In written sources, only fragmented information has been preserved about Garni—more precisely, mere mentions of it. Legendary tales associated with Garni were found in epic narratives used by Movses Khorenatsi. He reports that Hayk’s descendant, Gegham, “builds a settlement and names it Gegham, which was later renamed Garni by his grandson Garnik.”
The first historical mention of Garni is found in the Annals of Tacitus (1st century AD), where he elaborates on how, in the year 51 AD, Iberian prince Radamist, who craved power, was sent by his father, Pharasmanes, with a large army against his uncle, the king of Armenia, Mithridates—also a Roman appointee.
Radamist “cornered Mithridates, frightened by the sudden invasion and driven from the plains, into the fortress of Garni, protected by its location and a [Roman] garrison (praesidio militum) commanded by Prefect Caelius Pollion and Centurion Casperius.”
Radamist, after futile and [costly] attempts to capture the fortress, proceeded with a siege [of the fortress]. Since his force did not inspire fear, he bribed the greedy prefect.
By cunningly luring Mithridates out of the fortress, ostensibly for negotiations and the signing of an agreement, he ordered his murder along with his family in a nearby grove. Tacitus later recounts how a council, presided over by the governor of Syria and Armenia, Ummidius Quadratus, resolved not to punish Radamist for the murder of Mithridates but to exploit the event to provoke Armenians and Iberians against each other.
Tacitus conveys the decision reached: “Every foreign villainy should be welcomed with joy; it is even necessary to sow seeds of hatred, since Roman emperors often under the guise of generosity granted Armenia itself to incite discord among the barbarians.
Let Radamist own the fruits of his crime, being the object of hatred and contempt, as it is more advantageous to us than if he attained power with glory. Thus it was decided.” In this excerpt, the Roman chronicler vividly and seemingly empathetically characterized the same “divide and conquer” tactics employed by colonizers throughout history.
The next mention of Garni in time is by the Armenian historian Faustus Buzand (late 4th century), who reports how King Khosrov, son of Tiridates III, “ordered his commander to conduct a great recruitment (khashar) across the country and bring wild oaks from the forests and plant them in the Ayrarat region, starting from the strong royal fortress called Garni, to the plain of Metsamor, to the hill called Dvin which is located north of the great city of Artashat.
Downstream of the river to the palace of Tiknuni2, oaks were planted, and the forest was named [after Garni] ‘Temple of the Oak Grove.'” In the 5th century, Garni is mentioned by Armenian historian Yeghishe, who speaks of the betrayal by Vasak and the cities of Armenia captured with his help by the Persians. These were later reclaimed by Vardan Mamikonian, who lists fortresses and castles in the royal district, placing Garni first, along with Armavir, Artashat, Oshakan, Arouch, and others.
Movses Khorenatsi (5th–6th centuries), recounting the history of Tiridates III, states that this king “completed the construction of the fortress of Garni from hewn basalt blocks fastened with iron clamps and [poured] lead. Within it, he also built a summer house (T’un hovanots) with columns and marvelous high-relief sculptures for his sister Khosrovidukht, and inscribed upon it (or within it) a memory of himself in Greek letters.”
In the early 7th century, according to Armenian historian Sebeos (7th century), the Sassanian King Khosrow II ceded part of Armenian territory, including the small town (avan) of Garni, to the Byzantine Emperor Maurice. In 874, Garni, along with its gardens, was donated by Prince Ashot to the Sevan Monastery, as reported by Armenian historian Stepanos Orbelian (late 13th century).
Regarding Garni in the 13th century, there are several mentions by the same Stepanos Orbelian. Around 1210, the generals of Queen Tamar, brothers Zakare and Ivane, seized Garni from the Persians, suggesting that it had not yet lost its military-strategic importance at that time. Afterward, Garni was apparently granted to the Zakarid family, as a 1291 inscription on the doorframe of the ancient temple recorded the cancellation of certain taxes for Garni’s residents. Since the inscription was composed on behalf of Ivane’s granddaughter, and Garni was referred to as “our own estate,” it can be concluded that Garni in the 13th century was part of the hereditary possession of the Zakarid family.
Near Garni, in 1225, Queen Tamar’s forces were defeated by Khwarezm Shah Jalal ad-Din, while in 1282, the region of Gegharkunik, along with Garni, is mentioned as part of the holdings of these vassals of the Georgian kings.
In the 14th–15th centuries, it seems Garni housed a mint that produced coins for the Ilkhanid and Timurid periods. Hoards containing coins minted in Garni have been found on Armenian territory (in the village of Nork near Yerevan and in the village of Kosh in the Ashtarak region) as well as in Azerbaijan. Garni is also mentioned in literary works: for example, Queen Tamar’s court poet (late 12th century) writes that Muslim captives were brought to Garni by David Soslan.
In the late 16th century, Armenian writer-poet Simeon of Aparan composed an elegy dedicated to Garni; in it, he mentions the temple he saw in 1593. Lamenting Armenia’s lost grandeur, which had suffered under Persian domination in his time, Simeon notes: “My son, the glorious and brave Tiridates, who was the first in our faith, built in a magnificent place a splendid (desired) palace.
This was a summer house of coolness, and within [it] he placed his royal residence; with 24 columns he constructed [it] like an assembly of prophets, with a staircase of nine steps in accordance with the nine ranks of heaven…” Simeon goes on to describe this palace with its mighty walls built of basalt, the stones fastened with iron clamps and lead. He speaks of the “ceiling,” the door, and the steps, asking, “Where is your grandeur now? Is there another door above you?”
He then passionately and rhetorically appeals to the mountain peaks, the ever-flowing springs, the remnants of royal roads, and all these witnesses of the past, asking them to recount the feasts and festivities that took place here. He also addresses the dancer who once performed there, and then passed “into the shadow of the grave.”
As evident from the content of this “Lament,” Simeon, accurately noting the number of columns and steps of the staircase, also paid attention to the iron clamps and lead pouring, as well as the unique height of the temple’s steps and door.
From all this information, it can be concluded that the temple, as observed by Simeon in 1593, was not in ruins, as the height of the steps—evidently still uncovered by debris—and the height of the door were visible, even if one disregards the overall height of the building mentioned by him.
In the early 17th century, Garni is mentioned in the “History” by Grigor Daranaletsi, who, among other things, speaks of a “poet and composer” (most likely Simeon of Aparan) who composed “in beautiful verses a magnificent laudatory elegy about the wondrous halls of the great Tiridates, that is, about the palace located in the town of Garni.
We too were fortunate to behold this sacred place, where, next to the halls, is the sepulcher—the burial site of Vardapet Mashtots and the great Vardapet Gevorg.”
An excerpt from the article by K.V. Trever: Essays on the history of the culture of ancient Armenia (2nd century BC – 4th century AD)
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