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Amberd Fortress
Amberd () is a 10th-century fortress located 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 from the site of Amberd. In 2024, the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage Europa Nostra included Amberd, a medieval fortress, in the list of the 7 most endangered European monuments and heritage sites. The buildings of the complex may collapse due to age, lack of funding for reinforcing the structures, and because of erosion and earthquakes. History The site started as a Stone Age settlement. During the Bronze Age and Urartian periods, a fortress had been built that is now obsolete. Some sources say that Amberd used to be a summer residence for kings. The castle of Amberd and som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aragatsotn Province
Aragatsotn (, ) is a administrative divisions of Armenia, province (''Marz (country subdivision), marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the western part of the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Ashtarak. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported its population was 128,941 in the 2022 census. Etymology Literally meaning "the foot of Mount Aragats, Aragats" (the highest mountain of Armenia), it is named after the Aragatsotn canton of the historic Ayrarat province of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Ancient Armenia, ruled by the Amatuni noble family under the reign of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, Arsacid dynasty. Geography Aragatsotn Province occupies the northwestern part of Armenia and covers an area of 2,756 km2 (9.3% of the total area of Armenia). It has internal borders with Shirak Province from the north, Lori Province from the northeast, Kotayk Province from the east, Armavir Province from the south and the city of Yerevan from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial planet, rocky planet or natural satellite, moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System. For example, the bulk of the plains of volcanism on Venus, Venus, which cover ~80% of the surface, are basaltic; the lunar mare, lunar maria are plains of flood-basaltic lava flows; and basalt is a common rock on the surface of Mars. Molten basalt lava has a low viscosity due to its relatively low silica content (between 45% and 52%), resulting in rapidly moving lava flo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grigor Magistros
Grigor Magistros (; "Gregory the ''magistros''"; ca. 990–1058) was an Armenians, Armenian prince, Linguistics, linguist, scholar and public functionary. A layman of the princely Pahlavuni family that claimed descent from the dynasty established by St. Gregory the Illuminator, he was the son of the military commander Vasak Pahlavuni. After the Byzantine Empire annexed the Ani, Kingdom of Ani, Gregory went on to serve as the governor (''dux, doux'') of the province of Edessa, Mesopotamia, Edessa. During his tenure he worked actively to suppress the Tondrakians, a breakaway Christian Armenian sect that the Armenian and Byzantine Churches both labeled heresy, heretics. He studied both ecclesiastical and secular literature, Syriac as well as Greek. He collected all Armenian manuscripts of scientific or philosophical value that were to be found, including the works of Anania Shirakatsi, and translations from Callimachus, Andronicus of Rhodes and Olympiodorus of Thebes, Olympiodorus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagratid Armenia
Bagratid Armenia was an independent Armenian state established by Ashot I of the Bagratuni dynasty in the early 880s following nearly two centuries of foreign domination of Greater Armenia under Arab Umayyad and Abbasid rule. With each of the two contemporary powers in the region—the Abbasids and Byzantines—too preoccupied to concentrate their forces on subjugating the region, and with the dissipation of several of the Armenian '' nakharar'' noble families, Ashot succeeded in asserting himself as the leading figure of a movement to dislodge the Arabs from Armenia. Ashot's prestige rose as both Byzantine and Arab leaders—eager to maintain a buffer state near their frontiers—courted him. The Abbasid Caliphate recognized Ashot as "prince of princes" in 862 and, later on, as king (in 884 or 885). The establishment of the Bagratuni kingdom later led to the founding of several other Armenian principalities A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirak Province
Shirak (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province () of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering the provinces of Lori Province, Lori to the east and Aragatsotn Province, Aragatsotn to the south and southeast, and the countries of Turkey to the west and Georgia (country), Georgia to the north. Its capital and largest city is Gyumri, which is the second largest city in Armenia. It is as much semi-desert as it is mountain meadow or high alpine. In the south, the high steppes merge into mountain terrain, being verdant green in the spring, with hues of reddish brown in the summer. The province is served by the Gyumri Shirak International Airport, Shirak International Airport of Gyumri. Etymology Shirak Province is named after the Shirak canton of the historical Ayrarat province of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Ancient Armenia. The early medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi writes that the name Shirak derives from Shara, who was the great-grandson o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashot IV
Ashot IV (, died c. 1040–41), surnamed Kaj (), i.e. "the Brave, the Valiant", was the younger son of King Gagik I of Armenia. Life When his eldest brother Hovhannes-Smbat (known also as Smbat III) was enthroned as King of Armenia as the legal heir of the Bagratuni dynasty as King of Armenia (King of Ani), Ashot was greatly displeased as he had aspirations to the throne. So he organized a military campaign through his supporters besieging and later conquering the Armenian capital Ani, usurping the power and dethroning the king Hovhannes-Smbat in 1021. But later on a compromise agreement was reached between the two feuding brothers such the legal heir would reassume his power but on a much smaller territory in provinces near the capital, whereas Ashot would become king in provinces closer to Persia and Georgia. The simultaneous rule of the two brothers continued with Hovhannes-Smbat ruling (1020–1040) and that of Ashot IV (1021–1039). However, despite the compromise agreeme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hovhannes-Smbat III Of Armenia
Hovhannes-Smbat III () was King of Ani (1020–1040). He succeeded his father Gagik I of Ani (989–1020) being the king's elder son and legal heir to the throne. Life His enthronement in 1020 was strongly opposed by his younger brother Ashot, who one year later in 1021 rebelled against him, driving his forces to Ani the capital, surrounding and conquering the city and dethroning his brother Hovhannes-Smbat III in 1021 and usurping power from him. But following a compromise agreement between the two feuding brothers, he agreed to withdraw his rebel forces from Ani and let the legal heir Hovhannes-Smbat III to return to power continuing as Hovhannes-Smbat III of Ani on limited areas around the capital, whereas Ashot (known as Ashot IV) would be enthroned a concurrent king and rule in further Armenian provinces closer to Persia and Georgia. Despite the agreed compromise, conflicts, sometimes military, continued between the two brother kings thus greatly weakening the Arm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gagik I Of Armenia
Gagik I () was a Bagratid king of Armenia who reigned between 989 and 1020, under whom Bagratid Armenia reached its height and enjoyed a period of uninterrupted peace and prosperity. Rule It is unknown when Gagik I was born. He succeeded his brother Smbat II in 989. He followed the footsteps of his predecessors in building churches and religious buildings in the capital Ani. Using the favorable economic conditions of Armenia, Gagik increased the size of the army up to 100,000 soldiers. He subsequently united various Armenian provinces to Bagratid Armenia, including Vayots Dzor, Khachen, Nakhichevan and the city of Dvin. He made alliances with Gurgen of Iberia and Bagrat III of Georgia, whose armies defeated Mamlan, the emir of Khorasan, in 998 in the village of Tsumb, northeast of Lake Van. Under Gagik I, the Kingdom of Armenia extended from Shamkor to Vagharshakert and Kura River to Apahunik near Lake Van. The country's economy, culture and foreign trade developed; Ani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagratuni Dynasty
The Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty (, ) was an Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the medieval Kingdom of Armenia from until 1045. Originating as vassals of the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to become the most prominent Armenian noble family during the period of Arab rule in Armenia, eventually establishing their own independent kingdom. Their domain included regions of Armenia such as Shirak, Bagrevand, Kogovit, Syunik, Lori, Vaspurakan, Vanand and Taron. Many historians, such as Cyril Toumanoff, Nicholas Adontz and Ronald Suny, consider them to be the progenitors of the Georgian royal Bagrationi dynasty. Early history The name ''Bagratuni'' derives from ''Bagarat'' (), a Parthian variant of the Old Iranian name ''Bagadata'' ('God-given'). Historian Cyril Toumanoff speculated that a general of King Tigranes II of Armenia () named Bagadates may have been the earliest known member of the Bagratuni family, which first emerged as '' nakharars''—memb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
