Bjni Fortress ( hy, Բջնի Բերդ), is a medieval Armenian fortress located in the village of

Bjni Bjni ( hy, Բջնի), is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is situated in a valley between canyon walls and a small river. The village is one of the prominent centers of education and culture of ancient and medieval Armenia. It is ...

in the

Kotayk Province Kotayk ( hy, Կոտայք, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located at the central part of the country. Its capital is Hrazdan and the largest city is Abovyan. It is named after the Kotayk canton of the historic Ayrarat province ...

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 ''O ...

. It sits upon the top and along the sides of a

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...

that divides the village nearly in half. The larger portion of which is located west of the mesa and curves south, while a smaller portion is east. The walls of the fortress may only be seen from the western side of the village, and are easiest reached via a narrow dirt road that forks (take the left fork) and goes up the side of the hill past some residences. Bjni Fortress is above sea level.Bjni Fortress Altitude and Location
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History

The fortress of Bjni was built in the 9th to 10th centuries by the royal

Pahlavuni Pahlavuni ( hy, Պահլավունի; classical orthography: Պահլաւունի) was an Armenian noble family, a branch of the Kamsarakan, that rose to prominence in the late 10th century during the last years of the Bagratuni monarchy. Orig ...

family of the

Bagratuni Dynasty The Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty ( hy, Բագրատունի, ) was an Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the medieval Kingdom of Armenia from c. 885 until 1045. Originating as vassals of the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to bec ...

. The commander of Bjni, lord Vasak Holum Pahlavuni (the Pahlavid) reconstructed the fortress. The 12th century Armenian historian Matteos Urhayetsi wrote in part 1 of the "Chronicle" covering the late 10th to early 11th centuries, of the invasions of mercenary Turkish soldiers of the Daylamis at Bjni in 1021 who went to raid and plunder villages and towns. Vasak and his men became furious and pursued the enemy forces into battle near the Kasakh River killing 300 of them and causing the rest to flee. After becoming exhausted from the fighting, Vasak left the battle to find a place to rest at a mountain called Serkevelo. One of the villagers who had fled the scene, saw the commander asleep and struck him with a heavy blow. He then threw Vasak from one of the high rocks, killing him. During the years 1387–88 the Turko-Mongol conqueror Timur Lenk destroyed the village of Bjni and most likely the castle as well. In manuscripts written by

Thomas of Metsoph Thomas of Metsoph ( hy, Թովմա Մեծոփեցի, Thovma Metsopetsi) (1378–1446) was an Armenian cleric and chronicler who left an account of Timur’s invasions of the Caucasus (1386–1403). What we know of Thomas's life comes from a biogra ...

from the late 14th to mid-15th centuries, he left an account of Timur's invasions stating that,

Site

Portions of the exterior fortification walls at Bjni have survived and follow the sides of the mesa. At the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

, there are sections of

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

s that remain in relatively poor condition. Traces of where the foundations of structures had once stood are indicated by depressions in the ground at various areas. There is also the stone foundation of a church of the 5th century, a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

structure that is still partially standing (currently being rebuilt as of 2009), two cisterns one with the remains of intact

vaulting In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

, and a covered passage that led to the river in the event of a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

Gallery

Image:Bjni Fortress Wall.JPG, One of the original standing walls of the castle.

References

External links

Bjni Fortress

About Bjni Fortress

{{Castles in Armenia Archaeological sites in Armenia Castles in Armenia Forts in Armenia Tourist attractions in Kotayk Province Buildings and structures in Kotayk Province

History

Site

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links