Tatev Monastery, Armenia

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Tatev monastery is situated near the village of the same name in part of Zangezur - ancient Syunik. The monastery was founded in the ninth century in place of a tabernacle well-known in ancient times. The strategically advantageous location on a cape formed by a deep river gorge with precipitous rocky slopes favored the construction of a mighty defense complex there. Tatev monuments stand out for high quality of building work. At one time Tatev was the political center of Syunik principality. In the 10th century it had a population of 1,000 and controlled numerous villages. In the 13th century it owned 680 villages. The earthquake of 1931 caused considerable destruction, but the parts that survived enable us to judge about the artistic merits of the complex. The main monument is the Church of Pogos and Petros (Peter and Paul) built in 895-906. It reproduces the type of domed basilicas of the 7th century, but has new features. In the stretched out interior, the middle nave, crowned with a tremendous in the middle of the plan's cross, predominates. As distinct from the domed basilica, the church had in its western part several annexes the corners of which served as the abutments of the dome. Its eastern abutments did not yet merge with the walls of the altar apse; consequently, the cross-winged shape of its interior is not too well pronounced. These features give us grounds to regard the church as an intermediate link in the development of the cupola hall into a cross-winged, dome type of building which became widely spread in Armenia later.

The monument "Gavazan", erected in 904 in the yard, near the dwelling premises of the monastery, is a unique work of Armenian architectural and engineering art. This is a octahedral pillar, built of small stones; eight meters tall, it is crowned with an ornamented cornice, with an open-work khachkar towering on it. As a result of seismic tremors, and even at a mere touch of human hand, the pillar, hinge-coupled to a stylobate, tilts and then returns to the initial position.

Tatev ensemble fits in perfectly with the mountainous landscape around it. A large church, dominating the surrounding structures and visible from afar, is the architectural and artistic center of the ensemble. The residential and service premises, arranged in a single row on the perimeter, set off the polyhedral rock foundation and seem to be an extension of it. This gives the ensemble an original and majestic appearance.

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