Alexander Arami Sahinyan (; 15 July 1910 – 4 November 1982) was a Soviet

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

, who headed the Architecture Department of the Institute of Arts of the

Armenian Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri azgayin akademia'') is the Armenian national academy, functioning as the primary body that conducts research and coordinates acti ...

between 1958 and 1982. Born in Vardablur village in northern Armenia, he graduated from the architecture department of the

Yerevan Polytechnic Institute The National Polytechnic University of Armenia () is a technical university located in Yerevan, Armenia. Established as the Karl Marx Institute of Polytechnic in 1933, it provides educational and research programs in various fields of technology ...

in 1937. He was employed by a state design institute until the eruption of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Between 1942 and 1944, he served in the Soviet Army and returned to Armenia wounded. Upon his return, Sahinian was admitted into the postgraduate program of the

and began the archaeological excavations at the Aparan (Kasakh) Basilica. Since 1946, he worked at the Art Institute of the Academy of Sciences. Sahinian defended his dissertation on the architecture of the Aparan Basilica in 1952. Sahinian directed the excavations at the

Etchmiadzin Cathedral Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the Mother church#Church as a building, mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city Dual naming, dually known as Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin) and Vagharshapat, Armenia. It is #Oldest cathedral, usuall ...

in 1955–56 and 1959 during which fragments of the original 4th-century church building and pre-Christian structures were unearthed. Between 1968 and 1974, he reassembled Armenia's only Greco-Roman colonnaded building, the

Garni Temple The Garni Temple is a classical colonnaded structure in the village of Garni, in central Armenia, around east of Yerevan. Built in the Ionic order, it is the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia. It has been described as th ...

, which had collapsed in the 17th century. Sahinian died in Yerevan in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahinian, Alexander 1910 births 1982 deaths Armenian architectural historians 20th-century Armenian architects 20th-century Armenian historians Soviet architects Soviet Armenians Soviet historians Armenian studies scholars People from Lori Province

See also

References