T H E    B A G R A T I D    D Y N A S T Y

THE BANNER OF THE BAGRATID HOUSE. UPON BLUE AND RED
STRIPED BANNER TWO TIGERS [ALTERNATIVELY LIONS] - IN THE
UPPER BLUE FIELD - IN GOLDEN APRICOT [THE COLOR ASSOCIATED
WITH THE FRUIT THAT AMONGST MANY PLANTS AND FRUITS
ORIGINATED IN ARMENIA] FLANKING THE HOLY VESSEL OF GOD.
NOTE THE THREE SACRED BRANCHES OF LIFE... [FERTILITY]
EMERGING FROM THE HOLY VESSEL/CONTAINER. THE SOLAR
DISKS UPON THE SPINE/BACKS [ANCIENT AND PREVALENT MOTIF]
UPON THE BACKS OF THE TIGERS. THE VERY NAME BAGRAT -
THE ESTABLISHER OF THE HOUSE OF BAGRATIDS - IS PRIMORDIAL
ARMANEN HEATHEN NAME WHICH LITERALLY MEANS
SCION OF GOD THE CREATOR [BAG-VA[H]AGN]

THE COSMIC WHEEL OF ETERNITY IN MOTION...
UPON THE OUTER WALLS OF ANI - THE GLORIOUS
BAGRATID CAPITAL.

THE BAGRATID TRADEMARK COAT OF ARMS -
TIGER-LION UPON THE OUTER WALLS OF ANI. TWIN TIGERS/LIONS -
THE COAT OF ARMS CONTINUED IN THE RUBENID HOUSE
IN CILICIAN ARMENIA, SINCE THE FOUNDER OF THE DYNASTY
RUBEN I WAS ALSO FROM THE HOUSE OF BAGRAT].

1885 ENGRAVING OF THE RUINS OF THE MASSIVE OUTER WALLS OF THE CAPITAL ANI.

E. KALGIN'S 1907 RECONSTRUCTION [FAÇADE] OF THE IXTH CENTURY BANAK
CATHEDRAL IN THE KARS PROVINCE.

THE BAGRATID STATE FLAG USED ALTERNATIVELY WITH THE
HOUSE OF THE BAGRAT COAT OF ARMS THE
EAGLE WITH SPREAD WINGS CLUTCHING THE LAMB/SHEEP -
THE PRIMORDIAL MITHRAIC ARMANEN SYMBOL THAT WAS
CARRIED OVER INTO CHRISTIANITY AND WAS PLACED ON
MANY MEDIEVAL CHURCHES THROUGHOUT ARMENIA.

CAPITAL -- KARS AND LATER -- ANI
Ašot I (885-890)
Smbat I (890-913)
Ašot II the Iron (914-929)
Abas (929-953)
Ašot III (953-977)
Smbat II (977-989)
Gagik I (989-1020)
Yovhannēs-Smbat (1020-1041)
Ašot IV co-rule (1022-1040)
Gagik II (1043-1045)

MARMAŠĒN MONASTERY IN THE ŠIRAK PLAIN NEAR
 THE AXUREAN RIVER. ERECTED BY PRINCE VAHRAM PAHLAVUNI [988-1029].
THE CHURCH SUSTAINED HEAVY DAMAGE DURING SELJUK RAIDS IN THE
ELEVENTH CENTURY AND WAS PARTIALLY REBUILT DURING THE THIRTEENTH
BY THE GRANDSONS OF PRINCE VAHRAM - ARCHBISHOP GRIGOR AND
HIS BROTHER ŁARIB PAHLAVUNIS.

GENERAL PLAN OF THE KAT‘OLIKĒ CHURCH [RIGHT] ERECTED BY SPARAPET
VAHRAM PAHLAVUNI [SPARAPET WAS THE TITLE OF THE COMMANDER OF ALL
ARMED FORCES - THE PAHLAVUNI PRINCES DURING
THE BAGRATID DYNASTY HELD THIS POSITION AS A HEREDITARY RIGHT].
THE CHAPEL [WHICH IS BASED ON THE SAME ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
BUT ONLY SMALLER] ON THE LEFT WAS ADDED LATER. THE WHOLE MONASTIC
COMPLEX INCLUDED TWO OTHER CHURCHES [SEE THE COMPLETE PLAN
BELOW] OF WHICH ONLY REMNANTS SURVIVE. THE COMPLEX IS ONLY 2 KM.
SOUTHWEST OF VAHRAMABERD VILLAGE. THE TOMB OF SPARAPET
VAHRAM IS LOCATED IN THE 'THIRD CHURCH' [OF FOUR] OF MARMAŠĒN.

GENERAL PLAN OF THE MARMAŠĒN MONASTIC COMPLEX MADE UP OF
FOUR CHURCH ERECTED BETWEEN THE XTH TO XIIITH CENTURIES.

SKETCH OF A SECTION OF THE THE NORTHERN FAÇADE OF MARMAŠĒN'S
KAT‘OLIKĒ CHURCH WITH ARCHING PILLARS AND THE DECORATIVE RELIEFS
IN A FORM OF RADIANT SEMI-CIRCULAR SUNBURSTS.

SAHAK BAGRATUNI [CENTER] WITH CROWN PRINCE AŠOT. FRESCO IN MREN TEMPLE.

THE HUGE GAGKASHEN CATHEDRAL OF ANI [XTH CENTURY] WAS ERECTED
ACCORDING TO THE GENERAL LAYOUT OF THE VIITH CENTURY ZVARTNOTS CATHEDRAL.

THE WONDER MONASTERY OF GEŁARD BUILT ON A PRIMORDIAL MITHRĆVM
THAT IS CUT RIGHT INTO THE CLIFF [THE SACRED ROCK/CAVE - WHERE
MITHRAIC MYSTERIES WERE HELD]. THE MONASTERY IS A UNESCO WORLD
HERITAGE SITE.

THE MONASTERY CUT OUT SCHEME WITH GRAY SHOWING THE
PARTS OF THE MONASTERY DEEP WITHIN THE CAVE.
THE MONASTERY HOLDS THE TOMBS OF THE PROŠEAN PRINCES
WHO REBUILT THE ANCIENT MITHRĆVM.

FLOOR PLAN OF THE GEŁARD MONASTERY WHERE ACCORDING TO TRADITION THE
HOLY LANCE [LIT. GEŁARD] THAT PIERCED CHRIST WAS KEPT AS A HOLY RELIC.

YOVHANNAVANK‘ ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL. 1216.

RUINS OF AMBERD CASTLE. ONE OF THE STRONGHOLDS OF PAHLAVUNI
NOBILITY THAT PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE LIFE OF ANI. PAHLAVUNIS
WERE THE RIGHT HAND AND THE MILITARY COMMANDERS OF ARMENIAN
FORCES UNDER BAGRATID KINGS. SPARAPET [COMMANDER] VAHRAM
PAHLAVUNI WAS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED REPRESENTATIVES OF
THE HOUSE AND MILITARY LEADERS OF THE ERA. THE CASTLE WAS BUILT
IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY, FURTHER FORTIFIED IN THE ELEVENTH
[PARTIALLY REBUILT IN THE XIIITH CEN.]. THE ADJOINING CHURCH WAS
ERECTED IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY.

GOŠAVANK‘ MONASTERY BUILT IN THE XIIITH CENTURY.

FLOOR PLAN OF GOŠAVANK‘ [NOR GETIK] MONASTERY.

AYRIVANK‘ MONASTERY ON THE SHORES OF LAKE SEVAN. THE CHURCH WAS
ERECTED IN THE IXTH CENTURY AND THE GAVIT‘ WAS ADDED IN THE XIITH.

THE SWORD WOULD BE FORGED ANEW...

ARMENIAN BAGRATID NOBLEMAN YOVHAN [JOHN] IN THE XITH
CENTURY BARONIAL DRESS. FROM A 1007 MANUSCRIPT.
DURING THIS PERIOD THE ARMENIAN ARISTOCRACY RECEIVED
AN ALL-AROUND EDUCATION INCLUDING THE ART OF WAR, DIPLOMACY,
FINE ARTS, THEOLOGY, SCIENCES AND COURT ETIQUETTE.

THE BAGRATID DYNASTY ALSO ESTABLISHED
A BRANCH IN NEIGHBORING GEORGIA [BAGRATIONI]
THAT HELD THE SEAT OF POWER UNTIL 1801.

HERMETIC ARMAN ARCHITECTURE AT ITS FINEST. FUSED HARMONY.
ŠOŁAGAVANK‛ CHURCH ON THE ISLAND [NOW PENINSULA] OF SEVAN.
IXTH CENTURY. STEPAN MNATSAKANIAN'S RECONSTRUCTION.
A BACKDROP FOR A NUMBER OF HISTORIC AND ROMANTIC NOVELS
LIKE AŠOT THE IRON [HEROIC BAGRATID KING WHO HELD OUT ON THE ISLAND
AND FOUGHT OFF FOREIGN INVADERS] AND ANCIENT GODS BY LEVON ŠANT‛.

AL VANK‛. IXTH CENTURY. STEPAN MNATSAKANIAN'S RECONSTRUCTION.


QUEEN GORANDUXT OF THE BAGRATID KINGDOM OF VANAND [CENT. KARS].
ONE OF THE MANY OFFSHOOT BRANCHES OF THE HOUSE OF BAGRAT.
FROM A 1064 ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT.

KING GAGIK OF THE BAGRATID KINGDOM OF VANAND [CENT. KARS].
ONE OF THE MANY OFFSHOOT BRANCHES OF THE HOUSE OF BAGRAT.
FROM A 1064 ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT.

PRINCESS MARIANE OF THE BAGRATID KINGDOM OF VANAND [CENT. KARS].
ONE OF THE MANY OFFSHOOT BRANCHES OF THE HOUSE OF BAGRAT.
FROM A 1064 ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT.

JULIANO ZASSO (1833-1889). KARMRAKEL SCORES A VICTORY AGAINST MAMLAN'S
ARMY AND TAKES HIS WIFE CAPTIVE. THE WIFE OF MUSLIM EMIR MAMLAN IS
TAKEN PRISONER AFTER THE LATTER INVADED ARMENIA. HIS WIFE WAS TREATED
WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT AS WAS WORTHY OF GENUINE CHIVALRIC NOBILITY.

JULIANO ZASSO (1833-1889). KING SMBAT I CONSOLES THE EARTHQUAKE-STRICKEN
RESIDENTS OF DVIN. THE CITY OF DVIN [DUIN] LIES DIRECTLY ON A FAULT LINE
AND HAS BEEN HIT WITH SEVERE EARTHQUAKES THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY. THE
EARTHQUAKE OF 893 WAS PARTICULARLY DEVASTATING WHICH EFFECTIVELY PUT AN
END TO THE CITY AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CITIES OF ARMENIA [A PERIOD
THAT LASTED FROM THE FIFTH TO THE NINTH CENTURIES] AND SHIFTED THE
PROMINENCE TO BAGRATID CITIES LIKE KARS AND ESPECIALLY ANI.

THE EARTHQUAKE OF 893 RUINED THE OUTER WALLS, PALACES, RESIDENTIAL
NEIGHBORHOODS, CATHOLICOSAL SEAT ALONG WITH SOME OF THE
 MOST PROMINENT CHURCHES OF THE CITY. HISTORIAN YOVHANNĒS
DRASXANAKERTC‘I WROTE THAT MANY OF THE RESIDENTS
DIED DURING THE EARTHQUAKE AND KING SMBAT I IMMEDIATELY RUSHED
TO THE CITY IN ORDER TO CONSOLE AND ENCOURAGE THE RESIDENTS TO
REBUILD THE CITY. THE CROWN ALLOCATED SUMS FOR THE REBUILDING
EFFORTS THAT SHORTLY REBUILT MUCH OF THE CITY, BUT THE GREAT
LOSS OF THE CITY'S INHABITANTS TO A GREAT EXTENT ARRESTED
DVIN AS A PROMINENT CENTER OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMMERCE
SHIFTING THAT ROLE TO THAT OF THE CITY OF ANI.

JULIANO ZASSO (1833-1889). KING ABAS BAGRATID ORDERS THE NEWLY ERECTED
CHURCH OF KAT‘UŁIKĒ TO BE CONSECRATED ACCORDING TO THE APOSTOLIC RITE.

JULIANO ZASSO (1833-1889). ARMENIAN DEFENDERS OF ANI BREAK THE 1044 SIEGE AND
PURSUE THE FLEEING BYZANTINES. THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF ANI WAS CROWNED
WITH SUCCESS AS THE 100,000 BYZANTINE ARMY OF CONSTANTINE MONOMACHUS
WAS UNABLE TO BREAK THE MIGHTY WALLS OF ANI ALONG WITH THE SPIRITS OF
THE DEFENDERS. MONOMACHUS, HAVING UNABLE TO WIN WITH FORCE, RESORTED
TO TREACHERY BY IN 1045 INVITING THE 21 YEAR OLD KING GAGIK II [SON OF
KING AŠOT IV] FOR "PEACE TALKS" DURING WHICH THE YOUNG KING BECAME
A HOSTAGE IN THE COURT OF THE BYZANTINE EMPEROR.

N AN IRONIC TWIST OF FAITH, WITH THE BYZANTINE CAPTURE AND
ANNEXATION OF ANI - THE BYZANTINE EMPEROR - WHO STEMMED FROM
A BAGRATID BLOODLINE - PUT AN END TO THE MAIN BAGRATID DYNASTY IN
ARMENIA. MANY OF THE BAGRATID BRANCHES THROUGHOUT ARMENIA
PERSISTED WELL INTO THE MIDDLE AGES. WHILE PRINCE RUBEN I - ALSO OF
BAGRATID LINEAGE WOULD IN 1080 COME TO ESTABLISH THE
PRINCIPALITY OF CILICIAN ARMENIA WHICH IN 1198, DURING THE
REIGN OF LEVON THE MAGNIFICENT WOULD TURN INTO THE POWERFUL
KINGDOM OF CILICIAN ARMENIA. THE BAGRATID BRANCH IN GEORGIA
WOULD ALSO MAINTAIN THEIR DYNASTIC RULE UNTIL 1801.

IN 1047, AFTER ONLY 2 YEARS OF TREACHEROUS ANNEXATION OF ANI AND THE
MAIN BRANCH OF THE BAGRATID KINGDOM IN ARMENIA - THE SELJUK TURKS
HEADED BY THEIR CHIEFTAIN TUGHRUL ATTACKED ARMENIA WHICH WAS
DEFENDED BY KING GAGIK ABASIAN [1029-1065] OF KARS. CRUCIAL BATTLES
TOOK PLACE IN MANAZKERT [MANZIKERT] AND VANAND PROVINCE. DURING
ONE OF THE BATTLES A SMALL CONTINGENT OF ARMENIAN KNIGHTS
WAS SURROUNDED BY SELJUK FORCES WHO WERE ABLE TO KILL 30 ARMENIAN
AZATS. ONE OF THE LAST WOUNDED KNIGHTS - T‘AT‘UL OF VANAND - WAS
ABLE TO ADVANCE TOWARDS CHIEFTAIN TUGHRUL AND THE ACCOMPANYING
SON OF SELJUK EMIR ARSUBAN AND MORTALLY WOUND HIM.

THE GRIEF STRICKEN TUGHRUL SAID THAT HE WOULD SPARE THE LIFE OF THE
WOUNDED ARMENIAN KNIGHT IF THE SON OF THE EMIR WOULD LIVE.
T‘AT‘UL IMMEDIATELY REPLIED THAT IF ARSUBAN'S SON
RECEIVED THE WOUND FROM HIS HAND HE WOULD SURELY DIE - WHICH
INDEED HAPPENED ONLY DAYS LATER. THE ANGRY EMIR FOR HIS OWN TWISTED
RELIEF ORDERED THE DEATH OF T‘AT‘UL ALONG WITH HIS RIGHT HAND
TO BE CUT OFF.

THE DIFFUSION OF ARMENIAN ARCHITECTURAL INNOVATIONS
FROM ARMENIA TO EUROPE AND BEYOND

A PAINTING DEPICTING THE CATHOLICOS AND KING GAGIK HOLDING
THE MODEL OF ANI'S GAGKASHEN CATHEDRAL -- ON TOP
OF THE SUN DIAL AND THE EAGLE OF THE ZVARTNOTS CATHEDRAL.
RELIEFS OF ZVARTNOTS CATHEDRAL AND THE ODZUN MONUMENT
IN THE BACKGROUND.

THE REMNANTS OF THE MOTHER CATHEDRAL
1905 PAINTING BY ARSHAK FETVAJYAN [1866 - 1947]