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- Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve Zvartnots
The culture of medieval Armenia was closely connected with the culture of Byzantium. This influence was mutually overlapping, and the contribution of the former was sometimes no less significant than the latter. After all, the role of Armenians in the fate of the empire was very tangible. Some Byzantine emperors and military leaders of the 9th-10th centuries were of Armenian origin. And when the dome of Constantinople Sofia collapsed from the earthquake, the famous Armenian architect Trdat was invited to restore this miracle from the wonders of Byzantine art. The roots of Armenian architecture go back centuries, enriched by the influence of other cultures: Rome, Greece, Byzantium, Iran. The monuments of ancient Armenian architecture are significant and diverse. And one of the main treasures of Armenian architecture is Zvartnots - the temple of the Watchful Forces. Like most other ancient Armenian temples, Zvartnots has survived to the present in ruins.
The construction of the Temple of the Vigil Forces began in 641-643 and was carried out intermittently for twenty years. The initiator of the construction was Catholicos Nerses III the Builder, who attracted masters from the ancient Armenian city of Dvina, a city famous for its beauty, to create a temple. Descriptions of Zvartnots did not survive, but it is known that many enthusiastic praises were devoted to him. The legend tells that the Byzantine emperor Constantine III, who visited Armenia in 652, was so struck by the beauty of the temple that he ordered the builder of Zvartnots to go with him to Constantinople. On the way, the architect died, and only this circumstance prevented the construction of a similar structure in the Byzantine capital.
Specialists consider Zvartnots a daring experiment, the most daring centric composition in Armenian architecture. The composition of Zvartnots was somewhat reminiscent of the Babylonian ziggurats - it was a three-tier round temple, consisting of three decreasing cylindrical volumes set on top of each other, crowned with a spherical cone. In the whole appearance of the temple there was a powerful aspiration upward. This aspiration upwards was emphasized by all the details of the temple. The building seemed elongated and thanks to the skillful distribution of lighting. The light intensified with the transition from the massive lower part to a lighter middle one, and when the gaze finally rested on the dome, it seemed that it was floating somewhere in the sky. The ruins of Zvartnots that have survived to this day testify to the grandeur of the building. It towered on the platform around which there was a step pedestal, partially preserved. In plan, the temple resembles a cross inscribed in a circle. This cross is the basis of the inner space of the temple. The whole structure rested on four powerful pylons of twenty meters height. Four apses were placed between these giant pillars, the walls of which were semicircular colonnades. The round interior is surrounded by a two-story gallery. The second tier of the church was through from three sides and its walls rested on six powerful columns. The whole composition ended with a high multifaceted dome, bringing together the entire internal space of the temple. There were five entrances to the church. The Temple of the Vigil Forces received its nickname Zvartnots not by chance. The word “zvart” in Armenian means “decorated”. From top to bottom, the temple was richly decorated with sculptural relief - a magnificent example of the art of medieval Armenian stone carvers. A fanciful ornament framed the cornices, braided the window openings, encircled the capitals of the columns. The walls of the temple were decorated with a vine, pomegranate branches, the finest work of a geometric ornament, wickers, decorative elements - palmettes and acanthus. The columns ended with carved capitals, and the columns installed next to the pylons - the main pillars of the temple, were crowned with images of huge stone eagles - these birds symbolized the ascension of the temple up. Remains of frescoes, pieces of smalt for mosaics, slate and carved stones discovered during excavations of the altar part also testify to the magnificent decoration of Zvartnots. Mosaic richly decorated the walls of the temple, in particular, researchers were able to trace the presence of a large mosaic painting on the altar wall. Among the works of stone-cutters that decorated Zvartnots, sculptural waist-length images of people stand out - a whole portrait gallery. Under one of the bas-reliefs, the inscription "Hovhannes" is read - some researchers believe that this is the name and portrait of the main builder of the temple. True, other researchers believe that the master simply depicted gardening peasants: they have in their hands tools similar to garden ones, and an ornament of interwoven pomegranate branches and vines curls over the bas-reliefs. But whoever these people are, they are depicted in an extremely realistic manner. Free, laid-back poses, detailed elements of clothing, almost portrait-sculpted faces - all this allows us to present the appearance of the people of medieval Armenia. Zvartnots is a monument to the era of the greatest achievements of Armenian national culture of the 5th-7th centuries. The impression of Zvartnots was so great that they tried to repeat the appearance of the temple both in Armenia and abroad. The influence of Zvartnots is felt in many architectural structures of Armenia right up to the 11th century. At the beginning of the XI century, the famous architect Trdat built the church of St. Gregory (Gagikashen) in Ani, practically repeating Zvartnots. But the great temple itself was already in ruins by that time. Zvartnots stood for more than three hundred years and was destroyed by an earthquake around 930. As the researchers found out, the architect who built the temple was not able to completely transfer the heaviness of the upper tiers to four powerful pylons, which served as the main supports, and as a result, part of the load fell on the arches and arches of the temple. It was this that turned out to be the temple’s weak point and a strong shock from the earthquake tore it ... There were no attempts to restore Zvartnots. Over time, a huge hill formed on the site of the temple, from which only the remains of the four pylons were visible. In 1901, the monk Khachik Dadyan began excavation of the temple, and in 1904 the architect Toros Toramanyan joined him, who, having carefully studied the ruins, composed the first restoration project of Zvartnots. And a few years later, archaeologists discovered ... a medieval model of Zvartnots! A stone statue of Tsar Gagik, lying for centuries in the land, fell into the hands of the expedition of N. Ya. Marr. In his hands was a miniature model of the temple of the Vigil Forces. Today, on the site of Zvartnots, there is an archaeological reserve and a museum opened in 1937, in which you can see models - versions of the reconstruction of the temple, numerous sculptural fragments and an ancient plate found by archaeologists among the ruins of Zvartnots. Probably, it was built into the wall of the temple after the construction of Zvartnots was completed by its creator, Catholicos Narses the Builder. On the stove is a brief Greek inscription: “Built by Narses. Remember. ”
