Alexander Sahinian (; 15 July 1910 – 4 November 1982) was a Soviet

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

, who headed the Architecture Department of the Institute of Arts of the

Armenian Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գիտությունների ազգային ակադեմիա, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri az ...

between 1958 and 1982. Born in Vardablur village in northern Armenia, he graduated from the architecture department of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in 1937. He was employed by a state design institute until the eruption of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Between 1942 and 1944, he served in the Soviet Army and returned to Armenia wounded. Upon his return, Sahinian was admitted into the postgraduate program of the

and began the archaeological excavations at the Aparan (Kasakh) Basilica. Since 1946, he worked at the Art Institute of the Academy of Sciences. Sahinian defended his dissertation on the architecture of the Aparan Basilica in 1952. Sahinian directed the excavations at the

Etchmiadzin Cathedral Etchmiadzin Cathedral) or simply Etchmiadzin. Alternatively spelled as Echmiadzin, Ejmiatsin, and Edjmiadsin. ( hy, Էջմիածնի մայր տաճար, Ēǰmiatsni mayr tačar) is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located i ...

in 1955–56 and 1959 during which fragments of the original 4th-century church building and pre-Christian structures were unearthed. Between 1968 and 1974, he reassembled Armenia's only Greco-Roman colonnaded building, the

Garni Temple The Temple of Garni ( hy, Գառնիի տաճար, ''Gaṙnii tačar'') is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union. Built in the Ionic order, it is located in the village of Garni, in central Arme ...

, which had collapsed in the 17th century. Sahinian died in Yerevan in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahinian, Alexander 1910 births 1982 deaths Armenian architectural historians Armenian architects 20th-century Armenian historians Soviet architects Soviet Armenians Soviet historians Armenian studies scholars People from Lori Province

See also

References