Renaissance of van vasburagan

THE GEOGRAPHY OF VASBURAGAN

[ p 18]
There have been writers on this topic, such as Thovma Ardzruni, Khoren Khrimian, Arshag Safrastian, and others.

But we have found it appropriate to refer to the 1922 classbook by Ardashes Apeghian, in which although he says that the province of Van includes Vasburagan of Greater Armenia, the understanding of the Vanetsi is that the province of Vasburagan has the city of Van as its center. Therefore, it is not wrong to use the phrase Van-Vasburagan.

The Province of Van-Vasburagan includes Lake Van, the sources of the eastern Tigris, on the north up to the province of Garin [Erzurum], west to the province of Baghesh [Bitlis], south to Mesopotamia, and east to Persian Armenia (Azerbaijan].

It is mountainous generally to the southeast, the Taurus mountain chain. To the northwest are many flatlands. The entire province has an area of 39,300 square kilometers/ Before World War I the population was 350,000, with more than half being Armenian. The people of the village were in agriculture, and in the cities with arts, crafts and commerce. The province was divided into cantons and counties (sanjaks).

The center was Van, surrounded by hills, and monasteries and beautiful scenery. As legend has it, Shamiram built it, and our King Van had taken it and named it Van. Van’s commerce was in Armenian hands, and the crafts were goldsmithing, manufacturing, construction, etc. There were churches, and parish and private schools.

The city was divided into two parts: the main city and Aygestan.

The main city was surrounded with a wall. On the north side was a famous fortress that had many cuneiform inscriptions. Within the city were government buildings and the marketplace. Aygestan began a mile away. It had fruit trees and vineyards for each house. There were wide boulevards for the embassies.

The Varak mountains were at a distance of about two hours toward the east, rising to a height of 11,000 feet
COUNTIES
1. North of Van was the county of Timar, with its villages along the shore of the lake, the Avants seaport, beautiful forests and vineyards. The populace were mainly boatsmen, and they transported merchandise in their boats to Arjesh, Ardzge, Baghesh, Garjgan, and others. They were in the commerce of saltpetre. The people were clever and industrious.

2. The county of Pergri, north of Van extended eastward to the Moks county, and north to Bayazid. There was broad fertile fields, near the Apagha field, whose streams joined and formed the Pendimah river that emptied into Lake Van. The Apagha field was 80 km long and 227 km wide. The center of the county was called Pergri.

3. Arjesh (Kachperuni) was east of Pergri, north of Lake Van, with border reaching the province of Garin. The soil was fertile and productive, and adequately watered by the mountain streams. The waters flowing from the Aladagh mountains formed the Arjesh River. There were sulphur springs in the Zilan valley, as well as copper mine. The county was famous for its wheat and domestic animals. Its center was the old city-fort Agan, with its beautiful vineyards. Nearby is the Madzap monastery.

4. The county of Ardzge (Aghelchvagh) was bordered on Arjesh, northwest of Lake Van. It had good agricultural produce and high quality and tasty wheat, and fruit orchards. It includes the historic Mt. Siban. An anecdote has it that when Noah’s ark was being tossed about by waves it approached Mt. Siban. But the mountain called out, ‘Go to Mt. Masis. It is higher than I am.’ The center is Ardzge where there are ruins of ancient fortresses. In the 11th century Dughril blockaded the fortress, occupied the land and took the people away as slaves. The province had numerous villages. Its Skanchelakordz monastery is famous.

5. The Hayots Tzor lies southeast of Van. On the shore of the lake is the Ardamid village, summer residence of the Armenian princes, and with a marvelous view of the lake. It is famous for sweet, red apples, as well as for its large walnuts. Its vineyards are irrigated by waters from branches of the Shamiram river. It is evident from the ruins there that the area was once populated by skillful artisans.

6. Khoshab (sweet water) lies on the river of the same name, surrounded by dark mountains. The headwaters of the Shamiram River, Hayots Tzor, and the Khoshab join. There is the village of Asdvadzashen, and the ruins of the Haig fortress where Haig and Bel fought. Hayots Tzor has hundreds of villages. Their people are strong, and the climate is healthful.

7. Rushdunyats county, with its Vosdan Kavash, Ardos, and, Untsakesar (or Gabuyd) mountains. Vosdan, a famous city-fortress, is the seat of the county, in early times populated by Armenians only, and the seat of the old Vosdan Rushdunyats princes. At the foot of the Ardos mountain is the monastery of Tzaghar St. Nshan, with the grave of the fifth century writer Yeghishe and the Nareg Monastery. Also, there is the grave of the 11th century writer Krikor Naregatsi. On the lake is the Island of Aghtamar and its famous Surp Khach [Holy Cross], once the Holy See of the Supreme Catholicos [of the Armenian Church]. We will write about the monasteries later.

8. Garjgan, west of Vosdan, is mountainous and forested, where there are wild animals. The people were engaged in shepherding, and selling lumber. They were tall and freedom-loving. There are many old ruins.

9. Moks, south of Vosdan, with its river of the same name, has many mountains and valleys, and enjoys a mild climate. Water is plentiful. The people are industrious, and they were occupied with shepherding and bee culture. They raised fine sheep, goats. They produced woven goods in wool and cotton, and some took their craft all the way to the Caucasus. The one-time chief of Moks, Murtula Bey, who was said to be an Armenian, showed his Armenian patriotism by having saved the region from the massacres of 1896.

10. Khizan: Archbishop Karekin (later Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia), in writing about literary people living there, told about the manuscripts and miniature illuminations produced there, and named the school Khizan.

11. Shadakh county was east of Moks, and in the upper valley of the Tigris River. It is a region of water, mountains, and valleys. A majority of its populace was Armenian. Their principal activities were weaving and shepherding. The fields of the county were level and fertile, and very suitable for farming. From very early times Shadakh was forward in its culture, and it had both a girls’ school and a boys’ school.

12. Norduz is southeast of Shadakh, and very similar to it. It raised herds of fine sheep and goats, and provided wool to weavers in neighboring areas. The Hokyats monastery was here, built in the name of the Apostle Bartholomew. During pagan times there was the Throne of Anahid.

13. Aghpag borders on Khoshab and Azerbaijan. It has level fields, fertile, and plentiful with water. It carried on trade with Van and Salmasd.

14. Julamerig is mountainous. Its population was mostly Assyrian Nestorians. Their Catholicos Marshman, with throne in Kozan, provided much help to Armenian revolutionaries in traveling from Van to Salmasd.
MONASTERIES
It is appropriate to tell of only a few of the more important of the hundreds of monasteries in Vasburagan. It was there that ascetic monks dedicated their entire lives to Armenian scholarship -- miniature illumination, penning of manuscripts, and to the development of other arts.

1. The Varak monastery was established in the time of St. Gregory the Enlightener and the Hripsime maidens. According to tradition, in the 7th century Vart Badrig already had its upper and lower monasteries. From the scribes of the 9th century we learn that the lower monastery was known as the “mayravank” [chief monastery] which was led by the chief abbot Anania of Mok until he became Catholicos [946]. During the times of Bagraduni Ashod the Merciful, he had already built the beautiful catholicate in Argina, near the capital city of Ani, and also a library. Anania sent dedicated representatives to his dispersed flock, to keep close ties with the Holy See. There is evidence that the king Senekerim Ardzruni very early had renovated the Varak Mayravank, and built magnificent churches. He donated extensive lands to the monastery. The three churches of the Upper Varak monastery, on the mountain of the same name, were destroyed by the Turks to use their stone blocks to build mosques.

Associated with Lower Varak were seven churches, three or four of which remained standing until the 1915 massacres. According to tradition, the shepherds of the fertile fields of the Upper Varak sent milk through pipes down to the Lower Varak for use there. The milk from the sheep raised there in the clean air and in the fragrance of the fields of flowers was very tasty. The pipe carrying the milk ran along the canyon, which served as recreational area. Later, the area was used for military purposes. Near the ruins of Varak was the Jesus Spring, whose waters had the property of giving quick digestion of whatever was eaten. The Abaranchan [bracelet] Spring got its name from the bracelet belonging to Senekerim’s queen Khushash. The Varak mountains and its slopes and villages are filled with mementos of Senekerim and his family One of the villages is named Shushan after the name of the king’s daughter, whose gravesite was a much-liked shrine until 1915. Senekerim liked Varak so much that he willed that after his death his sons bring consecrated tokens (from Sebastia) to Varak. And in fact, his grave is in one corner of the Mother Church near the burial site of Catholicos Bedros Kedatartz. One cannot know how many times buildings of the Varak monastery have been renovated since Senekerim in 1021. Khrimian, in 1896, restored the monastery for the last time, after a destructive fire. Except for the mother church itself [the buildings] were used by prominent people of Van as summer residences. The monastery had a faithful caretaker, Dhertsi Bedros, who looked after the manuscripts. Varak had a seminary, whose graduates spread the light to many parts of Armenia. We have given their stories in the pages of my book. The superintendent of the seminary for its last ten years was the one-time student, and graduate of the Kevorkian Seminary, Mr. Ardag Tarpinian., late editor of Yerevan’s “Jhoghovurti Tzayn,” and now living in Paris where for a time he was editor of “Abaka.” In 1915, for protesting against the cleric Daniel, he was stabbed to death.

2, 3, 4. The monasteries of Garmrvor, Surp Grigor, and Surp Khach are to be found in the vicinity of Varak. Each of them has its own story.

5. The great monument Surp Khach [Holy Cross] Church is on the island Aghtamar [in Lake Van], in the county of Rushduni. It was built in 915 on order of the king, Kakig Ardzruni, with the help of the famous architect Samuel. Aghtamar was an important center for letters, where Tovma Ardzruni wrote the history of the Ardruni dynasty. Aghtamar served as a Catholicosate for more than 900 years.(³)

Catholicos Krikoris of Aghtamar, 927, was a skillful writer, known as the author of the 10th century. The last Catholicos there was Khachadur Shiroian.

There is a cuneiform inscription on a stone in the courtyard of the Surp Khach monastery that is a record of the aqueduct built by the king Menuas [of the Urartian era].

6. The Surp Nshan monastery of Tzaghar is the site of the grave of historian Yeghishe, the sokhag [nightingale] of Aghtamar. He was praised by Srvantzdiants.

7. The Surp Asdvadzadzin monastery of Anzgha has its own story.

8. The Hokvots or Hokyats monastery is in the county of Antzevatsyats (Nordagh). The writers Khosrov Antzevatsi and Anania Naregatsi represent the glory of the monastery.

9. The Nareg monastery. See the biography of Nareg.

10. The monastery of St. Bartholomew, in the county of Aghpag, is full of events of the 4th century. It was in the vicinity of this monastery that the immortal Avedisian and his 5-600 companions were killed.

11. The Diramayr monastery, Tekhmar, in the vicinity of the village of Janig, was an important shrine, drawing pilgrims from great distances. It had fame for its medical capabilities.

12. The Medzovpa monastery was in the Kachperunyats Dzaghgants (Alagyaz) mountains. Many authors developed their skills here, such as Krikor Datevatsi, Tovma Medzopetsi, and others.

13. The Skanchelakordz Monastery was in the Bznunyats (Alchavagh) county, full of beautiful memories.

14. At the Ardzvaper monastery in the county of Kachperuni (Arjesh) there remain the ruins of architectural monuments.

We would recall the two famous monasteries northeast of the large island of Aghtamar.

15. The Surp Garabed monastery, or cloister, at Gduts Anabad (seminary), was a center of Armenology and Armenian letters. Its pride was Bishop Simeon Rapuni. For centuries on end it has used the pen and the brush to produce numerous manuscripts. It is said that in ancient times the islands of Lim and Gduts were linked to the mainland by bridges.

16. The Lim Anabad Surp Kevork monastery, which also was a center for scholarship and lettering manuscripts, produced important works. Even in the 19th century there was no shortage of Armenologist and theologist vartabeds and bishops. An exception is to be made concerning the last chief abbot, Bishop Boghos, who was an opponent of Khrimian. The Vanetsi vartabed (later bishop) Hagop Topuzian was an erudite Armenologist, and he educated many young men who became deacons and priests, serving in various places.

Khrimian, thirsting for education, in 1841 first entered the seminary of the Gduts monastery, intending to devote his studies to Armenology. But on finding no satisfaction there transferred to the seminary of the Lim monastery where he benefited quite well. It was there that he was deeply inspired by the ascetic life led by the hermit Kevork. Khrimian described his impression with the following words [in classical Armenian].
All night long, with an inextinguishable lantern,

Praying personally to God out of my heart,

I lived in solitude, willingly, in the open on the island.

And many times my stomach insatiate,

Fasting, without food every seven days.
As mentioned above, our monasteries did not serve as mansions for rogues. By far, most of the monks were devoted to prayer, and to endowing the nation and the church with magnificent literary works.

May their sacred memory be blessed.
AGHTAMAR ARDAMED, GADARANTS

Their Early History -- Menuas-Dariris

Cantata of Transition
The cuneiform inscriptions of Gadarants have been interpreted by Sayce, Morthman, Belck, Father Savdalian, and others, concerning whom Mr. Safrastian has commented, for which he received the Yeghishe Tourian prize.

Gadarants, or Patagants, Kaririakhineli or possibly Dariashen in Khald, is about a half hour east of Ardamed, on heights near the shore of the lake. Built of massive stone blocks there is a wall 12 cubits tall. At the entrance there is a smoothly finished block with unblemished cuneiform inscription of nine lines. It is said that the king Menuas built that wall to protect the Shamiram waterway that goes to the southeast by Khorkom and Ardamed about 22 cubits distant from the wall. The Menuas inscription says three times that the new construction is dedicated to Menuas’ wife, and the mansion to Queen Dariria. Menuas (possibly the grandchild of Mavas Haig) having been victorious over the lands from Paghinen (Kharpert) to Manazgerd, and from Caesarea to Mediterranean, he built a mansion (⁴), where for the queen on the shore of the Caspian Sea, and alongside the waterway, planted a garden (the Ardamed Vineyard), and built a massive wall with an inscription 2800 years earlier. This fact indicates the Armenian quality of knighthood, love, and endearment [toward one’s wife], while among other races the wife is a slave.

Excavations might well discover statues of Menuas and Dariria. Aghtamar can be seen from Gadarants, 30 kilometers away.

The name of the Ardamed apple is dalasli. If one drops the syllable “li” there remains “dalas,” which goes with the name Dariria because the red of the apple can be likened to the red of her cheeks. Ardamed also has the Talalos monastery where children who have fits are sent to be cured. See K. Servantz’”Manana,” page 107, and E. Lalayantz’ “Vasburagan,” 1911, page 69. There are many cuneiform inscriptions in the Ardamed gardens, inscribed by Manuas.
The

ARDZRUNI AND RUSHDUNI

Principalities in Vasburagan [p 27]
According to the Father of Historians, Moses of Khoren, the Adramelkik and Sanasar brothers, having killed their father in Armenia, sought refuge with the king Vagharshag I. During a royal ceremonial procession Sanasar’s two sons were given the honor of carrying “eagles” before the king, and that is why their ancestral name became “Ardzruni” [of eagles](⁵). One brave and clever member of that family, Kakig by name, was permitted by the Arab Chief to transfer to Vasburagan, where he established his kingdom, with Van as its capital city. He ruled for 29 years.

The dynasty lasted for more than a century, 908 to 1021. The successor kings were Terenig, Ashod I, Kakig II, Apusahl Hamazasb, Ashod Sahagian, Kurken Khachig, and Senekerin, the last king. Kakig I undertook first to restore the town Vosdan, the crowning glory of which became the Holy Cross church on the Island of Aghtamar, the magnificent church built under the architectural supervision of Manuel, and the use of a thousand soldiers, in 915-921. Kakig⁶ had the external surfaces of the church with the large sculptured figures of important prophets and Apostles of the Bible. He enlarged the island, built a surrounding wall, granaries, fortifications, etc. Also, in Vosdan he built a wooded recreational place. Kakig’s successors became more occupied with internal foreign enemies. During the time of Ashod I⁷, in 983, the fragment of the Cross was brought in with great ceremony, and it was placed in the Surp Asdvadzadzin [St. Mary] Church of the Abaran monastery. His brother Kurken-Khachig ruled in Antzevyats, while Senekerim-Hovhannes in the cantons of Rushdunik. Ashod ruled over all of Vasburagan.

Memorials are replete of Senekerim and his family in the mountains of the Varak chain. Abaranchan spring took its name from the bracelet worn by Queen Khushush. It was too bad that the Seljuks forced them to make arrangements with the Greeks to give up Van and its surroundings, and in exchange take over Sebastia. It is said that 20,000 Armenians relocated with him, while many went to the Caucasus, and elsewhere.(⁸)

Before his death Senekerim willed that on his death his sons would inter his body to Varak, his favorite shrine. The wish was fulfilled, his remains being interred in the chancel of the mother church of Varak, alongside the tomb of Catholicos Bedros Kedatartz.
RUSHDUNIK
Rev. E. Rushduni says that he believes he is a descendent of the former Rushduni kings. The Rushduni princes often supported the Ardzruni kings against foreign enemies. The prince Theodorus Rushduni is praised for his bravery and his cleverness(⁹). Numerous are the courageous works of the Rushduni princes. The Rushdunis have given catholicoi to the Aghtamar monastery, such as Yeghishe Rushduni, who was recognized as the rightful catholicos when he was consecrated in 948. And there was Ananaia of Mok in 965, and on and on.

In the 12th century (1113), Bishop Tavit Tornig established a special catholicosate in Aghtamar which lasted until Catholicos Khachadur in 1895.
THE ARDZRUNI LINEAGE
After leaving Van in 1816 Kevork Ardzruni traveled in Europe and finally settled in Tiflis. He was well educated and in 1823 he published the book “Tadastan Khradats” [Court of Counsel] on the presses that he owned, having brought them from Amsterdam and setting them up in the Nersisian Seminary. It may be learned from the book’s last verses that after leaving Van in 1822 he traveled in various countries, has come from a noble lineage, and that in 1829 he had written the book “Badmutiun yev Khrad Pezheshgutian” [History and Medical Advice], in his own publishing house. In his travels to Europe and Asia, Kevork Ardzruni studied the pattern of life there and thereby has enriched his own knowledge.

Yeremia Ardzruni, Kevork’s son, was also born in Van, in 1809, and having been trained in the Russian Army in Tiflis, took part in the Russo-Persian War of 1828. He died in 1877, in the Caucasus. Yeremia’s son, Krikor Ardzruni, though born in Tiflis, in 1845, established a patriotic daily newspaper, “Mshag,” in which he wrote courageously and thoughtfully on the conditions of the Armenians in Turkey and on how to resolve the problems. He was one of the pioneers in the Armenian revolutionary movement, and adviser to Khrimian and Portukalian.. He advised the latter that the united school to be opened in Constantinople should be under the direction of Van, which shows that though he was not born in Van but was only a descendent, he still had a strong feeling within him for Van and its people.

Krikor Ardzruni (whose biography is beyond my reach) died on December 19, 1892. His funeral was conducted with great ceremony, and Portukalian, on the occasion, wrote in his paper “Armenia” an article with the reproachful title, “We know how to bury well.” Krikor Ardzruni had a scientist brother, Prof. Andreas Ardzruni (1847-98).

The other important person who left Van in those days was Mgrdich Sanasarian, born in 1818, who settled in Garin. Though he was not a literary person, he was a lover of knowledge and he provided financial support for the establishment of two girls’ schools, the Sanasarian of Garin and the St. Sandukht of Van. Both schools, in their days, provided much benefit to the Armenian people. Sanasarian was one of the country’s great benefactors, and he remains unforgotten.

Mahdesi Gospor (Kaspar) Parseghian-Charukhjian, a merchant, emigrated and settled in Tiflis, in 1824. He named Kevork agha Ardzruni and Vartan Shermaghan as executors of his will on an estate of 15,000 silver rubles to be given to the schools, churches, and other needy institutions of Van and Tiflis.

Vanetsi Agha Kevork (Kheron) Heyranian, a merchant, settled in Tiflis after 1810, and in Paris in 1818, as a merchant. Kheranian Mardiros, of the same family (?), was a teacher for a long time in Zharankavorats school of Varak, as well as in the Haynguysner school. He was a good illustrator, and he drew the map of Van Vasburagan. He moved to Tabriz, but we do knot know of his later life, and death.

Krikor Manasarian (Bob), according to Khrimian, was an educated, intelligent person who met Khrimian in Constantinople. Khrimian read the manuscript of Manasarian’s first work, “A Welcome to Ararat.” After remaining in Constantinople for many years, he returned to Van where he died in 1884, at the age of 64.
Early Figures