Khokhanabard – խոխանաբերդ or Tarkhanaberd – թարխանաբերդ, or Palace Hasan-Jalal Doll – հասան ջալալ դոլայի դղյակ կամ խոխանաբերդ – The Princely Palace of Khachen is located near the village of Vank on Mount Tarkhanasar opposite the Gandzasar Monastery in Martakert district of Artsakh.
Examination of the palace shows that the village of Vank, the Gandzasar monastery, the princely palace, and the numerous secular and religious buildings scattered around them are parts of a large medieval settlement, just like Shikakar-Karaglukh, Ktish-Tokh, and Shoshi-Sgnakh-Shushi.
The Khachen Palace, built in the 13th century, has come down to us in very poor condition. From the once well-maintained fortified palace, only the remains of towers and walls have survived, resembling only the general outlines of a large palace. The walls of the palace, 1.6-1.8 m thick, are made of unhewn stone, like the walls of the four corner towers.
Historian M. Barkhudaryants saw the palace in the 19th century, in an incomparably better condition. He wrote that it was “a spacious building, which consisted of numerous rooms adjoining the fortress wall and built of stones with lime mortar.
The most attractive in the palace of Jalal-Dol is the reception room and one of the rooms that reflect the architectural style of that time. The rooms have solid high walls and vaulted ceilings. Girth arches, made with hewn wedges, rest on thin and skillfully crafted capitals.
The windows are very narrow and sparse. The specific number of rooms could not be determined, since they are all covered with dense thickets, trees, and raspberry bushes. It is impossible to conduct research without removing thickets.”
This was the case at the end of the 19th century. But even in its current state, the complex provides interesting material for studying the architecture of the medieval palace ensembles of Artsakh.
Judging by the parts that have survived from the building, the vault (roof) was a masonry of large hewn quartz stones. The vault is divided by four girder arches.
The western arch rests on a wide wall of double masonry, and the remaining three divide the entire hall, including the small room located in the niche, into four equal parts.
Girth arches are built from 2 – 3 rows of monolithic and equal in size wedges, which are based on cylindrical bases separating the belt.
According to architect A. Gulyan’s opinion, the girth arch of the main hall was built according to the principle of a two-centric arch, similar to the vault supporting the dome of the Gandzasar monastery.
The Great Hall is connected to the South Room, which is a small square vaulted room. There are many different niches and fireplaces in these rooms, which speaks of the rich decoration of the palace in the past.
On the southern part of the fortress wall, there are many small and medium-sized courtyards, on which the remains of household and other palace buildings are visible. The architects of the palace paid much attention to the large courtyard located in the northern part of the complex.
It occupies almost half of the inner part of the fortress walls. Directly opposite the main entrance, in a niche in the western part of the courtyard, there is a room that was used as a stage.
Here, church ceremonies were performed in the courtyard, festive performances, and court proceedings were held.
By the outlines of the courtyard, one can determine where there was a box of large and influential people, and where ordinary people were sitting watching the actions.
The princely palace of Khachen was one of the most advanced palaces in Eastern Armenia. Being an example worthy of imitation, the Khachen Palace became a prototype for the palace structures created in Artsakh in subsequent centuries.
This is evidenced by similar monuments (palaces of meliks) erected in the region in the late Middle Ages.
Inside the fortress walls, there were also two Christian churches – basilicas. A small vestibule was attached to the southern church, and a completely collapsed small building adjoins it on the western side.
Of particular interest is the cemetery with khachkars and tombstones of the 12th-13th centuries. Khachkars dated 1180, 1183, and 1228 depict riders and foot soldiers in full armor.
