Kingdom of Eastern Georgia

Kingdom of Eastern Georgia
1256–1329
Flag of Kingdom of Eastern Georgia
Flag of Georgia in the 14th centuries[1]
Map of fragmented Kingdom of Georgia in 1311, with the Western Kingdom of Georgia in purple, and the Eastern Kingdom of Georgia in grey
Map of fragmented Kingdom of Georgia in 1311, with the Western Kingdom of Georgia in purple, and the Eastern Kingdom of Georgia in grey
CapitalTbilisi
Common languagesMiddle Georgian
Religion
Eastern Orthodox Christianity (Georgian Patriarchate)
GovernmentFeudal monarchy, Il-Khanid administrative regions Tumans.[2]
• 1247–1270
David VII
• 1270–1289
Demetrius II
• 1289–1292
Vakhtang II
• 1292–1302
David VIII
• 1302–1308
Vakhtang III
• 1308–1311
David VIII
• 1311–1313
George VI
• 1314–1346
George V
Historical eraLate Middle Ages
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Kingdom of Georgia
Kingdom of Georgia
Part of a series on the
History of Georgia
Prehistoric Georgia
Ancient history
Middle Ages
Early modern history
Modern history
History by topic

The Kingdom of Eastern Georgia[3][4] (Georgian: აღმოსავლეთ საქართველოს სამეფო, romanized: aghmosavlet sakartvelos samepo) was the official prolongation of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1256 to 1329. Its rule was limited to the geographical areas of central and eastern Georgia, while the western part of the country temporarily seceded to form the Kingdom of Western Georgia under its own line of kings. The secession followed a transitional period when the rule of the Kingdom of Georgia was jointly assumed by the cousins David VI and David VII from 1246 to 1256. The entity split into two parts when David VI, revolting from the Mongol hegemony, seceded in the western half of the kingdom and formed the Kingdom of Western Georgia in 1256. David VII was relegated to the rule of Eastern Georgia. During his reign, Eastern Georgia went into further decline under the Mongol overlordship.

Mongol conquest

Since the 1220s, the Kingdom of Georgia had to contend with the numerous Mongol invasions of Genghis Khan and his successors, the Ilkhanids.[5] Following a disastrous campaign, the Kingdom of Georgia recognized defeat against the Mongols and had to accept submission through the 1239 treaty.

Between 1236 and 1256, before the creation of the Il-Khanate, Caucasia was placed under the military governorship of Chormaqan, and divided into 5 vilayets (provinces): Georgia (Gurjistan), Greater Armenia, Shirvan, Arran, and Mughan, with Armenian principalities becoming fragmented and essentially independent. Georgia was partitioned into 8 Mongol tümen, with each tümen ordered to supply 10,000 soldiers.[6] After 1256, Armenia was directly incorporated into the Il-Khanate founded by Hulegu.[7][8]

Joint rule (1246–1256)

In 1246, the Mongol Empire confirmed the cousins David VII and David VI as joint kings of King of Georgia by the Mongol Empire, effectively laying ground for a division of the Georgian kingdom.

The "two Davids", as incumbents for the throne of Georgia, David VI and David VII, attended the enthronement ceremony of the Mongol Khan Güyük on 24 August 1246, near the Mongol capital at Karakorum, together with a large number of foreign ambassadors: the Franciscan friar and envoy of Pope Innocent IV, John of Plano Carpini and Benedict of Poland; Grand Duke Yaroslav II of Vladimir; the brother of the king of Armenia and historian, Sempad the Constable; the future Seljuk Sultan of Rum, Kilij Arslan IV; and ambassadors of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim and Ala ud din Masud of the Delhi Sultanate.[9] all bearing homage, tribute, and presents. This event was related by the 13th century historian Juvayni:

Mural of King David VII Ulugh, first ruler of Eastern Georgia

From Khitai there came emirs and officials; and from Transoxiana and Turkestan the emir Masʿud accompanied by grandees of that region. With the emir Arghun there came the celebrities and notables of Khorasan, Iraq, Lur, Azerbaijan and Shirvan. From Rum came Sultan Rukn al-Din and the Sultan of Takavor (Trebizond); from Georgia, the two Davits; from Aleppo, the brother of the Lord of Aleppo; from Mosul, the envoy of Sultan Badr al-Din Luʾluʾ; and from the city of Peace, Baghdad, the chief qadi Fakhr al-Din. There also came the Sultan of Erzurum, envoys from the Franks, and from Kerman and Fars also; and from ʿAla al-Din of Alamut, his governors in Quhistan, Shihab al-Din and Shams al-Din. And all this great assembly came with such baggage as befitted a court; and there came also from other directions so many envoys and messengers that two thousand felt tents had been made ready for them: there came also merchants with the rare and precious things that are produced in the East and the West.

— Juvayni, 1: 249–50.[10]

The Mongols appointed David VII as ulu ("senior") ruler, while David VI was appointed narin (junior) ruler.[11] The Mongols required the Georgians to provide 90,000 soldiers (calculated at 1/9th of the population), and the agriculture and economy were taxed.[11] They reigned jointly throughout the country for almost a decade under Mongol control. However, the Mongol overlords began to impose heavy taxes on the inhabitants of the Caucasus, leading to numerous popular revolts, particularly in Shirvan.[12]

Tiflis coinage in the name of David VII citing Möngke as overlord: "King David, servant of the Khan, the Master of the World".[13] Persian, dated 1253.[14][15]

In 1259, David VI, who was nicknamed Narin (meaning "junior" in Mongolian) by the Ilkhanid authorities, rebelled against his Mongol suzerain, although he did not drag his royal colleague into the rebellion.[12] The Ilkhanate soon put an end to this revolt after a few short, bloody battles, while David VI managed to take refuge in western Georgia on a secret journey that took him through Armenia.[16] Arriving in Kutaisi, one of the largest towns in western Georgia, he declared the secession of the domains west of the Likhi mountains, and was proclaimed King of the Kingdom of Western Georgia by the local nobility.[12]

Western Georgia then became an independent kingdom, wishing to preserve Georgian culture outside the sphere of influence of the Mongol world. The Ilkhanate was preoccupied with its military campaign in Syria against certain Crusader states and Mamluk Sultanate[17] and was content to increase the tributes imposed on eastern Georgia to rectify the difference in revenue following the loss of a large portion of the taxes from some of the richest Georgian provinces.[18]

Secession (1256–1329)

Khutlubuga was Commander-in-Chief of the Georgian Army (Amirspasalar) for Demetrius II. Church of the Holy Sign. Haghpat Monastery, southern wall. Late 13th century.[19]
Soldiers in uniform, Kobayr Monastery, 1270s

The Kingdom of Eastern Georgia was under the direct authority of the Mongol ruler Hulagu Khan (r 1256–1265), founder of the Ilkhanate, and was considered as a vassal of the Īlkhānid state.[3][20] The Mongols also took direct control of the Samtskhe region in southwestern Georgia, as an autonomous principality under Il-khanate rule.[2][21]

The successive kings of Eastern Georgia from 1256 to 1329 were David VII, Demetrius II, David VIII, Vakhtang III and George V.

At times, Georgia became a battleground between rival Mongol authorities, and in 1265, Berke Khan, the ruler of the Golden Horde, ravaged Eastern Georgia from the north.[22]

Mongol control

The Mongol maintained control over the Eastern Georgian territory, by maintaining the original kingship within the original Bagratid family, while appointing their own supporters for the offices of the Atabeg (Governor General) and the Amirspasalar (Commander-in-Chief) of the army, as seen with the appointments of Sadun Artsruni (r.1272–1282) or his son Khutlubuga (r.1270–1293).[23][24] Throughout the 13th century, the high offices Atabeg (Governor General) and Amirspasalar (Commander-in-Chief of the Georgian army) had been held by the Zakarids, but following the Mongol takeover of Eastern Georgia, the Mongol victors gave these offices to the "renegade" Sadun of Mankaberd in 1272.[25] When Abaqa became the new Mongol ruler, Sadun received from him the title of Atabeg Amirspasalar for the Georgian Bagratid Kingdom.[26] He was said to be close to the Mongols, and had been promoted by them: "Sadun Artsruni was appointed as atabeg of Georgia by Abaqa Khan".[26][27] In his position, he especially controlled the policies of Eastern Georgia, which, while being ruled by Demetre II, remained pro-Mongol throughout.[27][23][28]

The Mongols of the Il-Khanate also had a Military Governor or "Viceroy" of Georgia in place, such as Alinaq Noyan (–1289)[29] and his successor Qurumushi (1289–1318).[30]

Military operations

The Eastern Georgians provided substantial military support to the Mongols: they supported the Siege of Baghdad in 1258, and the Mongol campaigns in Syria from 1259 into the 1260s, leading to thousands of casualties.[2] Sadun Artsruni, future Atabeg for Eastern Georgia, is known to have accompanied Hulegu in his military campaigns in Syria in 1259, in the conquest of Sasun, and in the Siege of Aleppo (1260).[31] But when in 1260 Hulegu Khan requested the presence of Georgians and Armenians for the Mongol invasions of the Levant, remembering the losses of his troops in the 1258 Siege of Baghdad, David Ulu rebelled.[32] A large Mongol army led by General Arghun Aqa invaded Georgia from the south, inflicted a heavy defeat on David and Sargis I Jaqeli in a battle near Akhaldaba, and then brutally plundered the country. The Mongol campaign continued during the winter, and the following year the king was forced to flee to Imereti, which the Mongols failed to conquer.[33] David's family was captured, and his wife Gvantsa was killed.[34] Peace with the Mongols was achieved in 1262, when David Ulu returned to Tbilisi to reclaim his crown as a Mongol vassal, pledging allegiance to Hulegu, while David Narin only nominally recognized Mongol rule in Imereti. The reason for Hulegu's tolerance towards the rebel lies in the fact that since 1261, the Il-kan was at war with the Golden Horde, which was on a larger scale.[33]

The territory of the Caucasus, and as part of it the Kingdom of Georgia itself, became the scene of war between Hulegu and the Khan of the Golden Horde Berke in the following years. David Ulu provided his support for the conflict between the Il-Khanate and the Golden Horde in 1263–1265.[33] In 1263, King David's troops participated in the defense of the Siba fortress against the Golden Horde. In 1265, his troops, as the vanguard of the Ilkhanate army, defeated Berke and pushed his troops out of Shirvan. As Hulegu died in the same year, Berke began to prepare a major offensive. The following year, his army penetrated into Georgia, but the offensive was abruptly stopped due to the death of the khan in the vicinity of Tbilisi.

In 1270, David Ulu led Georgian and Armenian troops in support of the Mongol Abaqa against Tekuder, who had found refuge in Western Georgia.[35]

Demetrius II participated to all Mongol campaigns from 1275 to 1281.[34] In 1277, 3000 Georgians founght with the Mongols against the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt in the battle of Abulistan.[36] Georgian troops were present in great number at the Second Battle of Homs (1281).[34][36]

In 1284, Georgian and Armenian troops had to participate in the dynastic conflict between the Il-Khanate ruler Tekuder and Arghun, with troops under the Vicery of Georgia Alinaq Noyan and under Tekuder himself.

The relationship was tumultuous: in 1289, King Demetrius II was executed by the Mongols, at the instigation of Khutlubuga.[2] His son, the future David VIII, had to participate in the Mongol invasion of Anatolia in 1291–1292.[33]

Religious revolts

The Mongol Emir Nawrūz, son of Arghun Aqa, started to implement anti-Christian policies, in relation with the adoption of Islam by his ruler Ghazan.[37] Suddenly, Christians and Jew were segregated against, and had to wear distinctive types of dresses.[37] Churches were being destroyed throughout the Middle-East, but also in Georgia, at Siwnik‘, Somkhit and Kartli.[37] These events provoked popular rebellions and threat of military uprisings against the Mongols.[37] Because of this, Nawrūz was replaced by Qutlughshāh on the orders of Ghazan.[37] Nawrūz then plotted against Ghazan, but was denounced with the help of the Armenian Princes Eachi Pŕoshian and Liparit Orbelian, and was finally executed.[37]

A unified Georgia was reestablished by George V of Georgia in 1329, as he reasserted royal control over the western part of Georgia through the astute usage of Mongol forces, and ultimately managed to expel the Mongols from Georgian lands.[22][2] This coincided with a weakening of the Ilkhanate, which was engulfed in civil war in 1335–1344.[2] Georgia would again suffer invasion at the hands of Timurlane from 1386 onward.[2]

Art

Khutlubuga was a patron for the murals at the Church of the Holy Sign, in the Haghpat Monastery, probably during his time as Amirspasalar in the 1280s. He appears in person, with the inscription of his name. He wear a wrap-around caftan with decorative inserts, and has a low triangular headgear.[38] This is a very useful marker for the clothing styles and for the dating of works of art of the period.[38] They are contemporary with the murals at Kobayr by the family of the Zakarids, nominal vassals of the Georgian crown.[38]

References

Part of a series on the
History of Georgia
Prehistoric Georgia
Ancient history
Middle Ages
Early modern history
Modern history
History by topic
  1. ^ Georgia: Historical flags, 5th-18th centuries
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Mikaberidze, Alexander (6 February 2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4422-4146-6.
  3. ^ a b Minassian, Gaïdz (14 May 2020). The Armenian Experience: From Ancient Times to Independence. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-78672-561-5. Armenia, Azerbaijan and the kingdom of eastern Georgia were under the direct authority of Hulagu Khan (r 1256–1265), the founder of the Ilkhanate dynasty.
  4. ^ Korobeinikov, Dimitri (25 September 2014). Byzantium and the Turks in the Thirteenth Century. Oxford Academic. p. 209. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198708261.003.0006. As Bryer has demonstrated, in the 1270s Michael VIII Palaiologos was in alliance with the Īlkhānid state, the Western Georgian kingdom and, from time to time, with the Papacy against Charles of Anjou and his allies (the Mamluk Sultanate, the Empire of Trebizond, and the Kingdom of Eastern Georgia).
  5. ^ Rayfield 2012, pp. 122–134.
  6. ^ Biran, Michal; Kim, Hodong (31 July 2023). The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire 2 Volumes. Cambridge University Press. p. 714. ISBN 978-1-009-30197-8. In the period that preceded the creation of the Ilkhanate, i.e., 1236–1256, Subcaucasia was put under the control of a military governor, the first of which was Chormaqan. The Mongols organized Caucasia into five vilayets (provinces): Georgia (Gurjistan), Greater Armenia, Shirvan, Arran, and Mughan. Georgia was divided into eight tümen. Greater Armenia was composed of "quasi-independent" Armenian principalities, and included the territories of Sasun and Vaspurakan, with Karin/Erzurum at the center.
  7. ^ Stopka, Krzysztof; Bałuk-Ulewiczowa, Teresa (2017). Armenia Christiana: Armenian religious identity and the Churches of Constantinople and Rome (4th-15th century) (PDF) (First ed.). Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press. ISBN 978-83-233-4190-1. In 1256 a fifth Mongol ulus was created, with the ilkhan Hulagu, the Great Khan's brother, as its governor. His task was to develop the Mongol Empire in the Near East. The historical territories of Armenia became part of the Ilkhanate of Persia.
  8. ^ Sinclair, T. A. (31 December 1989). Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume I. Pindar Press. pp. 358–359. ISBN 978-0-907132-32-5.
  9. ^ Roux, Jean-Paul (2003). L'Asie Centrale. Paris: Fayard. p. 312. ISBN 2-213-59894-0.
  10. ^ Eastmond, Antony (2017). Tamta's World: The Life and Encounters of a Medieval Noblewoman from the Middle East to Mongolia. Cambridge University Press. p. 348. doi:10.1017/9781316711774. ISBN 9781316711774.
  11. ^ a b Mikaberidze, Alexander (6 February 2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4422-4146-6.
  12. ^ a b c Rayfield 2012, p. 131.
  13. ^ Translation of coin legend by Victor Langlois
  14. ^ "The Tiflis Dirhams of Möngke Khān". American Numismatic Society.
  15. ^ "Silver dirham of David [Ulugh]/Möngke Khan, Tiflis, 650 H. 1977.158.1348". Digital Library of the Middle East - DLME.
  16. ^ Brosset 1849, p. 545.
  17. ^ Salia 1980, p. 230.
  18. ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 132.
  19. ^ Hakobyan, Zaruhi A. (2021). "The Frescoes of the Haghpat Monastery in the Historical-Confessional Context of the 13th Century". Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art. 11: 265. doi:10.18688/aa2111-02-21.
  20. ^ Korobeinikov, Dimitri (25 September 2014). Byzantium and the Turks in the Thirteenth Century. Oxford Academic. p. 209. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198708261.003.0006. In the winter of 1305/6 another Byzantine embassy was sent to Georgia in order to negotiate a symmachia (συμμαχία), i.e. a military alliance. These negotiations (which Byzantium most probably conducted with the Eastern Georgian kingdom, the vassal of the Īlkhānid state) ended in failure, but at this time Andronikos II decided to oer Öljeitü a matrimonial alliance (κῆδος). The emperor even ordered the despoina Maria, Abaqa's widow, to move to Nicaea with all her court, as her assistance might be useful when he was concluding the new Byzantine–Īlkhānid treaty.
  21. ^ Mikaberidze, Alexander (2007). Historical dictionary of Georgia. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-8108-5580-9.
  22. ^ a b Mikaberidze, Alexander (6 February 2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-4422-4146-6.
  23. ^ a b Kitagawa, pp. 135–136.
  24. ^ Dashdondog 2020.
  25. ^ Mikaberidze, Alexander (6 February 2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-4422-4146-6.
  26. ^ a b Dashdondog 2011, p. 166 "Sadun Artsruni was appointed as atabeg of Georgia by Abaqa Khan."
  27. ^ a b Evaniseli, Gvantsa (8 December 2023). "Reflection of one episode of Georgian history in the 14th century Syrian chronicle – "History of Mar Yahbalaha and Bar Sauma"". აღმოსავლეთმცოდნეობის მაცნე. 6 (2): 106. doi:10.61671/hos.6.2023.7355. At that time, Demetre II reigned in Eastern Georgia, whose policy was governed by Sadun of Mankaberd, who was close to the Mongols, until his death. Since the latter was promoted by the Ilkhan Khans, it should not be in his interest to go against them. Moreover, during this period, Eastern Georgia's opposition against the Mongols is not visible neither in the Georgian original sources nor anywhere else.
  28. ^ Dashdondog 2011.
  29. ^ Hope, Michael (22 September 2016). Power, Politics, and Tradition in the Mongol Empire and the Īlkhānate of Iran. Oxford University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-19-108107-1. Alinaq Noyan, the commander of Georgia
  30. ^ Lang, D. M. (1955). "Georgia in the Reign of Giorgi the Brilliant (1314-1346)". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 17 (1): 80. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00106354. ISSN 0041-977X. JSTOR 609230. It will also be recalled that al-'Umari says that Chupan counted on King Giorgi as 'a remover of any unpleasantness'. As an example of this we may cite Giorgi's active role in the suppression of the revolt of the Amir Qurmishi, who was military governor in Georgia. In 1319 this personage tried to take advantage of Chupan's many commitments in order to secede from the Il-Khanian empire. King Giorgi, however, refused to countenance this and helped to crush Qurmishi. The situation was soon brought under control.
  31. ^ Kitagawa, p. 135.
  32. ^ Bai︠a︡rsaĭkhan 2011, p. 137 "Hűlegű demanded that the Georgian King David Ulu support his conquest of Syria and Egypt . Surprisingly, David refused. One might have expected that the Georgian king would have been more than interested in liberating the Holy Land . However, David was not only disinterested in this venture, but also bold enough to refuse Hűlegű’s order. In addition, he sought a revolt, which was suppressed by Arghun Aqa in Southern Georgia in 1260. David Ulu ’s refusal to participate in the Mongol campaign in Syria can be explained by his huge loss of men in the battle for Baghdad."
  33. ^ a b c d Mikaberidze, Alexander (6 February 2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-4422-4146-6.
  34. ^ a b c Mikaberidze, Alexander (6 February 2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-4422-4146-6.
  35. ^ Biran, Michal; Kim, Hodong (31 July 2023). The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire 2 Volumes. Cambridge University Press. p. 721. ISBN 978-1-009-30197-8. The only non-Toluid army in Iran was at this time under the command of the Chaghadaid prince Tegüder, who had accompanied Hülegü to Iran and received an appanage in Georgia. After Hülegü's death, Tegüder joined the Chaghadaid cause. Trying to join Baraq via Derbend, Tegüder asked to return to his Georgian appanage. King David V refused and Tegüder remained stuck there. David Narin sheltered him in Imereti, but his behavior in Georgia – pillaging villages and caravans and insulting the clergy – provoked the rage of the local population, who urged Abaqa to summon him back. When Tegüder refused (or because he had found out about his plans) Abaqa attacked him, defeating him in 1270, with the help of the Georgian and Armenian troops headed by King David V.
  36. ^ a b Biran, Michal; Kim, Hodong (31 July 2023). The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire 2 Volumes. Cambridge University Press. pp. 721–722. ISBN 978-1-009-30197-8. In 1277, 3,000 Georgians participated in the battle of Abulistan, where the Mamluk army defeated the Mongols.
  37. ^ a b c d e f Dashdondog 2011, p. 197 The person who assisted in enthroning Ghazan Khan and thus exercised power was chief amir Nawruz (Naurūz), a son of Arghun Aqa from the Oirat tribe. Nawruz was known in Greater Armenia and in the region for his hostility towards the Christians. It was he who issued instructions that the Christians and Jews had to wear distinctive dress, such as a girdle around the loins for the Christians and a mark on their heads for the Jews. His policy of pursuing the Caucasian Christians and his destruction of the churches in Baghdad, Mosul, Hama, Tabriz, Maragha, Nakhichevan, Siwnik‘, Somkhit, Kartli and a few other places in Georgia provoked riots and rebellion against the Mongols among the Georgian nobles in the 1290s. Thus in Nakhichevan, the Mongol governors were under threat from sudden raids by Georgio-Armenian forces who were displeased with the religious enmity of Nawruz. Later, Ghazan Khan expelled Nawruz to Khurasan and sent amir Qutlughshāh to restore peace with the Armenians and the Georgian King David VIII (r. 1293–1311), the cousin of Vakhtang II (r. 1289–1292). When Nawruz plotted against Ghazan, however, according to the Armenian source, his plot was revealed, with the help of the Armenian princes Liparit Orbelian and Eachi Pŕoshian, and Nawruz and all his family were executed.
  38. ^ a b c статей, Сборник (15 May 2022). Актуальные проблемы теории и истории искусства. Выпуск 11 (in Russian). Litres. p. 264. ISBN 978-5-04-438990-8.
  39. ^ Дрампян, Ирина Рубеновна (1979). Фрески Кобайра (in Armenian). Советакан грох. p. 20. The frescoes of the Kobayr monastery (...) The frescoes of Kobayr refer to the second, i . e . to the Zakarian period. There has been a period when most of the structures of the monastery were covered with paintings. Now if we don't count the traces of painting on the other structures, only two monuments have preserved part of their decoration; and those are the Big Church and the Aisle adjoining it from the north. Thanks to the inscription referring to the construction of the building, we are informed of the date, which is the year 1282, and also the name of the donor, the monk George who was the son of Shahnshah, of the Zakarian family. Though we don't have documental informations concerning the paintings of the Aisle , the portraits of the donators whom we consider to be Shahnshah and his wife allow us to look upon the painting as one close to the date of the Big Church; the likeness in the artistic style confirms this suggestion. - From all the wall paintings of the Big Church only that of the altar has been preserved. As for the Aisle , here we can see not only the altar painting, but also remains of frescoes on the northern and western walls. The iconography of the altar paintings of the Big Church and the Aisle, on the whole, can be traced back to the Byzantine system of decoration. Having been already formed in the XI c., it has also some local peculiarities, the sources of which go back to the Armenian monumental art of earlier ages, beginning from the VII c. The set-up of both altar paintings are similar: the Church Fathers are in the lower rank, the Eucharist is in the middle. The difference lies in the upper circle, in the concha...

Sources