- Type
- Fortress
- Origins
- 10th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Aragatsotn, Armenia
- Commissioned by
- Kamsarakan
- Coordinates
- 40.3887°, 44.2265°
History
The fortress was probably built in the 7th century as a seat of the Kamsarakan princely family. In the 10th century it passed to the Pahlavunis, who strengthened its walls, and in 1026 Prince Vahram Pahlavuni founded a church just outside them. The Seljuk Turks took Amberd in the 1070s, and in the late 12th century the brothers Zakare and Ivane Zakarian won it back. The Mongols destroyed the fortress in 1236, and it lay in ruins until its walls were partly reconstructed in the early 21st century.
What to see
The fortress sits on a triangular promontory between the deep gorges of the Arkashen and Amberd rivers. Its towered walls survive along with the ruins of a three-storey castle-palace, a bathhouse and a church with a distinctive conical dome. The walls look out over the slopes of Aragats and the Ararat plain. The Byurakan astronomical observatory lies nearby.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q457057
Popularity: articles about this site in 22 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).