Baghaberd Fortress

The Baghaberd fortress (Kapani Berd) is located in Armenia in the Syunik region, between the cities of Kapan and Kajaran, near the confluence of the Gekhi and Voghchi rivers. The fortress was one of the main defensive buildings of medieval Armenia.

Historical review

According to Stepanos Orbelyan (an Armenian historian of the 13-14th centuries), Bagak of an ancient Sisak family inherited the province of Dzork (Kapan) and built the stone fortress of Baghaberd on that land. Baghaberd, whose walls were impregnable, was known from the 4th-5th centuries. However, the strategic importance of the Baghaberd fortress especially increased during the period of the Syunik kingdom (the 10-12th centuries).

Baghaberd became the capital of the Syunik kingdom in 1103, after the fall of the city of Kapan. In addition, manuscripts and treasures which belonged to representatives of some noble families were held in Baghaberd. Baghaberd was taken by the Gandzak Seljuks under the command of Eldkuz (Yeltkuz) Atabek in 1170. The invaders knew no mercy and completely destroyed the inhabitants of the city, plundered its treasures and also destroyed more than 10,000 priceless manuscripts that belonged to the Tatev Monastery. The fortress remained in ruins.

Architecture

The Baghaberd fortress was built on a triangular cliff and was protected by three defensive lines with the first line passing along the foot of the cliff, the second at an altitude of about 150 meters above the first, and the third at the very top of the cliff. Baghaberd was surrounded by high stone walls of double thickness with towers of various shapes. The steep cliffs of the mountain gorges served as a natural barrier. Walls with pyramidal buttresses were built on the eastern, less protected side. The rocks were processed (polished) so that they served as fortress walls.

Gateway toreposts were located in the southwestern part, where there was a watchtower. A system of underground passages was built under the fortress. Although stone-carved cave vaults and a man-made reservoir with drinking water have reached our times in very poor condition they still impress you. Towers and fragments of the fortress wall about 6-8 meters high have been preserved till nowadays.

In the recent past locals used to come to the ruins of the fortress to pick up some hewn stones and use them to build their own houses. In addition, the Baghaberd fortress was severely damaged in Soviet times when the Kapan-Kajaran highway was being laid. The major part of the wall with the adjacent towers was demolished. Now there are only two dilapidated pyramids near the highway. 

The legend of the Parandzem spring

Local people know many stories and legends about the Baghaberd fortress, the most famous of which is one of the Parandzem spring. According to the legend, Queen Parandzem spent her youth there, in Baghaberd. They say the young queen would walk near the western walls of the fortress, where she would have some rest near a spring of refreshing water. This is a popular belief that if a baby is bathed in the waters of the spring, a girl becomes as beautiful and proud as Queen Parandzem, and a boy acquires an extraordinary physical strength.

Many years have passed since the spring dried up, but people still come to this magical place to touch the stones and receive at least a little of the power and wisdom of Queen Parandzem.

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Fortresses and castles of Armenia