Dvin
Encyclopedia
Dvin was a large commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia
. It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia
, the city of Artaxata, along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan
. The site of the ancient city is currently not much more than a large hill located between modern Hnaberd
(just off the main road through Hnaberd) and Verin Dvin
, Armenia. Systematic excavations at Dvin have proceeded since 1937 and have produced an abundance of materials that have shed light into the Armenian culture of the 5th to the 13th centuries.
on a site of an ancient settlement and fortress from the third millennium B.C. Since then the city had been used as the primary residence of the Armenian Kings of the Arshakuni Dynasty. Dvin boasted a population of about 100,000 citizens who were in various professions including arts and crafts, trade, fishing, etc.
After the fall of the Armenian Kingdom in 428, Dvin became the residence of Sassanid appointed marzpans (governors), Byzantine kouropalates and later Umayyad
and Abbasid
appointed ostikans (governors), all of whom were of senior nakharar
stock. In 640 Dvin was the center of the emirate of Arminia.
Under Arshakuni rule, Dvin prospered as one of the most populous and wealthiest cities east of Constantinople
. Its welfare continued even after the partition of Armenia between Romans and Sassanid Persians and eventually became a target during the height of the Arab invasions. According to Sebeos and Catholicos John V the Historian, Dvin was captured in 640
during the reign of Constans II
and Catholicos Ezra. The Arabs called the city Dabil.
Despite the fact that Dvin, was a battleground between Arabs and Byzantine forces for the next two centuries, in the 9th century it was still a flourishing city. Frequent earthquakes and continued Arab oppression led to the decline of the city in the beginning of the 10th century. During a major earthquake in 893
, the city was destroyed along with most of its 70,000 inhabitants.
The Byzantines conquered Armenia along with Dvin in 1045 from the Bagratunis. In 1064 the Seljuks occupied the city. The Kurdish Shaddadids ruled the city as Seljuk vassals from then on until the Georgian King George III
conquered the city in 1173. In 1201-1203 during the reign of Queen Tamar
the city was again under Georgian rule. In 1236 the city was completely destroyed by Mongols.
Dvin was the birthplace of Najm ad-Din Ayyub
and Asad ad-Din Shirkuh bin Shadhi
, Kurdish
generals in the service of the Seljuks; Najm ad-Din Ayyub's son Saladin
was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty
. Saladin was born in Tikrit
, Iraq, but his family had originated from the ancient city of Dvin.
pagan temple with seven pairs of interior structural supports. The temple was rebuilt in the 4th century as a Christian church, with a pentahedral apse
that protruded sharply on its eastern side. In the middle of the 5th century, an exterior arched gallery was added to the existing structure. At the time that the cathedral was built, it was the largest in Armenia and measured 30.41 meters by 58.17 meters.
Ornate decorations adorned the interior and the exterior of the building. The capitals of the columns were decorated with fern-like relief, while the cornices were carved in the design of three interlaced strands. The interior floor of the structure was made up of mosaic multi-colored soft-toned slabs in a geometric pattern, while the floor of the apse was decorated in the 7th century with a mosaic of smaller stone tiles representing the Holy Virgin. It is the most ancient mosaic depiction of her in Armenia.
By the middle of the 7th century, the cathedral was rebuilt into a cruciform domed church with apses that protruded off of its lateral facades. All that remains of the cathedral today are the stone foundations uncovered during archaeological excavations in the 20th century.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, the city of Artaxata, along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
. The site of the ancient city is currently not much more than a large hill located between modern Hnaberd
Hnaberd, Ararat
Hnaberd is a town in the Ararat Province of Armenia....
(just off the main road through Hnaberd) and Verin Dvin
Verin Dvin
Verin Dvin is a village in the Ararat Province of Armenia located 30 kilometers away from Yerevan. The largest Assyrian community in Armenia is in Verin Dvin, where the majority of the residents in the village are ethnic Assyrians. The village also has two Assyrian churches including one that was...
, Armenia. Systematic excavations at Dvin have proceeded since 1937 and have produced an abundance of materials that have shed light into the Armenian culture of the 5th to the 13th centuries.
Name
Ancient Armenian literary sources almost always give the name of the ancient city of Dvin as Dwin or Duin. Later authors favored the Dvin appellation, which is the most common form given in scholarly literature.History
The ancient city of Dvin was built by Chosroes III of Armenia in 335335
Year 335 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Albinus...
on a site of an ancient settlement and fortress from the third millennium B.C. Since then the city had been used as the primary residence of the Armenian Kings of the Arshakuni Dynasty. Dvin boasted a population of about 100,000 citizens who were in various professions including arts and crafts, trade, fishing, etc.
After the fall of the Armenian Kingdom in 428, Dvin became the residence of Sassanid appointed marzpans (governors), Byzantine kouropalates and later Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
and Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
appointed ostikans (governors), all of whom were of senior nakharar
Nakharar
Nakharar was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval Armenian nobility.-Nakharar system:Medieval Armenia was divided into large estates, which were the property of an enlarged noble family and were ruled by a member of it, to whom the title of Nahapet...
stock. In 640 Dvin was the center of the emirate of Arminia.
Under Arshakuni rule, Dvin prospered as one of the most populous and wealthiest cities east of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Its welfare continued even after the partition of Armenia between Romans and Sassanid Persians and eventually became a target during the height of the Arab invasions. According to Sebeos and Catholicos John V the Historian, Dvin was captured in 640
640
Year 640 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Tulga succeeds his father Suinthila as king...
during the reign of Constans II
Constans II
Constans II , also called Constantine the Bearded , was Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. He also was the last emperor to become consul in 642, becoming the last Roman consul in history....
and Catholicos Ezra. The Arabs called the city Dabil.
Despite the fact that Dvin, was a battleground between Arabs and Byzantine forces for the next two centuries, in the 9th century it was still a flourishing city. Frequent earthquakes and continued Arab oppression led to the decline of the city in the beginning of the 10th century. During a major earthquake in 893
893 Dvin earthquake
The 893 Dvin earthquake occurred on 28 December at about midnight. It had a magnitude of about 6 and a maximum intensity of about IX on the Mercalli intensity scale. It destroyed the city of Dvin in Armenia, causing about 30,000 casualties...
, the city was destroyed along with most of its 70,000 inhabitants.
The Byzantines conquered Armenia along with Dvin in 1045 from the Bagratunis. In 1064 the Seljuks occupied the city. The Kurdish Shaddadids ruled the city as Seljuk vassals from then on until the Georgian King George III
George III of Georgia
Giorgi III , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia from 1156 to 1184. His reign, and that of Tamar, are seen as the 'golden age' of Georgian history, the era of empire, diplomatic success, military triumphs, great learning, cultural, spiritual, and artistic flowering.-Life:He succeeded on...
conquered the city in 1173. In 1201-1203 during the reign of Queen Tamar
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was Queen Regnant of Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Tamar presided over the "Golden age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy...
the city was again under Georgian rule. In 1236 the city was completely destroyed by Mongols.
Dvin was the birthplace of Najm ad-Din Ayyub
Najm ad-Din Ayyub
al-Malik al-Afdal Najm ad-Din Ayyub ibn Shadhi ibn Marawan ) was a Kurdish soldier and politician from Dvin, and the father of Saladin. He is eponymous of the Ayyubid dynasty founded by Saladin.-Life and career:Ayyub was the son of Shadhi ibn Marwan and brother of Shirkuh...
and Asad ad-Din Shirkuh bin Shadhi
Shirkuh
Asad ad-Din Shirkuh bin Shadhi , also known as Shêrko or "Shêrgo" was an important Kurdish military commander, and uncle of Saladin....
, Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
generals in the service of the Seljuks; Najm ad-Din Ayyub's son Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty
Ayyubid dynasty
The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...
. Saladin was born in Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
, Iraq, but his family had originated from the ancient city of Dvin.
Cathedral of S. Grigor
Situated in the central square of the ancient city was the Cathedral of S. Grigor. It was originally constructed in the 3rd century as triple-naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
pagan temple with seven pairs of interior structural supports. The temple was rebuilt in the 4th century as a Christian church, with a pentahedral apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
that protruded sharply on its eastern side. In the middle of the 5th century, an exterior arched gallery was added to the existing structure. At the time that the cathedral was built, it was the largest in Armenia and measured 30.41 meters by 58.17 meters.
Ornate decorations adorned the interior and the exterior of the building. The capitals of the columns were decorated with fern-like relief, while the cornices were carved in the design of three interlaced strands. The interior floor of the structure was made up of mosaic multi-colored soft-toned slabs in a geometric pattern, while the floor of the apse was decorated in the 7th century with a mosaic of smaller stone tiles representing the Holy Virgin. It is the most ancient mosaic depiction of her in Armenia.
By the middle of the 7th century, the cathedral was rebuilt into a cruciform domed church with apses that protruded off of its lateral facades. All that remains of the cathedral today are the stone foundations uncovered during archaeological excavations in the 20th century.