Categories: History

Abrakunis – From the History of the Armenian City

We present to your attention another victim of Azerbaijani vandalism. Before you is the Surb Karapet monastery in the town of Abrakunis in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. The photos have been taken in the 1980s.

The rich and crowded Armenian city of Abrakunis was destroyed in 1604 by Shah Abbas. Its inhabitants were deported to Iran. After the death of the city of Abrakunis, the 14th-century Surb Karapet monastery itself survived for another 400 years until the end of the Soviet regime.

Eventually, the leadership of Azerbaijan destroyed the monastery in the mid-1990s.

Now, in the place of the ancient settlement is a small Turkic settlement with a Turkic name. And on the site of the monastery is an empty field.

Destruction of the Armenian cemetary, Jougha, part I

Destruction of the Armenian cemetary, Jougha, part II

Destruction of the Armenian cemetary, Jougha, part III

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

The Armenian Bronze Chariot: A Ritual Vehicle of the 14th Century BC

Among the most evocative artifacts to survive from the Armenian Highland's Late Bronze Age is…

7 hours ago

Clowns of War: The Strange Battlefield Legacy of Medieval Armenian Theater

Long before "clown" became a synonym for children's birthday parties, the word described a hardened…

3 days ago

Dura-Europos and Ancient Armenia: A Crossroads of Priests, Inscriptions, and the Cult of Mithra

Introduction The fresco reproduced above — three white-robed priests, one wearing a tall conical hat,…

1 week ago

From Lake Van to Yerevan: The Bronze Helmet of Urartu, the First Armenia

The crested bronze helmet on the left of this comparison was not made by a…

2 weeks ago

A Tower Crowned by a Lion-Rider: Reading a Bronze Age Cult Vessel Through the Lens of the Armenian Highlands

A small, weathered piece of fired clay — barely 31 centimeters tall — sits today…

2 weeks ago

A Hand Reaching Through Three Millennia: The Bronze Pendant from Yeghvard

Pendant (Amulet) in the Shape of a Human Hand | 7th–6th centuries BC | Yeghvard…

3 weeks ago