Ara Zaryan’s The Fortifications of The Syunik Region: 9th-14th Centuries: Remnants of A Glorious Past

Syunik, the ninth of the 15 provinces of Historical Armenia, is the southernmost province of present-day Armenia — and a historically significant part of Ancient Armenia — with natural barriers delineating the political boundaries of its fourteen divisions (Kavars). A mountainous terrain, high peaks, river valleys and deep gorges on all sides make Syunik a strategic military region difficult for enemies to access. The province has in fact been described as a natural military stronghold. That much of historic Syunik is within present-day Armenia’s parameters has made it possible for Zaryan to access the fortresses and to conduct extensive in situ surveys. The architect has personally photographed, measured and drawn detailed outlines of the floor plans and the structural layouts of the fortresses. These are an invaluable part of the documentation of the architectural particularities of the fortifications. It is worth noting that Zaryan’s study includes the Kashatagh region of the Republic of Artsakh and the Tchahouk-Shahaponk and Yerendjak Regions in the Autonomous Republic of Nakhijevan — both part of the Syunik Province for short periods but currently under Azerbaijani rule.

The Fortifications of The Syunik Region examines the structural components of fortresses with their defensive platforms — towers, walls, gates, entrances etc. — always highlighting the safety and the security features of the fortifications. Special attention is paid to the selection of the sites of the fortresses which were always chosen with defensive considerations. Their main characteristic, notes Zaryan, is the integration of the natural landscape — rugged cliffs, water, high peaks reaching up to 3,000 meters — with the architectural monument. Placing the fortress on heavy mountain rocks, for example, made it nearly impossible to scale. When there were no natural barriers, thick walls were constructed to set the parameters and protect the structure against attack. These walls were reinforced with towers and buttresses to make physical invasion difficult. Keeping the fortresses defendable from potential enemies involved strategic planning, as in entrances designed to be easily accessible in order to trap the enemy.

Besides analyzing all resources — fortified princely residences, gatehouses, watchtowers — necessary to withstand threats, Zaryan’s study examines and documents civil buildings such as caravanserails and structures for the manufacture and storage of munitions that assumed elements of military defense. Caravanserails were fortified roadside inns built along trade routes to protect merchants and their goods from constant raids and thefts. They were designed to be accessible to the caravans in daytime, as they used zenith lighting, admitting natural light directly from the sun through skylights built overhead.

Starting with the tenth century, important monasteries were placed under the supervision of fortresses to guarantee their safety. Yet, existing reports study these monastery-fortresses mostly as conventional religious/public complexes. Perhaps because the convent-fortresses are difficult to access, their structural, architectural and site selection features are almost absent from these reports, writes Zaryan, who studies them from the viewpoint of defensive architecture. He cites the Makenyats monastery in the Gegharkunik Province, one of the first monastery-fortresses, as a good example of the expert use of natural obstructions. Massive basalt boulders, rising directly from the banks of the river, are an organic part of the defensive high walls built on them, notes the architect.

Syunik’s structural capacity to respond to threats and a populace inclined to independence have helped the survival of the princely clans in the region, asserts Zaryan. That the kingdom of Syunik was one of the latest Armenian kingdoms to collapse must be testimony to the success of its defensive system. The enthusiastic architect notes that the visibility of key features of the fortresses — observation towers, defensive walls, citadels, parapets, shooting ranges etc. — in Armenian Medieval Miniature Art is evidence of the existence of numerous fortresses in the Armenian Highlands in the Middle Ages. Incorporating the military aspect into the spiritual highlights the importance of a strategic defense system to the welfare and the survival of a region, he adds. A lesson to heed.