Obelisk :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

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Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Shamkhor / Shamkhor / Shamkor

Historical Introduction
1845 y․

In 1845 a high column towered in the vicinity of Shamkor: “Enduring all kinds of attacks and invasions that marked the history of the country throughout many centuries, this immense column was preserved intact amidst the ruins and remnants of the once large city. ...There exist different legends with regard to its construction, but there are some grounds to presume that it formerly served as an observatory (it was only in the recent years that some mullahs turned it into a minaret). The column, rising over a quadrangular pedestal, was unique for its unusual durability and daring height. Some winding stairs that were wide enough for two people to climb them side by side led to a hall, jutting out over the column and surrounding it at a height of about two hundred feet, its delicacy making it a rare specimen of architectural art. The year of the erection of this superb monument is far in the depth of centuries: even today the ruins of Shamkor retain some ancient coins with a representation of Alexandre the Great. ...it collapsed in the ‘40s...”

Caucasian Calendar for 1846, Tiflis, 1845, p. 50; Potto, V. The Caucasian War..., vol. 3, part 1, St. Petersburg, 1886, p. 141 (the Russian original reads, “При всех переворотахъ, колебавшихъ эту страну въ течение многих вековъ, одинъ этотъ гигантский столбъ противустоялъ разрушению и сохранялся невредимо среди груды камней и развалинъ некогда окружавшаго его большого города. Темныя предания различно повествуютъ о сооружении этого столба; но есть основание думать, что онъ въ былое время служилъ астрономической обсерваториею, и что только уже въ позднейшие годы муллы обратили его въ минаретъ. Уставленная на четырехъ-угольномъ пьедестале, колонна эта была замечательна смелостью полета въ вышину и необыкновенною прочностию. Винтовая лестница внутри, достаточно широкая для двухъ человекъ, идущихъ рядомъ, вела на галерею, окружавшую колонну на высоте около двухсотъ футовъ отъ земли, и могла считаться образцомъ архитектуры по своей изящности и легкости. Время основания этого замечательнаго сооружения теряется въ глубине вековъ, и нужно сказать, что еще и теперь въ развалинахъ Шамхора находятъ древния монеты съ изображениемъ Александра Великаго. ...Въ сороковыхъ годахъ онъ упалъ...”). Also see Veydenbaum, E. A Guide to Caucasia. Tiflis, 1888, p. 375.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, pp. 518-519.

19 c․

The following record provides some valuable information concerning the aforementioned column, the famous castle of Shamkor and other historical monuments standing in the city or its neighbourhood: “It represents a devastated Armenian city site lying on the bank of the river Shamkor. In the 12th century, it was under the sway of Prince Vahram. Later it was ruined by the Tartars whose leader was called Molar. Afterwards the city was reconstructed by the meliks of Karabakh, but at present it lies in ruins. In a plain lying in the east of the site towers a small, but durable castle of brick whose neighbourhood boasts fertile soil and sweet water abounding in trout. ...This column, which is 108 kanguns high, bears resemblance to a mosque. Presumably, it was erected by the Armenians in honour of the Tartars: this is attested by some Armenian letters distorted beyond decipherment. It may have served as an observatory, for its height allows view of a very large territory.”

A unit of length measured by the part between a human elbow and the middle finger. Jalaliants, S. A Travel to Great Armenia, part 1, Tpghis, 1842, pp. 170-171.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 519.