Baghaberd ( hy, Բաղաբերդ; also David Bek's Castle) is a 4th to 12th century Armenian fortress located along a ridge overlooking the

Voghji River The Voghji ( hy, Ողջի, translit=Oġǰi) or Okchuchay ( az, Oxçuçay) is a river on the south slopes of the Lesser Caucasus range, and is a left tributary of Aras. It flows through the territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In its upper reach ...

, northwest of the village of Kapan in the

Syunik Province Syunik ( hy, Սյունիք, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. It ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

. Baghaberd is at an elevation of .Baghaberd Altitude and Location
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History

Baghaberd is thought to have been built in the 4th century by Baghak of Sisak Nahapet. According to

Stepanos Orbelian Stepanos Orbelian ( hy, Ստեփանոս Օրբելեան, originally spelled hy, Ստեփաննոս, translit=Stepʻannos, label=none; – 1303) was a thirteenth-century Armenian historian and the metropolitan bishop of the province of Sy ...

's ''History of the Province of Syunik'' (Patmutyun Nahangin Sisakan), in the mid-4th century Prince Andovk, the hereditary lord of Syunik, attacked and plundered one of the cities of the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

King

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigne ...

(309-379) while the king was at war with the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

. King Shapur II was furious about the incident and took his armies to Syunik to defeat the prince. Andovk and his troops went to Baghaberd with a large supply of provisions and waited. Once the king's forces arrived at the fortress, Andovk and his men defeated three of Shapur's military units by rolling rocks down the cliffside upon them. Prince Andovk soon fled to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

and his subjects scattered. When he arrived, he was given honors by the Emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

showered him with great honors. Baghaberd became the last capital of the Syunik kingdom after the destruction of the nearby village of Kapan in the year 1103. In 1170, the fortress was captured by the

Seljuq Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

References

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External links

Armeniapedia.org: Baghaberd Fortress

Kapan.am: Baghaberd and other fortresses

About Baghaberd
{{Castles in Armenia Archaeological sites in Armenia Castles in Armenia Forts in Armenia Tourist attractions in Syunik Province Buildings and structures in Syunik Province Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century