Akdamar island

The island of Akdamar in Lake Van in Eastern Anatolia is famous for its church. Churches have a significant place in medieval Christianart. Churches came to express, throughout centuries, the people's feelings and their endurance in times of social disorder and political strife.

It will be possible to assess the aim for building the church of Akdamar in a better way if we go back to the time of its construction (915-921 A.D). As a result of the occupation of Eastern Anatolia by the Moslem Arab armies, the period from the end of 7th century to the middle of the 9th century has marked the stagnation of the Armenian art in the area. The settling of some Arab Emirs in Armenian towns, their fights with Byzantine armies, internal strives resulted in the impoverishment of local Armenian kingdoms. However, as Byzantine armies achieved success in their battles with the Abbasids, the Armenian princes recouped and consolidated their positions. The naming of Ashot Bagratuni of Bagradid dynasty as Armenian prince in 862 by the Abbasid Khalif constituted a turning point. Later, in 886, Ashot Bagratuni's nephew and namesake was given the title of King Ashot I by the Abbasids.

With the ascension of Ashot I to the Armenian throne, a renaissance was initiated in Armenian art by the Bagradid dynasty. During the 9th and 10th centuries, numerous churches were built. Rich feudal families started repairing the churches and monasteries on their land. The Bagradid kingdom consolidated its power but at the end of the 9th century they were unable to keep all the Armenian dynasties under their control and found themselves fighting against various feudal families. The Ardsruni princes from the small kingdom of Vaspurakan emerged as the greatest rivals of the Bagradids. The domain of the Ardsrunis, including the lands of their vassals, extended from Mount Ararat in the north to the Lake of Urmia in south-east.

When relations between Ardsrunis and Simbad, successor of Ashot I of Bagradids deteriorated in a marked way, Prince Gagik of the Ardsrunis concluded an agreement with the Abbasid ruler of Azerbaijan and received the crown of kingdom in 908. Following this, the Abbasid Khalif Muktadir sent Gagik a second crown.

After becoming king of Vaspurakan, Gagik embarked on a large scale construction program, with emphasis on building churches and monasteries, in effect competing against the Bagradid Kingdom. Among monuments built by Gagik, the Church of Akdamar (Aght'amar) is the most famous one, having become subject to various publications.

The name given to the island, Aght'amar, is explained by a well known legend among local population: A nobleman who fell in love with a beautiful girl named Tamar visited the island every night to see her. As he was crossing the lake one stormy night, his boat capsized and fighting the waves, he drowned uttering the words "Ach Tamar". Tamar, awaiting the arrival of her loved one, grieved deeply upon hearing the news of his death and died soon after. Hence, the island was called "Ach Tamar" (Aght'amar) ever since.

Ardsruni describes in his book the Historian Thomas coronation of King Gagik I and the churches and palaces he built. According to Thomas Ardsruni, Arab ruler Yusuf presented Gagik with a solid gold crown intricately embellished with pearls and other precious gems, a gold embroidered kaftan, a gold belt and sword, all in a ceremony in which Gagik, riding on a horse with gilded harness, shone like the sun. In his work, Ardsruni describes in great detail, the palace, the monastery, the church and the shops on the island of Aght'amar saying that buildings, streets and gardens were planned by Gagik himself. According to his description, there were orchards and terraced parks within the fortifications on the island. The palace rose like a hill in the center of the island and the glow of gilded cupolas could be seen from far away. The frescoes adorning the walls of the main audience hall portrayed the king sitting on the gilded throne, surrounded by the elite of the palace, in conjunction with festivities, musicians,

dancing girls, sword clad soldiers, wrestlers, lions, wild beasts and various colorful birds.
The fortifications, churches and palace buildings were completed within the relatively short period of five years. Gagik assembled in Aght'amar the best craftsmen and artisans of his time and supervised their work. Presently, only foundations remain from this majestic palace whose grandeur we can capture reading Thomas Ardsruni. The descriptions related to Aght'amar Palace are reminiscent of palace decoration in Samarra where the Abbasid Khalifs, with whom Gagik had friendly relations, kept their residence.
One could perhaps get an impression of the decoration of the Aght'amar Palace from the wall paintings in the Javsak-ul Hakani Palace in Samarra, north of Baghdad, built by the Abbasid Khalif in 839 A.D. to accommodate his army of Turkish soldiers brought from Central Asia.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29