Syunik province. High above the clouds … where the eagle’s nest …
Castles and fortresses have a special place in my universe… They are just so inspiring… the history… the majesty … the architecture…
The mystery and the people who made it all possible… the ones who built them, fought defending them … people who loved, created, imagined, dreamed … and they dreamed big!
BAGHABERD is a truly mighty and majestic fortress/castle… It comes to us from the glory days of Armenian history … when Armenia was a kingdom in between Roman Empire and the Parthian empire … associating, forging alliances, influencing, and being influenced by the titans of the known world… Interesting historical events are associated with the Baghaberd castle… the location of the fortress is so incredible that it doesn’t need any additional introduction or description…
The SYUNIK region of Armenia is one of the most picturesque… everything is high and unique here … everything is bigger than life and tremendously beautiful… ancient and medieval monasteries/universities like the monastery of Tatev, the great hermitage, Vahanavank and Halidzor, and others …
The long abandoned medieval mountain top villages like the Old Khot, Khndzoresk, Bekh, Halidzor, Old Goris, and many others are open-air museums of history and culture… stories about human survival and perseverance… the ragged mountains, alpine lakes, and raging mountain rivers…
Ultimately, this was and still is a tough neighborhood to survive in… after all this was and still is the divide between Eastern and western civilizations and cultures … where European Christendom ended and Islamic civilization begins… the rugged terrain and scarcity of land for cultivation were another challenge…
You had to be tough, ingenious, and determined to survive and persevere to survive here … just like the wild leopards that still live in the hills, just like the wild mountain bighorn goats … just like brown bears … and more …
But back to BAGHABERD … I have used photos by “Armgeo” or Armenian geographic and by Hatis tour sites amongst others available on google search and Wikipedia …
PS in this region one can also find Cappadocia-like rock formations with human dwellings inside them …
“Baghaberd (Armenian: Բաղաբերդ; also David Bek’s Castle) is a 4th to 12th-century Armenian fortress located along a ridge overlooking the Voghji River, 14 kilometers (9 mi) northwest of the village of Kapan in the Syunik Province of Armenia. Baghaberd is at an elevation of 1,438 meters (4,718 ft)” Wikipedia.
“History Baghaberd is thought to have been built in the 4th century by Baghak of Sisak Nahapet. According to Stepanos Orbelian’s History of the Province of Syunik (Patmutyun Nahangin Sisakan), in the mid-4th century Prince Andovk, the hereditary lord of Syunik attacked and plundered one of the cities of the Persian Sassanid King Shapur II (309-379) while the king was at war with the Huns.
King Shapur II was furious about the incident and took his armies to Syunik to defeat the prince. Andovk and his troops went to Baghaberd with a large supply of provisions and waited. Once the king’s forces arrived at the fortress, Andovk and his men defeated three of Shapur’s military units by rolling rocks down the cliffside upon them.
Prince Andovk soon fled to Constantinople and his subjects scattered. When he arrived, he was given honors by Emperor Theodosius I showered him with great honors.
Baghaberd became the last capital of the Syunik kingdom after the destruction of the nearby village of Kapan in the year 1103. In 1170, the fortress was captured by the Seljuq Turks.” Wikipedia.
ANCIENT ARMENOIDS aka THE LOST TRIBES Hayk Durian
