Vorotnaberd
Vorotnaberd ( Armenian Որոտանաբերդ ), another romanization Worotnaberd, is the ruin of a fortress in the southern Armenian province of Sjunik , the origins of which may date back to pre-Christian times. It achieved the greatest importance for Armenian history during the Orbelian dynasty, which ruled independently in the 13th and 14th centuries, and as a base of the Armenian military leader Davit Bek, who conquered the fortress in 1724 in the fight against the Persian Safavids .
location
Coordinates: 39 ° 29 ′ 44.2 ″ N , 46 ° 7 ′ 19.9 ″ E
Vorotnaberd is about 14 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital Sissian on the right bank of the Vorotan River . Below the former Vorotnavank monastery , the river passes a rocky gorge. After that, the valley widens to allow pastures with meadows that are green in summer as well as small-parceled fields to allow some vegetable cultivation on both banks. A good kilometer below the monastery, the road crosses the river and bypasses the fortress hill in the south. It continues in the valley to the Shamb reservoir and ends at the village of Ltsen. On the northern side of the hill, which protrudes in places through vertical basalt columns, is the village of Worotan with about 300 inhabitants. The houses and stables are scattered between trees and gardens from the river plain to the foot of the range of hills. The river makes a wide loop eastwards around the fortress hill, which it separates from the village.
The hill Vorotnaberd in the middle of the river plain reaches a height of 1461 meters with its rocky top. It and the higher chain of hills on the edges of the Worotantal, which are divided by side valleys, are characterized by steppe vegetation in which different species of fescue ( Festuca ) and feather grass ( Stipa ) predominate.
history
Perhaps there was already an Iron Age fortress on the hill to ward off invaders from the north in the Vorotantal. A fortress has probably existed since the Artaxid dynasty , which began in 189 BC. Until it was broken up towards the end of the 1st century BC. Ruled by the Romans . The Armenian historian Yeghishe Vardapet (410-475) mentions in his "History of Vardan and the Armenian War [written] at the request of David Mamikonian" that the Armenian commander Vartan Mamikonian in 450 Vorotnaberd along with other fortresses of the Sassanids had taken . Vartan Mamikonian and his troops used the fortress as the starting point for their revolt against the Persian King Yazdegerd II , which culminated in the Battle of Avarayr in 451 , which took place a few kilometers south just across the present-day Iranian border. Vartan, a large part of the Armenian nobles and many soldiers were killed in the battle. To this day, Vartan is revered as a martyr in Armenia.
From 1075 to 1094 Vorotnaberd belonged to the domain of Prince Senekerim from the Arranschahik family. He was the successor of Grigor III, the last king of Sjunik, whose empire was split off from the Bagratids in 987 and which was limited to an area around the capital Kapan . In 1104 the Seljuks conquered and devastated Vorotnaberd and the Vorotnavank monastery. Ivane Zakarian from the Georgian-Armenian Zakarid dynasty brought the fortress back into Christian ownership in 1219 and transferred it to Liparit Orbelian. The historian and bishop of Sjunik, Stepanos Orbelian (around 1250–1305), described Vorotnaberd in his "History of the Province of Sjunik" as one of the most important fortresses of the Orbelian princes, whose name derives from their fortress Orbeti (Samschwilde in Niederkartlien ). The Armenian branch of the Orbelian dynasty, founded by Liparit, ruled the Sjunik region independently of the capital Yeghegis from the middle of the 13th century and in the 14th century , while the Armenian areas further north were under the rule of the Mongol conquerors. Later they made the southern Vorotnaberd their capital and enabled a cultural heyday in the region by supporting numerous monasteries such as Voratnavank, Noravank , Tatew and Gladzor ( Tanahat ).
The greatest devastation for Armenia was caused by the attacks of Timur Lenk in the 1380s, whose army also besieged Vorotnaberd. In the riots that followed, the Orbelian family split into several groups. The last Orbelian ruler, Smbat, lost in 1407/10 Vorotnaberd to the Turkmen tribal association Qara Qoyunlu under Qara Yusuf, which was attacking from Anatolia . Smbat left for Georgia.
In the 16th century the Turkmens lost Vorotnaberd to the Persian Safavids . Under their control, Meliks, called the little princes , exercised local power until the Armenian partisan leader Davit Bek († 1728) conquered Vorotnaberd from Melik Baghu in 1724. Davit Bek led the liberation struggle against the Safavids from his principality Kapan, who were driven out by the invasion of Russian troops in 1722 . He also fought against the Ottomans and is regarded by the Armenians as a figurehead in the liberation struggle of the 18th century.
At the end of the 18th century Vorotnaberd was badly damaged in an attack by the troops of the Persian Shah Agha Mohammed Khan . At the beginning of the 19th century the fortress fell back to the Armenians, who were now under Russian rule. The ruins were not rebuilt and later abandoned.
fortress
The fortress was protected on three sides by rugged rock walls. Only the steep grass slope on the west side, where the entrance was, had to be secured by a fortress wall with round towers. In the event of a siege, Vorotnaberd was connected to Vorotnavank Monastery via a secret tunnel. The inner area of the fortress was on the slightly elevated southeast area of the summit.
The top of the hill can only be reached without a path over the western flank. Parts of the fortress wall made of roughly hewn basalt blocks have been preserved there. Otherwise there are practically no remains of ruins to be seen. The low walls made of reading stones on the uneven grass slopes above have been built up in recent times.
Web links
- Rick Ney: Siunik . (PDF; 1.6 MB) TourArmenia, 2009, p. 18
- Brady Kiesling: Rediscovering Armenia Guidebook - Syunik Marz. 2005 (Armeniapedia)
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Steffen Scharrer: Early Pleistocene Vegetation Development in the Southern Caucasus. Pollen analysis of lake sediments in the Vorotan Basin (Armenia). (Diss.) Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main 2013, p. 20
- ↑ Avarayr . In: Encyclopædia Iranica
- ↑ Levon Chorbajian, Patrick Donabedian, Mutafian: The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geopolitics of Nagorno-Karabagh. Zed Books, London 1994, p. 62
- ↑ Rouben Paul Adalian: Historical Dictionary of Armenia. Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2010, pp. 250f