- Amberd
Amberd ( _hy. Ամբերդ), is a
7th century Armenian fortress and an11th century Armenian church located on the slopes ofMount Aragats in the province ofAragatsotn ,Armenia .Amberd translates to "fortress in the clouds" in Armenian. It is located 2,300 meters above sea level on the slopes of the
Mount Aragats . The village ofByurakan is located four miles away from Amberd.The fortress was founded in the 7th century AD as a possession of the noble House of
Kamsarakan . Four centuries later it was purchased by the House ofPahlavuni and rebuilt by Prince Vahram Vachutian Pahlavuni. Vahram fortified the complex with thicker stone walls and added three bastions along the ridge of the Arkhashyan canyon. The domed church was built in1026 as testified by the inscriptions made on it; it's located between the castle and the edge of hill, looking down on the Arkhashyan river. A bathouse built in the same period and quite unusual for a military installation has also remained moderately intact along with the water supply system. Amberd was overrun in the11th century by theSeljuk Turks and destroyed by Mongols in the13th century .Gallery
External links
* [http://www.armenica.org/cgi-bin/armenica.cgi?=2=bc=1=bcz0000 Ambert Fortress at Armenica.org]
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