DIANNA MIRIJANYAN, ARSEN HARUTYUNYAN, DAVIT DAVTYAN, AVETIS GRIGORYAN, ASTGHIK BABAJANYAN

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of NAS RA

Introduction

I n the different periods of the history of Armenia, the political, commercial and economic, as well as cultural relations of the country have been connected with neighboring Iran. The city of Yerevan is no exception. The Iranian architecture and construction art had certain influence on the architectural image of Yerevan. This expressed in the period of the Ilkhanate, and then in the Late Middle Ages, when Yerevan became the administrative center of the Yerevan khanate of the Safavid Empire.

During the reign of the Persian khans along with the spiritual-cultural and secular buildings, the Yerevan fortress, a number of mosques, market-squares, inns, bathhouses, engineering structures were built that were mentioned in the rich descriptions of the works of Armenian and foreign historians and travelers.

This paper presents a general description of the urban planning of Yerevan during the Persian rule based on the examination of historical sources, architectural and engineering structures, as well as samples of Iranian construction art.                                                                                                 

Yerevan during the Persian rule (1502-1827)

I n the beginning of the 16^th century (1502), Shah Ismail I (1501-1524), the founder of the Safavid dynasty in Iran, captured the city of Yerevan along with the eastern parts of Armenia from the Ak-Koyunlu Turkomans. As the center of a frontier administrative region or khanate, Yerevan raised the status of military and administrative significance during the reign of Shah Ismail. In the 16-17^th centuries within the military acts between Safavid Iran and Ottoman Turkey, Yerevan with its surroundings was a bone of contention between these two powers and was subjected to the continuous destructions.

Finally, in 1639 the treaty of long-term peace was signed in Qasr-e Shirin that confirmed the dividing of territories between two powers. Yerevan became the center of the Chokhur-e Sa'd (Yerevan) province of the Safavid Empire ruled by a sardar. This situation continued to the mid of the 18^th century (1747).

In the 17^th century the Yerevan khanate included the territories from Western Arpachay (now Akhuryan) to Aghmaghan (now Geghama) mountains, as well as from the Haykakan Par mountain range (which formed the Turkish-Persian border in 1639) to the Pambak mountain range and the northern foothills of Aragats.

The period following 1639 was marked by the peace and the prosperity in the province that contributed to the gradual recovery of the economy of the country, and particularly the development of urban planning. A number of structures of spiritual and public significance, water supply canals were built in Yerevan, as well as the Yerevan fortress was reconstructed. In the second half of the 17^th century and the beginning of the 18^th century, the Yerevan khanate was one of the profitable provinces in the Safavid Empire, where trade and crafts were highly developed. The Yerevan’s semi-independent khan himself was negotiating with the neighbors and had the privilege of minting coins.

The devastating earthquake in 1679 resulted in the destruction and damaging almost the all notable structures of the city, including the famous fortress, as well as the water supply system. Nevertheless, in the succeeding years the Persian governors of Yerevan initiated a large-scale restoration, inviting as well well-known artists who contributed to the development of art and culture.

At the beginning of the 18^th century the unstable political situation in Safavid Empire caused a new Turkish invasion. In 1724, the inhabitants of Yerevan and the surrounding villages resisted the large Turkish army for more than 3 months. However, the deficiency of food and ammunition induced besieged people to capitulate. The heroic defense of Yerevan in the 1720s is one of the remarkable episodes of the Armenian national liberation struggle. The new Persian-Turkish wars continued intermittently until 1736, when Nader Shah, the founder of Afsharid dynasty (1688-1747) severely defeated the Ottoman army with his victorious campaign and forced Ottoman Turkey to ask for reconciliation and cede its conquests.

Until the death of Nader Shah, the military governors ruled the Yerevan frontier province. In that period Armenian nobles (melik) such as Mkrtum and Hakobjan having great rights managed internal affairs of Yerevan.

In the mid of the 18^th century the Iranian centralized state was weakened causing the Yerevan khanate to lose its independence. For the help of the Georgian King Erekle II in the fight against the nomadic tribes, the Yerevan khan became a taxpayer to him. Thus, Georgia strengthened its military and political presence in Eastern Armenia until 1790s. Due to the repeating refusal of tax payment by the khans of Yerevan, Erakle II undertook the repressive invasions which resulted destructions in the territories of the Yerevan Khanate whose people was subjected to deportation to Georgia.

In the end of the 18^th century due to the turn of events in Iran (political split, abolition centralized government), the rebellions and military acts in the territory of the Yerevan Khanate caused the economic decay and the emigration of the Armenian population. In the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries in the results of the Persian-Russian wars the Yerevan and Nakhijevan khanates were ceded to Russia according to the Turkmenchay Treaty signed in 1828. Thus, Yerevan became the center of the Armenian province.

Construction heyday in the late medieval Yerevan according to written sources

T he best source that shed light to the history of the period of Persian rule in Armenia is the ‟Book of the History” of Arakel Davrizhetsi. In the 24^th chapter he provides information on the preaching of archimandrite Movses Tatevatsi (later Catholicos: 1629-1633) and the suggestion of Amirguna Khan (1604-1625) to settle in the Hermitage of St. Anania in Yerevan (currently, Zoravor St. Astvatsatsin church), improving it, turning it into a monastic and educational center: ‟You see this church that is abandoned, so listen to me, don't go away to the other place, and settled here….”. The ruined and desolated hermitage that was located in the northern orchards of Yerevan became one of the remarkable centers of the spiritual and educational life of the city with Amirguna khan’s indications and Movses Tatevatsi’s efforts. Settling in the hermitage of St. Anania, Movses Tatevatsi established an educational center where the manuscripts have been copied. The description written by Deacon Yesayi Karchavanetsi and presented in the colophon of the manuscript copied in the monastery in 1625 is addressed to Amirguna khan: “And then he (Movses Tatevatsi - A. H.) went to the Ayrarat province with many disciples. It was ruled by a lord of Persian origin, named Amirguna, brave and skilled in war, so that even the nation of Ismail was terrified by him, because there was nobody like him. Although he professed a different faith, he was pious, god-fearing and Christian-loving. As he met the Saint, accepted him with joy and kindness and gave him a place called Anania apostle. The place was beautiful and pleasant, located in the orchards”. Deacon Zakaria Kanakertsi characterized Amirguna khan as “...a brave and courageous at war, fearless, builder and Christian-loving...” and his attitude towards Christians “...he loved the Armenian nation and always went to the Christians' house, ate and drank with them”. During his reign horticulture (especially viticulture) greatly developed in the city that continued to the end of the 17^th century as well, during the reign of Zal khan. Under Amirguna and Zal khans, as well as Khosrov, Hossein-Ali and several other khans the significant edifices were built.

The epigraphs attest as well on the constructions in Yerevan during the Persian rule. The inscription preserved on the northern wall of the S. Astvatsatsin church attests the construction of a narthex (zhamatun) in 1609, under Amirguna khan, Catholicos Melkiset and Bishop Ter Hamazasp with the profits of a certain Grigor, son of Margar from the Tezagulents family and his spouse Khatun, for which they received two hours of mass (Fig. 1).

After dividing the Armenian territories between Safavid Empire and Ottoman Turkey in 1639, the established peace contributed for the cultural heyday in the Eastern Armenia. In the second half of the 17^th century the cultural life and church construction developed under the Persian rule. The manifestos of Shah Abbas II (1642-1666) and Shah Suleiman I (1666-1694) are valuable sources for the study of the history of that period. The construction of churches in the Ararat valley, Nakhijevan and other regions was mainly undertaken with the permission and the manifestos of the Shahs. A manifesto dated to 1661 and hеld in the Matenadaran, attests the Shah Abbas II order to the authorities of the Armenian-populated regions to not interfere Armenians in construction and restoration of churches. Based on the manifestos, the colophons of the manuscripts and the epigraphs the chronology of the pre- and post-earthquake restoration and construction of the new buildings in Yerevan is drawn during the reign of the Persian khans. The churches that were restored or rebuilt in the Ararat province during the Persian rule are the following: S. Astvatsatsin Katoghike, Yerku-eresni St. Poghos-Petros, Zoravor S. Astvatsatsin, chapel of Gethseman (S. Harutyun), St. John the Baptist in Kond, the complex of Dzoragyugh hermitage, S. Gevorg in Noragavit, S. Hakob and S. Astvatsatsin in Kanaker, S. Stepanos, S. Simeon Tseruni, S. Astvatsatsin in Nork.

Тhe two-line inscription preserved on the cornice of the western wall of the single arched bridge, built over the Getar River in Nork attests: “This (the bridge - A. H.) was built during the reign of Shah Apaz of Persia and the ruler of our country Apaz Ghuli khan, as well as in the patriarchy of Armenian catholicos his holiness Hakob … in 1664.” (Fig. 2). The name of archimandrite Hovhannes is engraved on the eastern wall of the bridge; the epigraph is held in the History Museum of Armenia (Drawing 1).

Drawing 1. Cryptogram of the archimandrite Hovhannes (Drawn by A. Harutyunyan, 2022)

Thus, the epigraphic and literary examples show the general description of the construction works carried out in Yerevan and its surroundings during the Persian reign that attest the cultural and partly pro-Armenian policy of neighboring Iran.

Persian Monuments in Yerevan

I n the period of Persian rule in Armenia and particularly during the Yerevan Khanate (1747-1828), the numerous buildings were built and reconstructed in Yerevan, which are an inseparable part of the history of our capital. The Persian religious and secular buildings in Yerevan were designed to meet the demands of the elite and reflected the characteristics of their lifestyle. Few of them have survived today. The most part reached us through the topographic works and travel accounts.

The Yerevan fortress was famous with its impregnability (Fig. 3). During the Turkish-Persian military acts the fortress was passed from one to the other, alternately being destroyed and rebuilt, became a military base of one or the other. During a long-term peace, when the city of Yerevan was the administrative center of the homonymous khanate, the fortress became the residence of the sardar. After the devastating earthquake in 1679, Zal khan rebuilt the fortress again.

In 1724 the three-month siege of the Ottoman army is one of the memorable episodes in the history of the fortress. The Persian governors exhausted from the long siege, had to surrender through the mediation of the Armenian Catholicos Astvatsatur I Hamadantsi. Within 1735-1827, the fortress was the residence of the khan again, where the last sardar Hossein Qoli built a luxurious palace, mosques, a bathhouse, a gunpowder armory and other important buildings. The French traveler Jean Chardin described: “… it resembles a small town, inhabited by a ruler of Persian descent and a garrison of 2,000. Armenians have only shops in the fortress, where they trade during the day and return home in the evening ”.

The Yerevan fortress had a quadrangular plan and occupied an area of 7 hectares (Fig. 3). To the west it was protected with the Hrazdan canyon and the earthen retaining walls having niches for cannons. On the other three sides it was surrounded with crenelated walls strengthened with 50-60 semi-circular towers built with mud bricks. The first circle of defensive wall was built by Fahrad Pasha in 1583, and the second by Shah Abbas the Great in 1603. The thick and high walls had niches adapted to protect against the artillery and the musketeers. The walls were surrounded with the wide and deep moats, filled with water during attacks and danger. Two large and sturdy gates had strong iron doors and locks and controlled by special guards. The first gate “Baby-Shirvan” was located at the north and the second “Tavrez-Ghapus” at the south. Additionally, the fortress had a secret passage leading to the Hrazdan canyon.

The Yerevan fortress was not only a defensive structure. The inner area included the khan's palace, two mosques, bathhouse, warehouses, arsenals, shops, dwellings and other buildings, as well as the ruins of the Armenian S. Gevorg church. In the end of the 18^th century and the beginning of the 19^th century, the fortress had no permanent residents, only served for the Harem and the garrison.

One of the impressive buildings in the fortress was the sardar’s palace built in the Persian architectural style. It was a quadrangular and spacious building consisting of two parts: the palace and the harem section. The latter had two-storey and three-storey rooms and corridors. After the occupation of Yerevan by Russian army, the palace was restored and transformed to a hospital.

The mirrored ceremonial hall (Shushaband-iwan) in the palace was the most remarkable place where the sardar usually spent his leisure (Fig. 4). The hall was called mirrored because of its cornices coated with colorful mirrors that reflected the light on different levels, creating color play. The ceiling was decorated with floral frescoes, as well as eight portraits, including Hossein Qoli Khan, Fath-Ali Shah and others were posted on the walls.

The bathhouse was completely built of marble and decorated with Persian ornaments. A pool was situated near the bathhouse, used for swimming in summer. In 1830 the bathhouse and the pool were demolished.

The caravanserai was located in a distance of 450 m from the sardar’s palace. The square building was consisting of three large and sixty small rooms, having large stables and stores. In front of the caravanserai the square was surrounded with grocery stores, a mosque and two cafes. In the fortress a small bazaar-market was located as well, surrounded with small stalls.

The powerful earthquake in 1679 destroyed the most part of the mosques in Yerevan. How many mosques were in Yerevan before the earthquake is unknown? In the 19^th century the researchers listed eight mosques; two in the fortress and six in the city. In 1931 Yervand Shahaziz mentioned six mosques, not including the one in Kond. According to the various sources in the second half of the 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th century seven mosques functioned in Yerevan, and two non-functioning.

The mosque of Abbas Mirza (or Sardar mosque) was located in the Yerevan fortress. The last sardar Hossein Qoli built the mosque as the main palace mosque and named after Persian crown prince Abbas Mirza, the son of Shah Fath-Ali Qajar. In the first half of the 19^th century, after the establishment of  Russian power the mosque transformed to an arsenal, then was abandoned and gradually ruined. The mosque was built with burnt bricks, the dome and walls were faced with blue and green glazed tiles. Currently, the mosque was not preserved.

The Mosque of Zal Khan was located in the Shahar quarter (Old quarter), at the place of the present building of the Artists’ Union of Armenia. The Mosque of Zal Khan was built in 1687 at the place of the previous Div Sultan Mosque that was destroyed due to the earthquake. According to eyewitnesses, the enclosed courtyard had a fountain and a beautiful garden. The mosque of Zal Khan had no minaret; the dome was faced with decorative tiles. The mosque was finally demolished in 1958.

The Mosque of Haji Novruz Ali Bey was located near the present Vernissage (Fig. 5). Although it was preserved until the 60s of the 20^th century, information on the structure is scarce. It was ranked among the mosques of Shahar quarter. The mosque was built after the earthquake and had similar plan as the Mosque of Zal Khan.

The Haji Imam Verdi Mosque in Demirbulagh, (or Kyorpughulagh Mosque) was located in front of the ‟Rossia” Cinema. Although it was mentioned in the first half of the 19^th century, the preserved architectural image got after the reconstruction in 1909 that reached us through photographs. The mosque with three asymmetrical domes was built with tuff and had no minaret. The condolence letter of Farajev, the chairman of the board of the Demirbulagh Mosque addressed to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on the occasion of the death of Gevorg VI Chorekchyan attests that the mosque functioned until 1954. The mosque was demolished in 1958 within the construction works in the city and the enlargement of Tigran Mets Avenue.

The mosque of Muhammed Sardip Khan was located close to the school no. 114 named after Kh. Dashtents on the Republic Street and was not preserved as well. Supposedly, the mosque was built in honor of Muhammad Sardip Khan, the high-ranking commander of the last sardar Hossein Qoli at the end of the 18^th and the beginning of the 19^th century. The complex consists of a mosque, a Medrese (called the “house of the khan” by the old inhabitants of Yerevan) and a small minaret. The structure was destroyed in 1958 during construction works.

The mosque of Haji Jafar bey was located in Demirbulagh quarter, at the crossway of the Vardanants and Yervand Kochar streets, now at 22 Vardanants street. The construction date is unknown. It is known as Chatirli (umbrella-shaped) Mosque, as an umbrella was hanging on the high platform instead of the minaret. It was built in a combination of tuff and brick.

Mosque in Kond (Tapabash), known as well as Abbas Qoli Khan was founded in 1687. It is one of the partly preserved mosques in Yerevan and now is used as a residential house (Fig. 6a, b). Considering the fact that all the churches destroyed due to the great earthquake were restored, probably before 1679 an earlier Armenian church was at the place of the mosque in Kond. The mosque had a large (demolished in the 1960s) and a small dome. It was entirely built with bricks that are arranged as rhombuses. In 1915, 17 families survived the Genocide settled here. The descendants of them still live in the building of the mosque.

Hossein-Ali Khan or Blue Mosque (Goy jami, Gyok jami, Goymechet, Masjet kabud) is the only functioning mosque in RA, located at the beginning of Mashtots Avenue (Fig. 7a, b). According to the preserved inscription, Hossein-Ali Khan built the mosque in 1176 AH (1765/6). German traveler Baron August von Haxthausen visited the mosque accompanied by Armenian writer Khachatur Abovyan. Describing the interior of the mosque, he considered it the most magnificent building he had seen in Yerevan. The complex is a spacious rectangular building with a large courtyard with a pool-fountain in the center which served for washing ritual before prayer. The mosque with 3 interconnected prayer halls is situated at the south of the enclosed complex. The rooms along the enclosure wall served for religious, educational and domestic purposes. The mosque has one minaret, one main and two small domes. The complex built with bricks on the tuff base. The cupola of the minaret and the central dome of the mosque coated with glazed tiles, mostly in blue tints (hence the popular name). The phrase “YA ALI” (يا علي – Oh Ali) is read in Arabic calligraphic mirror script in the stylized floral ornaments repeated on the central dome of the mosque.

The complex had three gates leading to the inner courtyard; the southern and the western were the main ones, and the eastern led to the outer courtyard. The western gate was closed with new buildings. Within the construction works and enlargement of the Mashtots Avenue the northwestern part of the complex was cut diagonally, and a new entry opened. In the Soviet period the Yerevan History Museum and the Armenian Nature Museum were located in the mosque. Since 1995, the mosque is under the care of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Armenia.

Water supply system in Yerevan

I n Yerevan which is located in the semi-arid climate zone still in the Urartian period, then in the High Middle Ages much attention was paid to the water supply system: numerous canals, reservoirs, wells and streams were built and reconstructed. The most famous are the canals of Abuhayat, Dalma, Mamri, Noragyugh and Umeshin (Etchmiadzin), which were structures with complex engineering solutions, passing in separate sections through bridge-aqueducts and rock-cut tunnels.

Canals, streams and reservoirs in Yerevan, built in the earlier periods were repeatedly damaged due to wars and natural disasters and then repaired. In the late medieval period Persian sardars paid great attention to the irrigation network of the city. Thus, in 1605 under Amirguna Khan the old streams were restored and several new secondary streams were drawn, which originated from the main canals, as well as from the Hrazdan and Getar rivers. After the earthquake in 1679 Zal Khan restored with great efforts the disrupted water supply system. Hossein Qoli Khan cleaned and restored the canals, as well as built new streams after the destruction caused the invasions of the Georgian King Erekle II (1765, 1769 and 1779). The irrigation system in Yerevan broke ranks in the results of the Persian-Russian war in 1826-1828, when the city became an arena of the military acts.

During the period of Iranian rule Yerevan was a large horticultural area with hundreds of hectares of orchards and vineyards. In the 17^th century, especially under Amirguna Khan and Zal Khan the horticulture and viticulture developed. All the large canals of the city were the property of the khan and could be used with his permission, paying a special tax. According to a document, due to the lack of water Catholicos David asked for the permission to irrigate the arable lands of Etchmiadzin using khan's canals, probably “Dalma”. Husein Qoli Khan granted the request of the Catholicos.

The known canals are the following:

Umeshin canal (approximately 24 km) started from the right bank of the Hrazdan River, 1.5 km to the east of the “Karmir blur” fortress, about 900 m to the south of the intersection of the Isakov and Bagratunyats avenues and irrigated the lands up to Zvartnots.

Noragyugh canal (approximately 11 km) started from the right bank of Hrazdan River, 1.5 km to the northeast of Noragyugh district, to the east of Hrazdan stadium. The canal irrigated the orchards of Noragyugh.

Dalma Canal (approximately 7 km) started from the right bank of Hrazdan River, about 400 m to the northeast of the Davtashen bridge. It irrigated the orchards of Dalma on the right bank of Hrazdan. According to the lore the ancient disrupted canal was discovered by digging and was rebuilt under Hossein Qoli Khan, hence the name is translated as “excavated”.

Mamri canal (approximately 16 km) started from the left bank of Hrazdan River, about 400 m to the northeast of Davtashen bridge. It irrigated the orchards on the left bank of Hrazdan and overflowed into Lake Vardavar. In 1820-1824 Hossein Khan repaired it and named Mamri after his wife.

Abuhayat canal (approximately 21 km) started near the village of Getamej in the Kotayk marz, from the left bank of Hrazdan Rive. It flowed to Korea Dzor district, the western side of Kanaker Hill, then turned to the territory of “Lamps” and “Yeraz” factories to the territory of the Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry, crossed Gogol Street, flowed down the Getar Gorge, crossed the river (probably by a river crossing-bridge) then passing the gorge of the zoo, flowed along G. Hovsepyan street in Nork-Marash, run down through Sari Tagh and overflowed into Lake Vardavar. The ancient name of the canal is unknown. “Abuhayat” translated from Persian as “water of life”. According to another etymology, the name of the canal means “water-soaked”, probably because the water was mostly soaked after passing a long distance before reaching the city. The name Abuhayat is probably associated with the name of the person who initiated the work of restoration of the canal after long disruptions in the Middle Ages. According to the legend Abu-Hayat was a beautiful girl who was tricked insidiously and committed suicide at a place called Mukhannat Tapa (Insidious Hill), to the south of the modern railway station. Hearing this news her fiance Tokhmakh Khan threw himself into the Tokhmakhan Gyol and drowned.

Lake Vardavar (Tokhmakh/an Gyol, with an area of about 70.000 m²) was an important unit in the water supply system in Yerevan. It was built in a natural depression with construction of earthen dam (width 650 m, height 5 m). According to a Persian lore, Lake Tokhmakhan was built, but more probably rebuilt under Tokhmakh Khan (1570-1580) and named after him.

The influence of Persian culture on the urban image of Yerevan

A mong the many references on the urban image of Late Medieval Yerevan, the most valuable is the gravure of the panorama of Yerevan made in 1673 by the French traveler J. Chardin and his companion J. Grelot, before the great earthquake in 1679. Although these monuments were destroyed due to the earthquake, in the early 2000s in the results of construction works in different quarters of Yerevan, fragments of tiles as well as glazed bowls produced in Iranian ceramic centers were found, which are the expressive evidences of the Armenian-Iranian commercial and cultural relations.

 In Safavid Iran the development of architecture and applied arts was under the state patronage, and the shah himself promoted the commodification of art in commerce. The mass production of examples of Persian applied art, such as facing tiles and textiles, especially ornamented carpets, contributed to the spread of exterior and interior decoration characteristic of Persian architecture on the architectural image of Yerevan. The descriptions and preserved photographs of travelers attest the rich interior furnishings of that period. The exterior decoration of the residential buildings constructed after the earthquake has been partly influenced by the Iranian architecture, particularly the facades of the buildings coated with mosaics of bricks.

The earlier facing tiles were discovered in the results of the excavations in 2001 in the underground tomb at 3 Abovyan Street in Yerevan. These are star-shaped fritware tiles produced in Kashan, one of the major ceramic centers in Iran, and date to the last quarter of the 13^th century to the beginning of the 14^th century (Fig. 8). The tiles were ornamented using a combination of underglaze and overglaze techniques. The tile frame and the main contour on the surface of these tiles are painted with cobalt. The surface is filled with highly stylized vegetable ornaments painted with lustre and birds depicted between them. The marginals are decorated with Arabic inscriptions, which are excerpts from the poems of the poets of that period, blessings or good wishes. The completely lustre painted surface, cobalt painted ribbons and naskh writing are characteristic of the Kashan style of ornamentation of these fritware tiles.

These tiles were probably embedded on the upper frieze of the tomb, such as in Muslim tombs dating to the same period, as well as on the drum of S. Astvatsatsin church in Yeghvard between the crawn and the ‟Seljuk chain” belt. Although the decoration of the facades of buildings with fritware tiles was not widespread in Armenian architecture, however the findings are known from the excavations of a number of sites in Armenia, as well as on the exterior decoration of the drums of the churches (Spitakavor in Vayots Dzor, S. Astvatsatsin in Yeghvard, Kirants Monastery).

Due to political and cultural interactions, the custom of decorating the facades of public and religious buildings with cross-shaped, star-shaped, polygonal and square tiles was introduced to Armenia in the 12^th-14^th centuries. Famous Armenologist H. Orbeli, historian of art and architecture A. Jacobson connect the practice of decorating the facades of buildings with tiles that were widespread in the Islamic world to the tradition of Armenian architecture - the mosaic decoration of the facades of the churches with the multi-colored and multi-shaped stones.

The use of tiles in the exterior and interior decoration of religious and secular buildings, characteristic of Iranian architecture, continued in later centuries. Tiles with a different composition of raw material (red earthenware) and a simpler ornamentation were found in different quarters of Yerevan. Unlike earlier tiles that combined different techniques and had figural shapes (star, cross, polygonal), the facing tiles of the 17-18^th centuries are mainly narrow rectangular shape coated with glaze of different colors (predominantly turquoise, yellow and blue). The mosaic arrangement of colored tiles create the geometrical and vegetable images of the exterior design of the buildings that аrе decorated as well as the facades, the dome and the cupola of the minaret of the only standing “Blue” mosque in Yerevan (Fig. 7a, b).

Conclusion remarks

1 7-18^th centuries were marked in a double sense in the history of Eastern Armenia and, in particular, in the history of Yerevan, the political center of Chokhur-e Sa'd khanate of Safavid Iran. On the one hand, the Turkish-Persian conflicts with heavy consequences for the Armenian people continued, which were accompanied with famine, epidemics and emigration. On the other hand, the relatively mild policy of the Persian rulers in preserving the Armenian cultural heritage was observed. The Iranian governors had their contribution to the urban planning and the formation of the urban image of Yerevan. They paid special attention to the improvement and restoration of the administrative-social, religious and engineering structures of the city. Strengthening the infrastructure in the Yerevan Khanate - the most profitable of the frontier provinces of the Safavid Empire, and particularly in the city of Yerevan, was in the interests of the central government of the empire.

In the high and late medieval periods Yerevan was located on the route running from Iran to Turkey and actively participated in the inner and regional trade of the country. In particular, the Tabriz-Jugha-Yerevan-Etchmiadzin-Kars-Erzrum highway was of great importance for the commercial and economic development of the city. The housing a mint (zarabkhana) in Yerevan was essential for the strengthening of trade and economic links and the effective organization of the internal trade of the semi-independent Khanate. The coins were struck in Yerevan in the periods of Ilkhanate, as well as Safavids, Afsharids, Zands and Qajars.

In that period the many shops, caravanserais, market-squares built in the districts of Yerevan, were mainly Armenians worked, attest that Yerevan was an important node in the transit trade, as well as famous craft and merchant center in the Khanate. Although the sardars of Yerevan were semi-independent rulers with great privileges, they did not interfere in the internal affairs of the administration of the country and kept only control in their hands. The Armenian meliks and the catholicos played a major role in the governance system. They preserved their rights and were mediators between the khans and the people. This fact is confirmed by chronicle and epigraphic sources.

The rise of the Safavids marked a new heyday of the Iranian culture with the focus on architecture with its compositional and stylistic features that widely spread in different regions of the country, including Yerevan. The creation of a centralized state government system found its expression in the urban planning project of Isfahan, the new capital of the Safavid Empire. The three important links of the country’s government, which were the spiritual power (Masjet e-Shah Mosque), the commercial power (the market, the Imperial Bazaar) and the power of the Shah himself (Ali Gapu palace), gathered around a square (Naqsh-e Jahan Maidan). A similar system of state administration and the project of organizing the urban area can be seen in Yerevan as well, particularly in the fortress, where the palace of the sardar, the major mosque and the market-bazaar were located.

Thus, along with Armenian traditional architecture, Armenian churches, Melik houses and residential buildings, the edifices built in the Iranian architectural and stylistic peculiarities constitute the inseparable part of the Yerevan urban landscape in the late medieval period. Unfortunately, in the result of the devastating earthquake in 1679, the most part has been destroyed, and the monuments built after the earthquake were demolished in the results of the construction works carried out during the master planning of Yerevan, the capital city of Soviet Armenia. Among the monuments of Persian architecture, the Blue Mosque (partly the Mosque in Kond) is still standing, where the center of Iranian culture continues to function with a library, a Sunday school and a prayer hall.

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List of figures

Fig. 1. Epigraph of the construction of the chapel next to the Katoghike Church inYerevan during the reign of Shah Abas, 1609, Hakob the epigrapher (photo by A. Harutyunayan, 2019)

Fig. 2. Late Medieval Bridge in Nork:  the construction inscription on the arched cornice, 1664 թ. (photo by N. Yeranyan, 2020)

Fig. 3. Fortress of Yerevan: general view (reprinted from Shahaziz 2003, p.145)

Fig. 4. Fragment of the mirrored hall of the palace of the sardar (reprinted from Shahaziz 2003, p. 188)

Fig. 5. Entrance of the Haji Novruz mosque (reprinted from Shahaziz 2003, p. 200)

Fig. 6a. Mosque of Kond (Tapabash) (reprinted from Shahaziz 2003, p. 202)

Fig. 7a. Blue Mosque in 1929 (reprinted from Shahaziz 2003, p. 200)

Fig. 7b. Blue Mosque in our days (photo by A. Babajanyan, 2014)

Fig. 8. Fritware tiles of the Muslim tomb of Yerevan (reprinted from Kalantaryan et al. 2009, tab. LXX/2)

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