Smbat Walls

Smbat Walls

The Smbat walls were made to the highest standards of mediaeval fortifications and were also a work of elegant architectural style.

Background

The walls were made from smoothly hewn yellow stones, decorated in places with red and black stones, which formed patterns of crosses, swastikas and chessboard motifs. The towers and walls of the fortress were decorated with many bas-reliefs of a dragon, seizing the heads of a bull or an eagle or holding a lamb in its talons and a tiger in movement. The architectural design of the “Kars” and “Dvin” gates give the “Smbat” walls a monumental aspect. These massive gates, found by archaeologists during excavations, were covered in thick iron plates and were held shut by beams, encircled with hoops at the end.

Having completed his construction work on the fortress, Smbat went on to build a number of beautiful buildings and a marvellous palace complex on the acropolis. The palace, which stood on the top of a hill, was surrounded by a separate system of fortress walls and was the principal residence of the Bagratids. The king's official rooms and the residential part of the palace were divided off from one another by a wide corridor and the whole palace took up one sixth of the acropolis (4,900 square metres) and consisted of many rooms. In the North-Western corner of the palace there was a reception room (21 metres x 10.5 metres), which was faced with smoothly hewn stone and decorated with a multi-faceted carved colonnade. In the next room, figures of animals, framed with plants were moulded in plaster. In a third room, which was built in the form of a basilica, the walls were decorated with military scenes and covered in gold leaf; the arched wooden ceiling was decorated with carvings.

References

*Ani and Kars: The Residences of the Bagratid Kings - Asbarez
*The Armeniad by Boris Baratov

See also

*Ani
*History of Armenia


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ani — For other uses, see Ani (disambiguation). Ani   City   Անի …   Wikipedia

  • Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj — (d. 928) was the Sajid amir of Azerbaijan from 901 until his death. He was the son of Abi l Saj Devdad. War with ArmeniaYusuf came to power in 901 by overthrowing his nephew, Devdad Ibn Muhammad. He razed the walls of Maragha and moved the… …   Wikipedia

  • Kaysites — The Kaysite dynasty was a Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled an amirate centered in Manzikert from c. 860 until 964. Their state was the most powerful Arab amirate in Armenia after the collapse of the ostikan ate of Arminiya in the late 9th… …   Wikipedia

  • Noravank — Նորավանք Surb Astvatsatsin and Surb Karapet Churches with Surb Grigor s Chapel to the right, Noravank …   Wikipedia

  • Military history of Armenia — History of Armenia This article is part of a series Prehistory 2400 BC 590 BC …   Wikipedia

  • Franco-Mongol alliance — 1305 letter (a roll measuring 302 by 50 centimetres (9.91 by 1.6 ft)) from the Ilkhan Mongol Öljaitü to King Philip IV of France, suggesting military collaboration …   Wikipedia

  • Gagik II — Infobox Monarch name =Gagik II Bagratuni title =King of Ani caption = reign =1042 – 1045 coronation =1042 full name = predecessor =Ashot IV royal house = father =Ashot IV mother = date of birth = place of birth = date of death =1080 place of… …   Wikipedia

  • Akhtala monastery — Infobox religious building building name=Akhtala Ախթալա վանք caption= Akhtala monastery complex. location=Lori, Armenia geo= religious affiliation=Armenian Apostolic district= consecration year= status= leadership= website= architect=… …   Wikipedia

  • Akhtala — For the town in Kotayk Province, see Hrazdan; for the nearby town sometimes also called Akhtala, see Verin Akhtala. Coordinates: 41°08′N 44°46′E / 41.133°N 44.767°E …   Wikipedia

  • Armeno-Mongol alliance — [ thumb|Cilician Armenia was bordered by the Mongol Ilkhanate to the east, and the Crusader state of the Principality of Antioch to the South, another ally of the Mongols.] The Armeno Mongol alliance [Claude Mutafian describes The Armeno Mongol… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”