Krasovsky in August 1827. According to the Turkmanchay Treaty in 1828, Echmiadzin was included in the Russian Empire.

In the cathedral in 1869 to store precious relics and church utensils from east side sacristy was built.

In 1903, a decree was issued according to which all real estate, capital belonging to spiritual institutions and the Armenian Church were transferred to the state. Thanks to the mass protest campaign of the Armenian people, Nicholas II in 1905 signed a decree on the return of the confiscated property of the Armenian Church; reopening national schools.

In 1915, the brethren of the Etchmiadzin Monastery provided selfless assistance to refugees from Western Armenia.

During the Soviet era, public buildings and numerous residential buildings were built in Etchmiadzin. In 1965, a monument to the victims of the Genocide of 1915-1922 was erected.

Near Yerevan and Vagharshapat is located Zvartnots- a temple of early medieval Armenian architecture. From the ancient Armenian “Zvartnots” means “Temple of Vigilant Angels”. Since 2000, the ruins of the temple and the area around it have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The temple was built in 640-650 under the Catholicos Nerses III the Builder, who planned to move the residence from Dvin to Vagharshapat. The Byzantine emperor Constans II, who wished to build the same one in Constantinople, attended the consecration ceremony of the colossal temple. Due to the weakness of the nodes of the supports of the upper tier, the temple collapsed in the tenth century during an earthquake. Excavations in 1901-1907 discovered the ruins of Zvartnots. To date, almost the entire first tier has been reconstructed.

According to the reconstruction of T. Toramanian, the temple was a round domed three-tiered structure. A cross is inscribed at the base of the circle, six columns in a semicircle form three wings, the eastern wing is an apse - it was a blank wall covered with mosaics and frescoes. The altar apse has a high elevation, in front is a baptismal font, on one side is a pulpit. A square room, probably a sacristy, adjoined behind. From it, they climbed the stairs to the corridor of the first tier.

The facades of the temple were decorated with arcades, carvings, relief plates with ornaments, bunches of grapes and pomegranates. The columns of Zvartnots were crowned with massive capitals with images of crosses and eagles. On the southwestern side of the temple are the ruins of the dwellings of Nerses III, the patriarchal palace, winepress.

The influence of Zvartnots is clearly reflected in the monuments of the second half of the seventh century - temples in Zoravor, Aruch, Yeghvard, Talin; Church of the Shepherd and the Savior in Ani. Zvartnots repeat the temples of Gagikashen in Ani and Banak, the church in the village of Lekit.

Mashtots Hayrapet Church located in the village of Garni, Kotai region. The Church of Mashtots Patriarch was built of tufa on the site of a pagan sanctuary in the 12th century.

To the right of the entrance there is a carved stone depicting birds, which is inextricably linked with the past pagan sanctuary at this place. Small church. Various ornaments are carved on the facade, entrance, dome. Near the temple - as far as khachkars. In addition to the church of Mashtots Hayrapet, in the village of Garni there is an Armenian pagan temple, the Church of the Holy Mother of God, the remains of the temple of Manuk Tukh, the remains of the church of the fourth century, the sanctuary of Queen Katranide, the church of St. Sergius. Not far away, in the Khosrov Reserve, there is the monastery of Havuts Tar.

Pagan Temple in Garni(I century AD) is located in the valley of the Azat River, 28 km from Yerevan, Kotai region. From the ruins, the temple was restored in Soviet times.

The fortress of Garni was mentioned by the ancient Roman historian Tacitus as early as the first century AD. e. in connection with the events in Armenia. It was built by the Armenian king Trdat in 76. The fortress is a vivid evidence of the centuries-old culture of Armenia in the pre-Christian period. Construction began in the second century BC and continued through antiquity and into the Middle Ages. The Armenian rulers made it impregnable. The citadel served as protection for the inhabitants from foreign invasions for more than a thousand years.

It was a favorite place of the Armenian kings: the inaccessibility and favorable climate turned Garni into a summer residence. The location of the fortress was strategically chosen extremely well. From the Urartian cuneiform it is known that the fortress was conquered by the Urartian king Argishti in the eighth century BC. e. He gathered the population of Garni as a labor force, led them towards modern Yerevan. The people were involved in the construction of the Erebuni fortress, which later became Yerevan.

The fortress of Garni is located on a triangular cape, dominating the surrounding area, it is surrounded by the Azat River, a deep gorge, steep slopes - an impregnable natural boundary. The gorge is distinguished by delightful, seemingly unnatural slopes, from the foot to the top, consisting of regular hexagonal prisms, called the “Symphony of Stones”. The rest of the fortress is protected by a powerful fortress wall with fourteen towers - an insurmountable defensive system.

The towers and fortress walls were built from huge blocks of local basalt with a blue tint, they are connected by iron brackets, filled with lead in the corners of the connection. The thickness of the fortress walls is from 2.07 m to 2.12 m, the length along the perimeter is 314.28 m. The entrance to the fortress was only through one gate, having the width of one chariot.

Historical and architectural complex of Garni located near the village with the same name. The temple of Garni is the only monument left in Armenia from the era of paganism and Hellenism.

The temple is built from blocks of smooth-hewn basalt. The building is made in the Hellenistic architectural forms. Solemnity and majesty of the building are given by nine massive steps stretched along the width of the facade. Reliefs depicting naked Atlanteans standing on one knee, raising their hands and supporting altars, adorn the pylons on the sides of the stairs.

According to the composition, the temple represents a peripter - a rectangular hall with a portico, surrounded by columns from the outside. The elements of the temple are designed with the diversity inherent in local art. In the ornaments, along with variants of the acanthus leaf, there are Armenian motifs: grapes, pomegranate, flowers, hazel leaves. A shallow vestibule leads to the rectangular sanctuary; a richly ornamented architraves adorns the entrance. In a small sanctuary there was only a statue of a deity. The temple served only the king and his family.

In 1679 there was a powerful earthquake, as a result of which the temple was badly damaged. In 1966-1976 it was restored. Near the temple, some elements of the royal palace, an ancient fortress, a bath building built in the third century have been preserved. In the southern part of the fortress there was a palace complex. On the northern territory of the fortress housed the attendants and the royal army. To the west of the temple, on the edge of the cliff, there was a front hall, and a residential building adjoined it. Remains of red and pink paint have been preserved on the plaster, reminiscent of the luxurious decoration of the front and living quarters of the palace. The floors were decorated with Hellenistic mosaics.

In the 19th century, numerous scientists and travelers showed interest in the ruins of the temple: Morier, Chardin, Ker-Porter, Chantre, Shnaaze, Telfer, Smirnov, Romanov, Marr, Buniatyan, Manandyan, Trever. In 1834, the French scientist Dubois de Monpere tried to create a project for the reconstruction of the temple with little accuracy.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a small expedition led by N. Ya. Marr was engaged in archaeological work to measure the temple and discover details. The chief architect of Yerevan, Buniatyan, surveyed the temple in Garni in the early 1930s and presented a project for the reconstruction of the original appearance in 1933. Restoration work in the 1960s was entrusted to the architect A. A. Sainyan. In 1976, the Garni temple was completely restored.

Monastic ensemble of Kecharis(11-13 centuries) is located in the city of Tsaghkadzor of the Kotai region, in the gavar ("county") Varazhnunik of the province of Ayrarat ( Ancient Armenia). Tourists can find the monastery complex on the slope of the Pambak Range, northwest of Tsaghkadzor. The complex includes four churches, two chapels, a gavit, an ancient cemetery with khachkars of the 12th-13th centuries.

Kecharis was founded by princes from the Pahlavuni family in the 11th century. Its construction lasted until the middle of the 13th century. Grigor Magistros in the monastery in 1033 built the church of St. Gregory the Illuminator. The wide dome of the church crowns a spacious vaulted hall.

A small rectangular chapel (11th century) is located between the Churches of the Sign (Surb Nshan) and St. Gregory the Illuminator. Until now, it has been preserved in a dilapidated state; it was the tomb of the founder of the monastery, Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni. Next to the chapel was the school building.

In the 12th century, the narthex of the church was built; it is considered one of the early structures of this type. To the south of the church, behind the khachkars, there is a small church of Surb Nshan (11th century), of a cross-domed type, restored in 1223.

Prince Vasak Khaghbakyan in 1203-1214 erected a third church on the territory of the monastery - Katoghike. To commemorate this event, a khachkar was erected to the east of the church. In 1220, the fourth Church of the Holy Resurrection was erected 120 meters from the buildings. The small temple has a rectangular shape and a high dome. In all four corners of the prayer hall of the church there are two-storey chapels.

The monastery in the 12th-13th centuries was a major spiritual center of Armenia, a school operated under it.

At the medieval cemetery of Kecharis, you can see the burial places of Prince Grigor Apiratyan (1099), Grand Duke Prosh (1284), architect Vetsik.

During the earthquake of 1828, the church dome was badly damaged. Restoration work in the temple was carried out in 1947-1949 and in 1995.

Armenia - the "country of stone" is open to all brave travelers who are not afraid of long journeys; ready to go down and explore a hard-to-reach gorge or climb high up a mountain. In a short period of time in a small area you can feel the course of millennia, see at the same time significant phenomena of the first millennia and the present.

Chapter “Architecture of Armenia” of the book “The General History of Architecture. Volume I. Architecture ancient world". Author: О.X. Khalpakhchyan; edited by O.Kh. Khalpakhchna (responsible editors), E.D. Kvitnitskaya, V.V. Pavlova, A.M. Pribytkova. Moscow, Stroyizdat, 1970

Armenia is a mountainous country located between the Asia Minor and Iranian plateaus. The Armenian people was formed as a result of a long process of merging of the tribal unions of the Hays, Armens, Urartians, etc., which proceeded especially intensively after the fall of the state of Urartu. Founded in 624 BC the Armenian state was incorporated in 520 BC. e. into the Persian state of the Achaemenids, and in 323 BC. e. - the Hellenistic state of the Seleucids. The struggle of Rome against the Seleucids favored the restoration of the Armenian kingdoms - Ayrarat, Lesser Armenia, Sophene and Armenia. The Ayrarat kings from the Artashesid dynasty (189 BC - 1 AD) managed to unite the Armenian lands into a single monarchy - Great Armenia, which under Tigran II (95-55 BC) reached the highest development and was considered one of the most powerful and advanced countries.

Under the Artashesids, Armenia was a military-slave-owning state. A large population spoke the common Armenian language and professed a single pagan religion. king and High priest were invested with unlimited power. The bdeshkhs, the hereditary rulers of the outlying lands, had great rights.

The natural wealth of the country contributed to the development of agriculture, crafts and trade. The trade routes between East and West passing through Armenia favored not only the cultural upsurge, but also the construction of cities. The main population developed an original, based on ancient traditions local culture. In the cities and among the slave owners, the Armenian Hellenistic culture, generated by close contact with the ancient states, spread.

The oldest writings in Armenia were Aramaic (the inscriptions of Artashes I on boundary stones), and from the 1st century. BC e. - Greek signs. Literary works were written in Greek and inscriptions were carved on structures, for example, the fortress walls of Tigranakert (Fig. 38) and Garni. The most ancient Armenian writing was used for writing chronicles and temple books.

Theatrical art reached a high level. In the cities (Artashat, Tigranakert) theatrical buildings were erected, in which the works of Greek and Armenian authors were staged.

Statues of pagan gods and deified kings were widespread (Fig. 39). The height of bronze statues reached 6-7 m. In monumental architecture, bas-reliefs were common, they depicted a plant-geometric ornament (Fig. 40), less often animals.

Architecture has reached a high level of development.

In mass construction in small fortifications, small, roughly chipped stone and brick were used. The walls were laid with clay and lime mortar. Monumental structures were made of large basalt squares (in the fortress wall of Garni they reach 5-6 tons of weight; Fig. 41, left). The squares were laid dry, flat and fastened with iron staples filled with lead ( Garni) or iron staples in the form of a dovetail (Armavir). The pillars of the columns and the lintel stones were connected with pyrons. The ceilings of conventional structures are flat on wooden beams with clay-adobe coating, which had a large slope in areas with significant precipitation. In capital buildings, rafters were used for pitched tiled roofs. Stone slab ceilings, arches and vaults made of stone on lime mortar (Garni) were also practiced.

The layout of the cities of the first Armenian kingdoms of the 6th-4th centuries. BC e. not known. From the description of the Greek author Xenophon, who saw in 401 BC. e. there is a vast settlement in Armenia, it follows that it consisted of the castle of the local ruler and the fortified houses of the townspeople surrounding it.

During the Artashesid dynasty and the first kings from the Arshakid dynasty in Armenia from the 3rd century. BC e. according to the 2nd century AD e. about 20 large and small cities were founded. In most cases, they were placed in the most important economic and strategic points, on the site of the Urartian settlements. For example, one of the Armenian capitals, Armavir, arose at the beginning of the 6th century. BC e. after the fall of the state of Urartu on the site of the Urartian city of Argishtikhinili. In this regard, the structure of the cities reflected both the Urartian and the Hellenistic traditions that prevailed at that time, from the combination of which the distinctive features of the urban planning of Armenia were subsequently developed.

The cities of Armavir (3rd century BC), Yervandashat (late 2nd century BC), Artashat (170-160 BC), Tigranakert (77 BC) ) and others had a clear plan structure. From the descriptions of historians - the Greek Plutarch and Strabo and the Armenian Movses Khorenatsi - we can conclude that the cities consisted of a citadel and a settlement. The citadel occupied a hill dominating the city and its surrounding territory and, depending on the relief, was placed on the edge (Artashat) or in the center (Tigranakert, Vagharshapat) of the city.

The cities built on the mountainous terrain had a random configuration of the plan. The outlines of the plain cities were regular. The structure of the street network of both types of cities has not been elucidated. It can be assumed that the cities founded on the site of ancient settlements (Armavir, Vagharshapat) had less pronounced features of Hellenistic urban planning than those built in new territories (Tigranakert).

Urban settlements had developed fortifications. The citadel was combined with the fortifications of the city into a single defensive system. The perimeter of the city and the citadel was surrounded by powerful walls and towers. The system of fortifications included a secret (underground) passage for evacuation when the fortress was captured, as well as for water intake in case of damage to the water supply. According to Movses Khorenatsi, a secret passage in the Yervandashat citadel was arranged under the palace stairs.

The relief features that strengthen the defense of the city (steep slopes, water lines) were used to the maximum. The development of military technology also changed the nature of the fortifications. In contrast to the Urartian time, water ditches and ramparts were arranged in front of the walls as an obstacle to siege machines. At the same time, the role of towers also increased, the main purpose of which was to conduct not frontal, but flank fire, which was most effective during an assault supported by siege engines. The towers began to be significantly extended beyond the walls, brought closer together and made higher (Fig. 41, right).

Cities were erected on a cape jutting into a river bend or formed by the confluence of rivers, which facilitated defense and provided the population with water. According to the description of Movses Khorenatsi, during the construction of Yervandashat on a rocky hill, ditches were cut in many places inside the fortress to take water to the level of the Arak River.

Within the boundaries of the settlement, the cape was surrounded by walls along the coast, in front of which a moat and a rampart were arranged from the side of the plain. So it was fortified, according to Strabo's description, Artashat, built according to a predetermined plan (according to legend, the choice of location was made on the advice of Hannibal). The city was considered the largest cultural and economic center of Armenia in the 2nd century BC. Strabo calls it a beautifully built royal city, and Plutarch calls it a large and very beautiful city, the Armenian Carthage. It had a luxurious royal palace, outstanding religious temples, tombs, theaters, craft and trade buildings.

Great attention was paid to the improvement of the urban area. Steep reliefs were softened by the construction of terraces with stone retaining walls, as, for example, in Armavir. The main streets and squares were paved, water mains were laid.

Capital Tigranakert, founded by Tigran II, was built at a rapid pace. Construction was carried out according to plan with the active participation of the population. The city was located in a naturally fortified mountainous place. The number of inhabitants exceeded 100 thousand. According to Strabo and Appian, most of them were resettled from the “12 Hellenistic cities” conquered in Cappadocia and Cilicia. Tigranakert, one of the largest cities in the world at that time (some scholars compare it with Nineveh and Babylon, others with advanced Hellenistic cities), was notable for its landscaping and had powerful defensive structures (Fig. 42). According to Appian, the city walls had a height of 50 cubits (about 26 m) and were so wide that they housed warehouses and royal stables. The impregnability of the walls was strengthened by the frequently erected towers, a water moat and an earthen rampart.

Vagharshapat (now Etchmiadzin), located on the Ararat plain, had similar fortifications, founded as the new capital of Armenia by King Vagharshak (117-140), on the site of Vardkesavan, dating back to the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e.

In addition to city fortifications, fortresses and castles were erected, which simultaneously served as country residences. Of these, the Yervandakert villa (late III - early II century BC) near Yervandashat, the Garni fortress (III-II centuries BC), the country palace of Tigran II (I century BC) are known. ) near Tigranakert.

Served as the summer residence of the Arshakid kings Garni fortress It was founded on the site of a Cyclopean fortress, on a high triangular cape, surrounded by the Azat River from two long sides (Fig. 43). Deep, in some places up to 150 m, the gorge with steep slopes served as a natural boundary. The walls were erected only from the side facing the plain. The length of the wall was at least 314 m, with a thickness of 2.07-2.08 m. -32 m) spaced rectangular towers (6 x 6.2 - 6.7 m), built of large basalt blocks (Fig. 44). The only narrow (2.16 m) arched gates were placed between two adjacent towers.

Significant progress was made in the construction of roads and bridges. In particular, Tigran II built a highway connecting Artashat and the Ararat valley with Tigranakert.

According to Herodotus, Strabo and Pliny the Elder, the roads of Armenia were notable for their improvement. The highways were designed for double-track wheeled traffic. The roads were paved with stone slabs laid over a leveled base. With a steep relief, they cut through the rocks, and trenches broke through in the hills. Inns were erected on long hauls.

Bridges were built temporary and permanent. There were three bridges near Artashat: across the water moat, across the Metsamor River (called Taperakan) and across the Arak River, of which the last two were made of stone. A four-span bridge across the Arpa River near the village of Areni was built from cleanly hewn basalt stones fastened with lead-filled metal brackets.

The features of the Hellenistic culture were also clearly manifested in the architecture of various buildings. The ruins of ancient settlements and fragments of structures (Fig. 45) testify to the spread in Armenia of types of buildings characteristic of antiquity - temples, sanctuaries, theaters, etc.

An idea of ​​civil buildings can be compiled from literary information and from some few examples.

Rural houses are described by Xenophon in Anabasis. They were dugouts with an upper passage widened downwards. They went down the stairs there, and special corridors were dug for the cattle. Such a dwelling was discovered near Leninakan. It is close to the medieval type of dwelling that existed in Armenia, called tun or glhatun, that is, a house with a head. Usually it was erected on a slope, deepening one side into the ground. Glkhatun is square or rectangular in plan. Its walls were made of torn stone on clay mortar. Mandatory elements: hearth or tonir (stove, which is a barrel-shaped jug buried in the ground), wall niches of various sizes and a ceiling made of wooden beams laid in the form of a truncated square or polyhedral prism (with a light-smoke hole), towering above the building in the form of a small mound. Depending on the size of the room and the quality of the wall masonry, the ceiling rests on wall or free-standing wooden pillars on stone bases, the number and location of which determines the compositional features of the interior. The door - one for people and livestock - is placed in one of the corners of the front facade. In winter, when the door was covered with snow, people got into the dwelling through the light-smoke hole along the stairs.

In the urban dwelling of the Armenians, apparently, the compositional features of the Urartian urban residential buildings were developed. According to fragmentary data of historians, the cities of Artashat, Yervandashat, Armavir, Arshamashat and especially Tigranakert were built according to all urban planning rules and had comfortable multi-storey dwellings. The central part of the city was occupied by the capital houses of merchants and artisans, whose occupations were reflected in the nature and type of their dwellings. Associated with agriculture, most of the urban population lived on the outskirts and in the suburbs, in houses that had much in common with rural housing.

What were the palaces of the nobility in the capitals of Armenia of the Hellenistic period is not known. Taking into account the laudatory reviews of ancient authors about these cities, it must be assumed that the residences of the rulers were among the best urban structures. The palace of the Yervandashat citadel, named by the Armenian historian of the 5th c. Favstos Buzand (Favst Byzantine) "big city", according to the description of Movses Khorenatsi, had high walls with copper gates and iron stairs. One must think that the palaces of the rulers of that time, located in the citadel, like the Urartian palaces (Erebuni, Teishebaini), were a complex of premises united in one building.

Country villas and summer residences, surrounded by gardens, ponds with fish and vast forests with wild animals for hunting, had a different character. According to Movses Khorenatsi, the royal villa Yervandakert consisted of disparate, cheerful-looking, bright, elegant and incomparable buildings located among fragrant flower beds. Obviously, the country palace of Tigran II near Tigranakert and mentioned by Favstos Buzand under the name Tiknuni, the palace of King Khosrov II (330-338) near Dvin, in the oak forest of the Azat River valley, obviously belonged to the Yervandakert type.

47. Garni. Palace tower: general view and plan

Movses Khorenatsi's true description of the architectural appearance of Yervandakert is also applicable to the royal summer residence in the Garni fortress. The palace complex consisted of separate buildings. To date, the remains of the temple, the main and columned halls, residential building and baths have been excavated. They were located around a spacious square in the southern part of the fortress, remote from the gates, where they formed a kind of ensemble (Fig. 46).

The top of the cape was occupied by a temple facing the square with its main northern facade. Taking into account the size of the temple and its location on the axis passing through the gates of the fortress, it can be assumed that it served as the main architectural accent of the ensemble.

From the west of the temple, at the edge of the cliff, there was a front hall. Its basement was an elongated vaulted room (12.5 x 22.5 m) with six square pillars on the longitudinal axis. The walls were divided by pilasters placed along the axis of the pillars, between which there were arched niches. In the 7th century a round Christian temple was built over the ruins of the hall.

From the north, a residential building adjoined the hall, the basement of which included a small winery. The traces of pink and red coloring of the basements preserved on the plaster give grounds to assume the richness of the decoration of the residential and ceremonial chambers of the palace.

On the northern side of the square, at an angle to the residential building, there was a palace bath. The building, built of torn stone with lime mortar, included at least five rooms, of which four had apses at the ends (Fig. 47). In some apses with a lower floor level, there were probably small pools. Judging by the design features of the walls that survived up to a height of 2-2.5 m, the first apsidal room from the east served as a dressing room, the second served as a bathing hall with cold, the third with warm, and the fourth with hot water. The latter also housed a water tank with a furnace compartment in the basement. The floors were made of two layers of baked bricks (64 x 66 x 6 and 64 x 66 x 4 cm) covered with polished knock (7 cm thick). The floors rested on brick columns (from 19 to 25 cm in diameter) and were heated from below by hot air with smoke coming from the firebox (Fig. 47). Some idea of ​​the interior decoration is given by the floors that survived in some rooms with the remains of stone mosaics. Of particular interest is the floor mosaic of the cloakroom, dating back to the 3rd-4th century BC. Its plot is taken from Greek mythology and contains images of the sea, fish, nereids, ichthinocentaurs and the gods of the Ocean and Talas against a greenish background (Fig. 48). An interesting inscription on the mosaic reads: "Receiving nothing, we worked."

The Garni bath in its composition, the presence of several bathing halls with different temperatures and heating of the hypocaust system, has much in common with the ancient baths of Syria and Asia Minor, especially with the baths in Mtskheta-Armazi (II-III centuries) in Georgia, in Dura-Europos and in Antioch on the Orontes (4th century).

Of interest are the remains of a rectangular room (6.3 x 9.75 m) located near the eastern fortress wall, dating back to the 3rd-4th centuries. (Fig. 49). Its wooden ceiling rested on two internal wooden pillars (diameter 31 cm) with stone bases. A similar composition of the building with internal pillars is also characteristic of the columned hall of the fortified city of Bagineti near Mtskheta (Georgia).

The religious buildings of Armenia were dedicated to pagan deities who received Greek names under Tigran II. There were temples in many cities and settlements, where they were erected either in the form of separate buildings or in the form of large complexes. Among the latter, the temples of Ashtishat and Bagrevand were the most famous. After the adoption of Christianity at the turn of the 3rd-4th centuries, almost all pagan temples were destroyed. Judging by the information of the Armenian historians Agatangeos (Agafangel) and Zenob Glak, and by the only surviving example - the temple in Garni (second half of the 1st century), pagan temples were rectangular stone buildings.

50. Garni. Pagan temple, second half of the 1st c. General view from the northwest, plan and northern facade

51. Garni. Pagan temple. The capital of the intermediate column, the corner of the pediment and the head of a lion on the cornice

Temple in Garni built from blocks of pure hewn basalt. Stones, some more than 4 m long and weighing up to 5 tons, are laid dry and fastened with brackets and pyrons. The style of the temple, a six-column peripter, is close to similar monuments of Asia Minor (Termes, Sagala, Pergamon), Syria (Baalbek) and Rome (Fig. 50). It is made in Hellenistic architectural forms, but differs in local features of details and decor.

The temple stood on a high podium (with an area of ​​11.82 x 16.02 m, not counting the stairs) with a two-stage base. A wide staircase with nine high steps led to the podium, enclosed between the side walls, on the ends of which there were bas-reliefs of kneeling figures with raised arms (Fig. 51); such a sculptural motif is known from the monuments of the Eastern Roman provinces (for example, Niha in Syria, 2nd century BC). In front of the rectangular cella (5.14 x 7.29 m) covered with a semicircular vault, there was a shallow pronaos with antae and an entrance decorated with a rich casing. The small size of the cella indicates that it contained a statue of a deity, possibly the sun god Mithra, and the cult action was performed in the pronaos.

The bases of the columns of the temple are close to Attic in their forms, the trunks are smooth, the Ionic capitals with richly traced volutes and ionics are decorated with leafy ornaments, different in all 24 columns. The richly ornamented entablature is distinguished by a significant extension of the upper part of the architrave and frieze. A similar technique is also found in the monuments of Syria (II century) and Italy (IV century). The gooseneck of the cornice is decorated with lion heads and acanthus leaves; gable is smooth. The ceilings of the portico and the bypass of the temple of Garni were decorated with octagonal and diamond-shaped ornamented caissons, analogies to which are found in the monuments of Syria. The high quality of the basalt carving testifies to the first-class work of the Armenian craftsmen who erected the buildings of Armavir, Yervandashat, Garni, etc. Their participation is especially evident in the development of details: a variety of ornamental motifs, the presence of samples of local flora in ornamentation (flowers, walnut leaves, grapes, pomegranates) , manner of execution and planar carving.

Described architectural features and the richness of the ornamental decoration of the temple in Garni testify to its leading role in the ensemble of the palace square. This is confirmed by the composition of the temple, designed to contrast the horizontal divisions of the podium with the verticals of the columns, clearly outlined against the sky, as well as the isolated location of the building, which created the possibility of its perception from different (far and near) points of view.

The architectural monuments of the slave-owning period of Armenia testify to the high level of development of architecture. Thanks to cultural ties with the Hellenistic world, the architecture of Armenia received a new direction in its development, during which favorable conditions were created for the formation of a remarkable architecture of the feudal period.