NOTES ON ARMENIAN ARCHITECTURE, ATTEMPTS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROOTS OF CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE IRAN SEEN BY ARCHITECT VAHE'

Rmenian Architecture NOTES ON ARMENIAN ARCHITECTURE, ATTEMPTS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROOTS OF CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE IRAN SEEN BY ARCHITECT VAHE' MASSIHI VARTANIAN Vahè Massihi Vartanian. vartanian2009@gmail.com www.zatik.com 0039 377539508 00989378890967 NOTES ON ARMENIAN ARCHITECTURE, ATTEMPTS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROOTS OF CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE IRAN SEEN BY ARCHITECT ARCH VAHE' MASSIHI VARTANIAN To pay homage to the first pioneers of studies and publications relating to Armenian architecture in Iran, Armenia and other neighboring countries, with the creation of a graphic and photographic catalogue to document the existing monuments, I would like to remember here (limited to the people I have had the good fortune to meet since I was a young Iranian who came to study in Italy) the architect Herman Vahramian, my classmate and also my roommate. Thanks to him I met Prof. Paolo Cuneo and Eng. Armen Manoukian, who organized in Rome in June 1968 at the palace a first and unsurpassed exhibition of Studies on Medieval Armenian Architecture, organized by the University “La Sapienza” of Rome and sponsored by the Caluste Gulbenghian Foundation. Following and concurrently with this initiative, the work of research, studies and publications on Armenian Architecture began, promoted by the Polytechnic of Milan and coordinated, among others, by Professor Alpago Novello together with Eng. Manoukian. In this Milanese group, the then brilliant student Architect Herman Vahramian was co-opted for his skills and knowledge of the Armenian and Iranian territories and languages. It should be remembered, to further underline the esteem and affection with which he was surrounded in Rome, that the departure of the architect. Vahramian, although everyone was happy for the important recognition obtained by his friend and colleague, saddened, for his consequent absence, not a little the entire Iranian student community in Rome. His collaboration in the Milanese study group had, over time, the result consisting of publications, documented with accurate drawings, surveys and valuable photographic documentation of all the Armenian monuments in Iran and neighboring countries. In this context, it is worth mentioning the participation and collaboration of numerous professors of the University "La Sapienza" of Rome, in particular that of Prof. Tommaso Breccia Fratadocchi and of the Academy of Sciences of the then Armenian Soviet Republic. The exhibition was accompanied by an impressive graphic and photographic documentation, which was subsequently published in two volumes, whose documentary and scientific contents are still unsurpassed. Furthermore, after the success of the Roman exhibition, the Manoukian brothers conceived the important cultural initiative of founding, in 1985, the publishing house OEMME Edizioni, founded in honor and memory of their father, Father Onnik Manoukan. The publications – in three and sometimes four languages ​​(Italian, English, Armenian and Farsi) – have been distributed throughout the world through cultural institutes, specialized bookstores, churches and Armenian associations, since in the meantime the universities of Tehran and Yerevan have become scientific and cultural partners of the Polytechnic of Milan. The volumes published in the OEMME editions series, whose distant and worthy cultural initiative has developed with the establishment of the CSDCA Armenian study center and archive – based in Venice. are today practically unobtainable. These volumes would deserve to be republished, with the necessary updates that would thus account for the subsequent restoration work, unfortunately carried out sporadically and not documented. These works were promoted by the University of Tehran thanks to the arch. prof. Hushang Seyhoon and with the commitment of the arch. prof. Armen Hakhnazarian. The relationship with the University of Tehran and the corresponding Italian cultural institutes began way back in 1973 and continued with great scientific and cultural success until 1983. Today these connections continue, but in fact they are not operational, thus remaining potential but substantially dormant. It should be noted that, however, when Armenia was part of the Soviet bloc, they were completely non-existent. To resume academic relations with Iran, the joint initiatives of the Italian-Armenian Association Zatik and the CSDCA, the Center for Studies and Documentation of Armenian Culture in Venice, gave rise – in collaboration with the Iranian Embassy in Rome – to a conference in Venice held on 11 April 2011. The Iranian ambassador Dr. Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, together with a qualified delegation composed of the cultural representative to the Holy See Mohammad Mirzaghayi, journalists from Iranian TV and the architect. Vahè Vartanian, an Iranian citizen and member of the Zatik Association, participated in the aforementioned Venetian meeting, formulating numerous and significant proposals. In this context, the participation of the architect Sherly Avedian, responsible for the Armenian architectural and archaeological sites in Iran, was fundamental . On that occasion, she reported at the conference on the current state of the Armenian heritage in Iran. The architect Avedian thus had the opportunity to get to know the historical archive of the CSDA which documents fifty years of studies and research on Armenian architecture, carried out in Italy with the commitment of the Roman and Milanese scientific and university circles. For his part, the ambassador recalled in the conference the great contribution and sacrifice - during the war "imposed" by Iraq against Iran - of the Assyrian and Armenian minorities, present for centuries in Iranian soil, as witnessed by the presence of hundreds of religious monuments, scattered throughout the national territory. For this reason too, the commitment of the Islamic Republic to safeguard and preserve the Christian heritage of the Iranian Armenians is logical and natural. On the occasion of the conference, to seal the planned commitments, the Iranian delegation visited for the first time the Museum of the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in Venice. The Venetian meeting of 11 April 2011, which saw the presence of representatives of Ca' Foscari, IUAV (University Institute of Architecture of Venice) and other authorities, gave rise to the resumption of Italian-Iranian relations, followed by a trip to Iran organized by the CSCDA with the participation of academics and professional technicians, with the aim of visiting the monasteries of San Taddeo, Santo Stefano and Zor-Zor, protected by UNESCO and located to the east and west of Iranian Azerbaijan. The Iranian embassy, ​​after the Venetian conference, donated three hundred precious volumes to the Armenian research center CSDCA in Venice. During the trip, the Italian-Armenian mission also participated in a meeting organized at the monastery of Saint Thaddeus by the architect Sherly Avedian, with the participation of technicians from the Republic of Armenia, the Iranian representative of UNESCO, the Italian-Armenian delegation and other municipal and regional personalities of Iranian Azerbaijan. On that occasion, the definition of initiatives aimed at effectively protecting the monumental heritage in a state of degradation was put on the agenda. It was reiterated, however, that each work had to be preceded by serious studies and restoration projects and not be the object of extemporaneous, casual interventions of masonry maintenance, carried out by unqualified personnel, not protected by safety regulations at work, without documentary evidence of the materials and tools used. The need for the creation of registers was also reaffirmed, in which to take note, in any case, of every intervention that took place over the years, as a memory available to the Universities, scholars and restorers who, in future interventions, could thus be informed of the history and life of the monument being conserved. A conference was recently held in Rome that I am about to recall below, no longer as a young student, but in the guise of a mature professional architect-restorer who attempts, in the light of numerous experiences in the field of historical Armenian architecture, to outline the peculiarities of this and its uniqueness, which differentiate it from all the others. Armenian architecture preceded, in time, numerous spatial, typological and constructive experiences that, perhaps later, were adopted by other architectural cultures. Integration, following the Roman conference of May 16, 2013, held at the Alexandrian Library of the University "La Sapienza". Brief notes by Arch. Vahè Vartanian on the particularities and specificities of some aspects of Armenian architecture. Rome - June 23, 2013 ‎ After 47 years, it is a rare, if not unique, occasion to participate in a stimulating conference promoted by the Armenian Community of Rome and Lazio in the prestigious location of the Alexandrian Library at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. ‎ The meeting of May 16 introduced by Maria Cristina Martino, director of the library, saw Maria ‎Adelaide Lala Comneno and Simonetta Ciranna as protagonists. In this context, the exhibition “Edizioni Armene, libri a ‎stampa nei secoli XVII e XVIII” was presented. ‎ The conference recalled all the phases and meanings of Armenian architecture in its originality and uniqueness of forms, symbols and religious meanings. With valid and documented historical and theological arguments it has been stated that Armenian architecture is unique as are the reasons for its Christianity and the liturgies of its church. ‎ Therefore nothing is more erroneous than the widespread belief that Byzantine architecture has something in common with Armenian architecture. ‎ Being Armenian and being a Gregorian Christian is an essential whole historically and anthropologically to be referred to the passage from the Zoroastrian religion to the Christian one. ‎ Having said this, and, on this basis, there is then the profound theological meaning of the Christian faith accepted by the Armenian people through the primitive testimony and apostolic preaching of St. Jude Thaddeus, cousin and disciple of Jesus Christ. ‎ The Places of Preaching soon became a destination for pilgrimages. The construction of the monastery of St. Thaddeus is on the site of the martyrdom and above the tomb of the apostle. Next to it, and not far away, there are other sanctuaries. The most important is that of Sandukht, daughter of the Abkar King of Armenia, the first martyred nun, sharing the fate of St. Thaddeus in faith. These monastic complexes in Iranian Azerbaijan, in 2008 by UNESCO were recognized, together with those of St. Stephen and Zor-Zor, as a World Heritage Site. It should be noted, in compliance with historical truth, that officially, since 301 AD, for the preaching of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the Armenian people, by their own will and that of King Tirdate III, accepted the Christian faith with the baptism of the nation. Incidentally, King Tirdate III, having become a Christian, with his testimony, arrived in Rome, contributing in 313 to the conversion of Constantine the Great himself. In reality, well before, since the time of St. Judah Thaddeus, the Armenian people and other nearby and neighboring ethnic groups were mostly Christian. In fact , historical Armenia, the so-called great Armenia, between the three lakes – that of Van, the Caspian and the very salty one of Urumiè – is better known as Armenia, the land of crosses, also because, from above, the plan of the churches appears cruciform. ‎ The deep faith is witnessed by the large number of churches with original architecture (well over 630 in Iran alone, today not all intact and accessible), with high anti-seismic construction characteristics, placed for various reasons on the tops of hills. Of many, at least two should be remembered. ‎ The first is because the places of worship of the previous Zoroastrian faith (essentially architectural volumes with central openings towards the sky for the release of smoke and flames from ritual fires) were built on the tops of hills and mountains for greater visibility. The second is for geological safety reasons and other much more important ones of military defense. At least in today's Armenia, beyond the churches so placed, due to the very jagged orography and topography, today in the valley bottoms and in the half-coast situations, where once villages and urban settlements were built, there are no longer any traces of these. With Armenian urban planning, however, we can see inhabited centers in Turkey, Iran and neighboring countries, often next to still functioning churches. ‎ In particular in Iran the Armenian neighborhoods, due to their functionality could be considered very current urban planning models, due to their perfect organization. They were autonomous structures, equipped to offer services of all kinds to themselves and other neighborhoods of Iranian cities. ‎ This happened in Tabriz as in Urumie (Rezaiye), in Salmast as in Maraghe. Even in the countryside, and more generally in rural areas, Armenian villages, as in the cities, were functional models for agricultural production, for the distribution of products and for the provision of certain services for their community and sometimes, if necessary, for the benefit of the entire Iranian nation. To return to the architecture of Armenian churches, it should be noted that some design and construction criteria are still considered exemplary today. At a typological level, we have already said that Armenian churches are the evolution of Zoroastrian temples. The plans were developed on two crossed axes (a single central nave and transept), at the intersection of which, with the invention of the so-called "spherical handkerchiefs", the passage from the basic square to the circumference was created on which the conical dome was raised, sometimes soaring above a cylindrical drum. In some cases, the cone was embellished with a more elaborate geometry in the shape of a half-open umbrella. The construction technologies were the most sophisticated to counteract the harmful effects of time and seismic events, which were very frequent in the areas. The stones, put together to form massive walls, were often perfectly smoothed, numbered to achieve an orderly assembly. This work was so precise that it did not require the use of binding mortars and such that atmospheric agents over time did not significantly damage the structures with dangerous water infiltrations, which during the winters could, with the action of frost, cause irreparable damage, also due to the swirling wind and rain. To further describe the elaborate plans of the churches, it must be added that at the intersection of the nave and the transept, elaborate functional spaces were formed for liturgical ceremonies (baptisms, meditation spaces, votive or tomb chapels). These structures, thus linked and correlated, contributed effectively to the solidity of the whole and above all to better support the thrusts of the dome. It should also be remembered, and in greater detail, that the reference model of the conical dome was the transformation of the hearth lit in the old pagan temples. In any case, these shapes meant the elevation of human prayers upwards, towards the divinity. It is still assumed that the cuneiform dome was inspired by the peaks of Mount Ararat. The priests' headdress also has the same meaning. Later, always referring to the two peaks of Ararat (Masis for the Big Peak – it is also the name of Armenian children and Sis is the name of the small one on Mount Ararat, this is not often used to name children), the bell tower with a conical roof was added to the conical dome above the entrance portico. From the 12th to the 13th century, in the large basilica churches or monasteries, the third conical dome was added, over the central nave. Furthermore, the only light falling from the top of the dome is a focal point to attract and concentrate the thoughts of the faithful praying. Where the presence of works of art - paintings and sculptures - illuminated by more light would have been the cause of less concentration of prayer. For the same reason - for the uniqueness of Armenian Christianity - in the cross, beyond its geometric shape, there is no body of Jesus crucified. Bas-reliefs were often made on the external walls of churches to depict the images of rulers, also remembered in tombstones demonstrating donations and privileges granted to the Armenian church. Often the figures, especially those of the angels, had Mongolian features in homage to the protection imposed by the occupiers. Then on the keystone of the main entrance to the Armenian Patriarchate of Echmiadzin – the descent to earth of the only-begotten God – there is the bas-relief face of Shah Abbas the Great of Persia, in homage to the Safavid king who protected the sacred place. ‎ Shah Abbas the Great also had the merit of promoting the construction in 1611 of New Julfa in Esfahan, the capital of the Safavid kingdom – populated by Armenians who were protected by a special statute after the deportation from ancient Julfa, on the border with Azerbaijan along the Arax River. ‎ This episode recalls another similar one – that of the deportation of the Jews from Egypt to Iran by Cyrus the Great. ‎ On that occasion he promulgated a special statute on human rights reported on the famous cylinder in his name, today exhibited in the British Museum. The Armenians of New Julfa of Isfahan, given their cultural and commercial relations with the Christian West, contributed to strengthening the diplomatic, cultural and economic exchanges of the Safavid dynasty with India and Europe, in particular with Venice, Rome and Italy. ‎ Historical notes on the Relations with Italy during the Safavid dynasty - 600-; ‎ The relations between the two countries date back to very ancient times, when Venice was considered the centre of international trade and its merchants ventured along the "Silk Road" in search of exotic goods to sell in Europe. ‎ The interest of the Vatican State in the Persian Empire, however, dates back to 1561 with the letter of Pius V to Shah Tahmaseb and continued with greater consistency in the Safavid period, to continue until the present day ours. ‎ Starting from 1590, the Safavid dynasty began the process of urban rethinking of the city of Isfahan which would lead it to take on the role of the new capital of the empire, a position it would maintain until 1722 when it was replaced by Tehran. The partition of Armenia between the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire and the Iranian defeat by the Turks in the Battle of Chaldaran, marked the fate of the Armenian populations of the territories devastated by the war. The search for a refuge from the repression of the Turks triggered a massive exodus of the Armenian populations towards the interior of central Persia. For strategic reasons, Shah Abbas favored and organized the exodus of about 300,000 Armenians. One of the reasons for this operation by Shah Abbas was to create a “scorched earth” belt that would separate the two empires. Secondly, by transferring to Isfahan the population of the devastated territories that until then had constituted the hub of the flourishing transit of goods and arts towards the West, Shah Abbas surrounded himself with the commercial skills, artistic talents and artisanal and linguistic knowledge of the Armenians and other non-Muslim minorities. In the new capital, he put all these new potentialities at the service of the newborn dynasty. This strategy soon bore fruit in terms of the growing development of political and commercial relations between Persia and the West across the Persian Gulf, taking away from the Ottoman Empire the primacy of the management of commercial exchanges and related duties between the East and a West, which prohibited the entry and free movement of Muslims. In 1606 the Armenian community was granted the status of "Royal Privileges". The populations and cities that enjoyed this status were legally dependent on the Royal Court and were exempt from paying numerous taxes and duties. The civil rights of the Armenian exiles were equal to those of the Persians. Shah Abbas donated to the Armenians a vast territory of the city where non-Christians were forbidden to reside and purchase real estate. Thus, at the beginning of the 17th century, a new Armenian quarter called “Nor Julfa” arose, today declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, whose name and architectural/Christian characteristics recalled those of the old, abandoned “Julfa”. Taking advantage of the linguistic skills, knowledge and commercial relations with foreign countries brought by the arrival of the minorities exiled from old Julfa, Shah Abbas sent messengers and representatives, especially Armenians and Jews, to various European capitals, including Rome. ‎ The relationship between Isfahan and Rome is also witnessed by the stories of the famous pilgrim traveler Pietro Della Valle who attended, together with some Portuguese representatives and the Spanish Ambassador in Iran, the “water games” in the Zayandeh Rud river, which flows through Isfahan. During one of these celebrations performed by the Armenians of Nor Julfa, Pietro della Valle fell in love with a very young Persian noblewoman named “Shirin” whom he married during one of his frequent trips to Iran. Shirin's body The Armenians, in the service of Shah Abbas, stipulated numerous international trade contracts and military collaboration plans in an anti-Ottoman key, a circumstance that caused them resentment on the Turkish side. From 1670, a massive emigration of the Armenians of Nor Julfa began towards the cities and nations that had represented the outposts of the great commercial network, in decline due to the change in the policies of the Safavid dynasty: Alexandria, Constantinople, Venice, Livorno, Rome, Marseille, Warsaw, Russia, Holland, in the West; Burma, Indonesia, China and India, in the East. In India a very important Armenian community developed both from a social and economic point of view, so much so that it created a well-known Armenian College which still exists. In 1689 the Society of Armenian merchants of Nor Julfa was recognized with the exclusive right of commercial transit on Russian territories. ------------------------------------------- San T The Mass on the occasion of the feast of St. Thaddeus on July 16, 2013 the map of the monastery of St. Thaddeus The distances of the two monasteries from Tabriz, about 16 km from each other - We boys in 1956 the first pilgrimage after the Second World War, we were busy opening the roads by collecting stones to make accessible to the monastery of St. Thaddeus while the monastery of St. Stephen was made accessible after the Iranian revolution for security reasons between the two borders - The tombstone of St. Thaddeus of black and compact lava stone of about 110 x 40 cm, is located behind us wedged in the foundation of the wall. I am sitting with my arm raised. ** https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19iDBZVF29/

Vartanian