Dashtadem Fortress ()(Qagheni fortress) is a substantial fortress of the 5th to 19th centuries located at the southern outskirts of Dashtadem village in the

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 Sta ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. In a cemetery south of Dashtadem, lies the restored 7th-century Kristapori Vank which may be viewed in the distance from the Qagheni fortress. An

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al walled enceinte surrounds the fortress and was constructed during the beginning of the 19th century. A continuous line of eight

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s and curtain walls encloses interior fortifications; seven regular polygonal bastions and a single semi-circular or "half-moon" bastion to the north. Where fully developed bastions consist of two faces and two flanks with fire from the flanks being able to protect the exposed curtain walls and adjacent bastions, curtain walls between the semi-circular and regular bastions at Dashtadem are angled-in slightly so that the former is protected by the adjacent projecting fortifications. The main gate requires one to enter at a right angle from the east of the northern bastion. This design prevented

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

from charging the entry. Low-relief depictions of lions on "panels" are upon the exterior wall above the arched gateway. A low-irregular

decagon In geometry, a decagon (from the Greek δέκα ''déka'' and γωνία ''gonía,'' "ten angles") is a ten-sided polygon or 10-gon.. The total sum of the interior angles of a simple decagon is 1440°. Regular decagon A '' regular decagon'' has a ...

al interior wall surrounds a fortress

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

and an adjacent 5th-century chapel of S. Sargis. Five of the ten original semi-circular bastions remain standing. The keep consists of four semi-circular towers (12th century?) that were affixed at a later date to earlier 10th-century Armenian fortifications. Beneath the towers are large

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

s and tunnels that lead to the top of the keep. The structure has been partially renovated in recent years, while the chapel has been entirely rebuilt. On the east wall of the fortress keep is an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

dedicatory inscription of 1174, written in

Kufic The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts ...

script attributing the structure to Sultan ibn Mahmud (Shahanshah), one of the

Shaddadid The Shaddadids were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin. who ruled in various parts of Armenia and Arran from 951 to 1199 AD. They were established in Dvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with the Bagratuni ...

Princes that ruled in Ani. It reads the following passage: Until recently, the fortress had been home to local shepherds and their families. These individuals have been displaced from the grounds while renovations have been underway.

Gallery

Dashtadem castle, aerial view from south east.jpg Image:Դաշտադեմի ամրոց.jpg, Semi-circular northern bastion and fortress gate Image:Dashtadem Fortress Gate.JPG, Fortress gate with depictions of lions above Image:Dashtadem Fortress Exterior Walls.JPG, 19th-century outer circuit walls Image:Dashtadem Fortress 1.JPG, Fortress keep and inner circuit wall Dashtadem Fortress in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia 36.jpg Dashtadem Fortress in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia 44.jpg Image:Dashtadem Fortress.JPG, Fortress keep Qaghni Fortress (13).jpg Image:Fortress of Dashtadem 06.JPG, 10th-century chapel Դաշտադեմ Քաղնի ամրոց 26.jpg Qaghni Fortress (23).jpg Qaghni Fortress (24).jpg

References

{{Castles in Armenia Archaeological sites in Armenia Castles in Armenia Forts in Armenia Buildings and structures in Aragatsotn Province Tourist attractions in Aragatsotn Province