Ancient and medieval According to the Armenian historian
Movses Khorenatsi, Bagaran was founded during the third century BC by King
Orontes IV of Armenia. It quickly became the religious centre of Armenia, replacing
Armavir as the main spiritual site of the Orontid pagan temples. After the fall of the
Orontid dynasty and the rise of the
Artaxiad dynasty, king
Artaxias I moved all the pagan monuments from Bagaran to his newly built capital of
Artashat (Artaxata), founded in 176 BC. During the second half of the sixth century, Bagaran, along with the entire canton of Arsharunik, became the property of the
Kamsarakan princes. The Church of Saint Theodore built between 624 and 631 was one of the main landmarks of Bagaran. Inscriptions on the church of Saint Theodore of Bagaran were located at the exterior of the entire building, starting at the northern face of the western apse and running across the northern, eastern and southern faces. The
Bagratunis took over the city during the eighth century. In 895, after the establishment of the
Kingdom of Armenia, Bagaran became the capital of an independent Armenian kingdom under
Ashot I. His successor,
Smbat I, moved the capital Bagaran to
Shirakavan in 890. Under Bagratid rule, Bagaran remained one of the prosperous centers of the Armenian kingdom. Many Bagratuni rulers, including Ashot I, are buried in Bagaran. However, in 1045, Bagaran, along with the Armenian capital of
Ani, was invaded by the
Byzantines. In 1064, the city was attacked and heavily destroyed by the
Seljuk Turks. During the twelfth century, the
Shah-Armens took over Bagaran. In 1211, Bagaran was briefly ruled by the
Zakarid princes of Armenia before being invaded by the
Mongols in 1236. In 1394, Bagaran was finally destroyed by
Tamerlane.
Modern At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was an Armenian-populated village near the site of ancient Bagaran with a population of slightly over 300. In 1920, as a result of the
Turkish–Armenian War, the territories of the
Republic of Armenia located west of the
Akhurian River were captured by Turkey. The small group of the Armenian survivors of Bagaran crossed the river to the eastern bank and founded the modern village of
Bagaran within the
Armenian SSR, just 8 km south of the site of the ancient city. Nowadays, a small Kurdish-populated village called
Kilittaşı partially lies on the ruins of Bagaran, on the
Turkish side of the closed border. According to the Armenian historian
Joseph Orbeli, the Church of Saint Theodore of Bagaran was one of the most prominent examples of early medieval Armenian architecture. It was largely intact until 1920. However, it was deliberately destroyed by the Turkish authorities. ==References==