Karmir Monastery :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Karmir Monastery 751 y․

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Shamkhor / Gyulambar

Location

The ruins of Dasno (Horomashen) Monastery (commonly known by the name of ‘Karmir Vank,’ i.e. ‘Red Monastery’), that is distinguished for its remarkable history, are preserved at the north-western extremity of the village, on the right bank of the river Shamkor.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 493.

Historical Introduction

Representing a structure of cruciform composition (Getabak’s St. Sargis Church can be considered its parallel with this regard), it occupies a special place among the religious monuments in the region.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 493.

751 y․

As legend has it, the monastery was founded “...by some Armenian clergymen who had fled from Greece in the year 751.”

Jalaliants, S. A Travel to Great Armenia, part 1, Tpghis, 1842, p. 162.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 493.

1184 y․

It is mentioned in 1184 as the place where Mkhitar Gosh wrote his famous Code of Laws: “It was completed in a monastery named Dasno, ... in a province called after its capital Gandzak, in the land of Arran, through Father Hovsep and monk Poghos’ support.”

Caucasian Albania, mainly referred to in this work by the Armenian version of its name, i.e. Aghvank. Code of Laws by Mkhitar Gosh. Prepared for publication by Thorossian, Kh. Yerevan, 1975, p. 25, in Armenian.
Also see Colophons of the Armenian Manuscripts of the 5th to 12th centuries. Prepared for publication by Matevossian, A. S. Yerevan, 1988, pp. 242-243.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 494.

In 1804 the sanctuary was dependent on Nukzar’s Sourb Amenaprkich Monastery (the sources of the preceding period do not contain any reference to it): “...Karmir... belongs to the great monastery of Amenaprkich and its village of Gyulambir, all the food and various articles received from other villages being gathered there and then taken to the latter.”

National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 596, p. 1.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 494.

1853 y․

The following lines quoted from an archive document (28 September 1853) come to prove the aforementioned, “...another pilgrimage site, called Karmir Yekeghetsy and possessing great divine power, is located a verst and a half from the river Shamkor: it is subject to this monastery...”

The Armenian equivalent for ‘Red Church.’ National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 2742, p. 17.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 494.

19 c․

Although the monastery ceased functioning in the ‘40s of the 19th century, its buildings stood intact for a few decades.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 494.

Description
1886 y․

In 1886 the state of the monument was described as follows: “...on the right bank of the river, one can see a chapel called Karmir Yekeghetsy, which represents a vaulted structure of stone: it is adjoined by a gavit retaining three unknown graves. Its outer niches, southern and northern, used to be engraved with some inscriptions which have been deliberately annihilated so that only the initial letters of the lines can be discerned.”

“Ardzagank,” 1886, No. 21, p. 307.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 494.

19 c․

At the close of the 19th century, the monastery represented the following picture, “The sanctuary, soaring high on the road on the right bank of the river Shamkor, represents a small, cruciform structure entirely built of finely-cut red stone; hence its name of Karmir Vank.” The monument, which bears a close resemblance to a monastery rather than a church, has a fine, pointed dome and a small, dark sacristy in the southern corner of its main apse. It consists of a grave-yard, an enclosure of stone and mortar, some cells intended for the monks, and a gavit retaining many graves which are bare of any epitaphs (all these buildings are in a state of dilapidation). The part below the cornice of the exterior northern wall of the monastery used to bear a long Armenian inscription, enumerating the entire real estate it was in possession of. Several years ago, however, a dishonest Armenian broke the inscribed stones and fraudulently arrogated the dominions of the sanctuary.”

As we have already mentioned above,‘karmir’ is the Armenian equivalent for ‘red.’ Barkhutariants, M. Artsakh. Baku, 1895, pp. 295-296.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 494.

Name	Year/Century	Etymology
Dasno
Horomashen