| THE CATHEDRAL OF MREN |
The Historical Background
Throughout the 6th and 7th centuries AD, Armenia found itself on the front-line between two competing super-powers: the Byzantine and Persian empires.
In the first two decades of the 7th century the Persian Sassanid Empire launched a series of successful campaigns into the eastern territories of the Byzantine Empire. By the second decade of that century most of Armenia and Eastern Anatolia was in Persian hands, and in 614 they even captured Jerusalem, carrying away in triumph the most important relic in Christendom, the True Cross.
When Heraclius became emperor in 610 he first stabilised the situation by making extensive territorial concessions to the Persians. He later launched a series of successful counter-offensives: into Armenia in 624-25 and into Mesopotamia in 627-28. The Persians were forced to accept terms advantageous to the Byzantine Empire, one of the conditions being the return of the True Cross, (which was reinstated in Jerusalem in 630). After his victory in Persia, in 629 Heraclius made a leisurely returned home through Armenia, neutralising any remaining pro-Persian elements there and appointing his own governors. His forces are known to have passed within about five miles of the town of Mren.
When Was The Mren Cathedral Built?
High up on the west façade of the cathedral, directly under the nave window, is an important dedicatory inscription in Armenian. It is composed of three lines of text that are carved onto a row of adjoining slabs of facing stone. Parts of the west façade have suffered damage at some point in time and have been reconstructed. Because of this there are gaps in the inscription where the original stones have been replaced by newer ones. The inscription reads:
- Heraclius is the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius who reigned from 610 to 641.
- A bishop named Theophilos is also mentioned in an inscription dated 637 that was on the nearby church of Alem.
- Nerseh is Nerseh Kamsarakan, known to have commissioned several churches in this region including probably the church of Holy Mother of God at Talin. He is also mentioned in the Alem church inscription. During the 7th century the Kamsarakans, who were related to the old Arsacid kings of Armenia, were the most important princely house in Armenia and held extensive tracts of land especially in central and northern Armenia.
- The prince is probably Dawit Saharuni, who held the position of sparapet (general-in-chief) of Armenia from 638 until 641. It is possible however that the prince is his predecessor, Mjej Gnuni, who held that position from around 630 until 638. Dawit (David) Saharuni was from middle-ranking Armenian nobility and was accused of plotting against the life of Heraclius. While being sent into exile he escaped and made his way back to Armenia. There he raised an army, defeated Mjej Gnuni, the Byzantine-appointed governor, and, by uniting various local princes, declared himself ruler of Armenia. Faced with such a fait acompli, and recognising Armenia's strategic importance, in 638 Heraclius confirmed Dawit in his position and awarded him the titles of curopalate, sparapet, and prince of Armenia and Syria. Dawit's period of rule was brief: in 641 he was deposed by the same princes who had once supported him.
There are four main theories regarding the date of the cathedral's construction.
- Hovsep Orbeli proposed that Dawit Saharuni had founded the cathedral in the second decade of the 7th century when he was a governor of Persian-controlled Armenia, and he completed it when he was the Byzantine-appointed governor. Orbeli further restricted the date of its completion to between 639 and 640. Orbeli reasoned that since Dawit had not attained his position until the end of 638, work on the cathedral was unlikely to have been begun that year, and the year 641 could be excluded because on the inscription the surviving ending of the date is not the number one.
- Jean-Michel and Nicole Thierry ¹ considered that a time-period of between two and four years was impossibly short for the construction of a structure as grand as the Mren cathedral, but that Orbeli's proposal that construction had started 30 years earlier was unlikely and not supported by convincing historical evidence. The Thierrys proposed that the cathedral was founded at the time of the Byzantine re-conquest of Shirak (begun in the year 629) either by the Armenian catholicos Erez (630-641) or by Dawit Saharuni's predecessor, Mjej Gnuni, and was probably completed by Dawit around 640.
- Christina Maranci ² considers that a two or three year period for the construction is not an unrealistic one. She suggests that funding for the construction of the Mren cathedral may have come directly from Heraclius, which would explain the short building period, and that the cathedral was intended to provide a visual testimony to the authority and wealth of the Byzantine Empire and its alliances within Armenia. The formal, official, tone of Mren's dedicatory inscription, as well as its expansive nature, reveals this collaboration between imperial, princely, and local spheres.
- There is also a fourth theory that, if true, would place the date of the structure into a much earlier period. Toros T'oramanian believed that the Mren cathedral was originally a pagan temple in the form of a basilica. It was later converted into a church and the apse and dome was added. This theory was presumably based on some architectural evidence observed and interpreted by T'oramanian. Unfortunately, nobody since T'oramanian's time has studied the church at first hand from an architectural point of view.
There are three Armenian churches all from approximately the same time period that are very similar in design to the Mren cathedral. The St. Gayane church at Etchmiadzin was commissioned by catholicos Erz, and therefore must date from between 630 and 641. The church of St. John at Bagawan (now completely destroyed) was, according to its building inscription, founded in 632 by the same Ezr and was completed in 639. The date of construction of the church at Ozdun is not recorded but it is thought to date from the first half of the 7th century.
The Later History of Mren
In the 7th century the city town of Mren was part of the domain of the Kamsarakans, who possessed the district of Shirak. According to the historian Samuel of Ani a massacre of the citizens of Mren by the Arabs took place in 772. This would have been as a result of the unsuccessful Armenian rebellion of 771-772 against the Arab invaders. The defeat led to the fall of the Kamsarakans and Mren was bought from them by the Bagratid Ashot Msker (circa 783).
On the walls of the cathedral are numerous inscriptions with dates from between 992 and 1063 that indicate its continued use under the Bagratid kings. According to the 13th-century Armenian historian Vardan, the atabeg of Azerbaijan, El Denguiz, attacked Mren in 1163 and burned its citadel along with 4000 Christians.
The Mkhargrdzeli rulers of Ani conquered Mren on behalf or the Georgians at the start of the 13th century. The cathedral underwent a restoration in the second half of the 13th century when Mren was still under their rule. In 1272 Mren's governor, the son of Shahanshah II, sold the town to a certain Sahmadin who erected there, in 1276, a summer palace with gardens. He also restored the Redeemer's chapel in 1277. An inscription dated 1320 reveals that the cathedral was still in use at the start of the 14th century. After that date its history and the history of Mren is unknown, but the town had probably been mostly abandoned by the late 14th century or early 15th century.
At that time the region was in the hands of the Kara Koyunlu, but later fell under the control of Safavid Persia until it was taken from them by the Ottoman Empire in a series of wars during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1878 until, after a brief period within the short-lived Armenian Republic, it reverted to Turkish control in 1920.
Although the town had been abandoned for centuries, the cathedral was still almost intact at the start of the 20th century when it underwent investigations by Russian and Armenian researchers. By the time of the Thierrys first visit to Mren in 1964 the south-western bay had partially collapsed, and since then, to use their words, "destruction has progressed here in the same troubling way as everywhere else".
Border restrictions mean that, though the cathedral can clearly be seen from the Kars to Iğdır road (see photograph 23), actually visiting Mren today is very difficult. It can only be done by first obtaining a permit from Ankara. Local officials in Kars or in Digor, whether military or civilian, cannot give permission, and attempting to visit Mren without permission is unlikely to be successful: the whole site is observable from a military base that is located on a hill overlooking Karabağ village. Mren is one of the few historical monuments listed in VirtualAni that I have not been able to personally visit. The colour photographs on this page were taken in 1996.
Architectural Analysis
The Exterior
The Mren cathedral is rectangular in plan, and takes the form of a domed basilica but with a pronounced cruciform character that is expressed on the exterior as well as the interior.
The exterior walls are generally plain in appearance but are enlivened by the rich tones of its facing stone: polychrome masonry that ranges from dark brown to rose red. Large sections of the original facing have been reconstructed at a later period; into these newer sections have been embedded an impressive selection of highly ornate khatchkars: Most of these khatchkars are on the eastern and southern walls, both outside and inside. Most of the lower courses of facing stone have been robbed out, undermining the walls of the cathedral. There are also serious cracks and holes through the walls. The entire south-western corner of the cathedral has fallen in recent years (sometime between 1920 and 1965 ³).
There is some architectonic sculptural decoration at various locations, but in particular over the east and north entrances (which will be described later). Other locations include the hooded moulding above the apse windows onto which decorative bands have been carved.
The various sections of the cathedral's roof would have been originally covered in clay tiles. The only ones that now survive are the convex tiles that cover the roof of the dome. The cornice of the drum is incised with a row of horseshoe arches - a form typical of the 7th century.
There are four entrances into the church. The main entrance is on the west façade, there is another on the north façade that is surmounted by an ocular window, and there are two more entrances on the south facade. The eastern-most of the two southern entrances appears have been walled up at an early date.
The Interior
Inside the church are four piers that support the dome and the high, longitudinal, barrel vaults over the nave and transepts. The rectangular corner bays also have longitudinal barrel vaults but they are lower than the nave or transepts and are separated from them by arches.
The drum of the dome is octagonal, and the transition to the square bay is accomplished using half-conical squinches. Eight smaller squinches join the drum to the vault of the dome. The dome is reinforced and articulated by eight ribs, the ends of which rest on small imposts. Four large windows pierce the drum.
The apse protrudes out from the main body of the church and is semicircular on the inside and pentagonal on the outside. The apse has three large windows, two of which are currently filled in. Below the apse is a crypt, now inaccessible. There are groin-vaulted chambers on each side of the apse, entered by doors in the side aisles. The interior of the cathedral is very well lit. As well as the windows in the apse and dome, there are ten additional large windows.
The interior was frescoed, of which only a few damaged fragments remain. They are believed to be from the 6th or 7th century. The quarter-dome of the apse contained a bust of Christ. Below this there is a row of full-length human figures. There is also a full-length figure (an Apostle?) on each of the four surfaces between the apse windows. Along the extrados of the apse's quarter dome are fragments of a painted inscription in Armenian.
The ground inside the church is heavily disturbed, having been dug-up by successive generations of villagers looking for buried treasure.
As mentioned earlier, Toros T'oramanian believed that the Mren cathedral was originally a pagan basilica. The plan below shows in black what T'oramanian believed to be the original structure and in gray the additions when it was converted to a church.
Sculptural Decoration
on the West Portal
Above the west entrance of the church are a series of architectural elements: a hooded arch, a semicircular tympanum, and a long rectangular lintel. Each of these elements carries sculpture (see photograph 13). Unfortunately, parts of the carvings have been damaged when a structure was been built against the portal at a later date.
On the lintel is a row of six male human figures rendered in bas-relief.
- The proportions of the four central figures suggest that they are perhaps sitting, and their heads protrude into the upper frame of the lintel. Slightly off-centre is a figure that almost certainly represents Christ. He has a halo, is bearded, and has long hair that flows over his shoulders. He holds a book in His right hand.
- Flanking Christ are two figures that make the gesture of benediction with their right hands. They are thought to represent the Saints Peter and Paul: St. Peter is identified by carrying a set of keys, St. Paul by his tonsure (shaved head).
- To the right of Peter is a figure without a halo. He holds a book in his left hand and appears to be making a blessing with his right hand. This, together with his garments, suggests that he is a member of the clergy. The figure may represent Bishop Theophilos.
- Framing these four seated figures are two additional figures. They face outwards but, unlike the others, they each stand in three-quarters position and gesture towards the central figures. They are the only ones whose feet are depicted, and their clothing is also very different from the four other figures. They have long cloaks fastened at the shoulders that are only partially worn, allowing the long sleeves of the cloaks to hang empty. The texture of the cloaks is suggestive of animal fur. This manner of wearing cloaks, which is also depicted in sculpture on the church of Jvari in Georgia (see photograph 15) which may date from either 586-604 or 627-640s, and on other buildings, seems to have been a contemporary fashion amongst Transcaucasian nobility. These two figures may represent Dawit Sarahuni and Nerseh Kamsarakan. The raised right hand of the far right figure appears to touch the left shoulder of the adjoining figure, perhaps suggesting kinship.
The surface of the tympanum is taken up almost entirely by a depiction of two winged angels carved in bas-relief. They stand side-by-side, facing outward, their left and right shoulders almost touching. Their heads have halos and their wings are elaborately rendered with horizontal rows of feathers. They each hold sceptres and orbs, symbols of power and justice. Carved into the flat surface underneath their wings are feint inscriptions in Armenian identifying them as the Archangels Michael and Gabriel.
Framing the tympanum is a hooded arch. On its vertical face is carved a vine-scroll frieze. Above the hooded arch is a fragment of more sculpture: only a small section of an arc survives, which Thierry interpreted as being part of the frame of a porthole window. Alternatively, it could be the bottom of a roundel that would have contained a carving of an equal-armed cross.
Sculptural Decoration
on the North Portal
The architectural elements of the north portal are similar to the west portal. However, the surfaces of the hooded arch and the semicircular tympanum are plain and only the rectangular lintel contains sculpture (see photographs 17 and 18).
- In the middle of the lintel a figure is depicted kneeling and holding a cross on a long pole. To the right, and sculpted in a slightly larger scale, is a cleric who crouches towards the cross as he swings a censer in his right hand. To the left, and again sculpted in a slightly larger scale, stands another crouching figure who also gestures towards the cross. He seems to have just dismounted from a saddled and bridled horse that occupies the far-left portion of the lintel. A stylised sacred tree or plant-like motif occupies the far-right portion of the lintel.
Alternative interpretations are that it is simply a symbolical depiction of the adoration of the Cross, or that it may illustrate the actual dedication ceremony of the Mren cathedral. After Armenia's conversion to Christianity it is recorded that St. Gregory the Illuminator had wooden crosses erected at cross-roads and in public squares, and that King Trdat when founding a church would create an enclosed area within which would be set an image of the Holy Cross. It is possible that from this tradition evolved the monumental stone steles that are found in pre-Arab period Armenia. These steles, which probably had either votive or memorial functions, typically stood on stepped pedestals and were composed of short columns with capitals surmounted by a stone crosses. None have survived intact, but the drawing in photograph 19 shows a reconstructed example. Maranci cites 8th and 9th century commentaries that have accounts of dedication ceremonies that contain rituals performed on the exterior of churches involving the use of crosses.
Other Structures at Mren
At the end of the 19th century (4) it is recorded that to the south of the cathedral there was a ruined chapel with beautiful khatchkars carved on its walls and a tombstone in front of its doorway. Nearby, and to the south-east of the cathedral, were the ruins of the palace that Sahmadin had erected in 1276 (see photographs 20 and 21). This palace had a monumental doorway on its eastern side that was faced with red stone blocks. Above the door was an inscription. To the east of the cathedral, and surrounded by ruins, there was a chapel with three doors. An inscription on an arch above one of its doors was dated 1301. None of these structures are known to still survive. The whole area was also full of fallen and ruined buildings.
Several old photographs exist showing a large monument composed of a number of ornate khatchkars (see photograph 22). Some books say that it was located at Horomos, some say that it was at Mren. Whatever its location, the monument seems to no longer exist.
Notes:
1. Michel and Nicole Thierry, La cathédral de Mren et sa decoration, in Cahiers Archaéologiques, volume 21 (1971), pages 43-77.
2. Christina Maranci, Building Churches in Armenia: A New Horizon for Medieval Art, to be published paper.
3. Ashkharbek Kalantar visited Mren in September 1920. He recorded that the south-west corner of the cathedral was still standing, but that the base of the corner was completely destroyed. Ashkharbek Kalantar, (Karakhanian, G., ed., Gurxzadyan, V. G., trans.), Armenia from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages, page 75. Paris: 1994.
4. Recorded in the 1878 inventory of Armenian monuments in the Kars region compiled by Vardapet Srapian on behalf of the Catholicos of Armenia, George VI.
1. Approaching the Mren cathedral from the west
2. The cathedral of Mren seen from the north-west
- click for a larger photo
3. Same view, but at the start of the 20th century
4. The view from the south-west, showing the collapsed corner section - click for a larger photo
5. Same view, but at the start of the 20th century
6. An old photograph that shows the cathedral's south and east facades - click for a larger photo
7. A close-up of the drum and its roof of clay tiles
8. Inside the cathedral, looking towards the apse
9. A close-up of the squinches, drum, and dome
10. An older photograph of the drum and dome
11. Another view of the interior, looking from the northwest corner towards the southeast corner
12. Looking along the nave towards
the western entrance
13. The sculpture on the architectural elements
over the western entrance - click for a larger photo
14. The right-hand end of the lintel, showing the
fur-coat wearing figure that is thought to represent Dawit Sarahuni, and the robed clerical figure that is
thought to represent Bishop Theophilos.
15. A similar costume and pose is depicted
on this relief on the church at Jvari, Georgia
16. One of the Archangels on the tympanum
17. Sculpture on the lintel over the north entrance
18. A close-up of the middle part of this sculpture
19. A drawing showing a reconstruction of
a typical stele monument from the V-VI century
20. The palace of Sahmadin photographed
in relation to the cathedral.
21. The entrance to Sahmadin's palace
22. An old photograph showing the khatchkar monument that may have been located at Mren
23. The cathedral seen from the Kars to Iğdır road