The ‘Great prince’ Chesar Orbelian and Chesar’s palace as a unique monument of historical and cultural heritage
Keywords:
Prince Chesar Orbelian, Armenia, Vayots Dzor province, Hors village, Middle Ages, princely palace, one-nave church, archaeological excavations, children’s burialsAbstract
The village Hors in Armenia’s Vayots Dzor province was the residence of one of medieval Armenia’s prominent noble dynasties – the Orbelian family. The ruins of a palatial complex, considered to be one of the finest surviving examples of 13th-14th-century Armenian civil architecture, are located here, along with a collapsed single-nave church adjacent to the palace, and inscriptions commemorating prince Chesar Orbelian, son of prince of princes Liparit, and his wife, Princess Khorishah.
In 2024, the expedition team of the ‘Service for the Protection of Historical Environment and Cultural Museum-Reserves’ SNCO at the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of the Republic of Armenia conducted excavations in Hors, followed by a restoration project for the central building of the medieval palace complex and the adjacent church.
Excavations revealed that the palace’s central structure had been surrounded by interconnected annexes of residential and economic significance. A dating inscription carved on one of the construction stones of the single-nave church supports its connection to the period of Chesar Orbelian’s rule and the nearby palace attributed to him. The column bases discovered in both the palace and the church suggest the presence of other monumental structures in the vicinity, which are now lost.
The study of written and epigraphic primary sources allows for a fuller picture of Prince Chesar Orbelian’s life and activity, while the pottery fragments, mostly dated to the 13th-14th centuries found during the excavations, enrich our understanding of daily life within and around the medieval noble palace. The child burials discovered in the upper layer of the church are particularly noteworthy and require further historical-comparative and laboratory analysis to determine the circumstances and cause of death, their possible interrelation, and the date of the burials.
References
Balayan, L․ 1964. Hayastani soc‘ial-tntesakan ev k‘ałak‘akan patmut‘yunǝ XIII-XIV darerum (The Socio-Economic and Political History of Armenia in the 13th-14th Centuries). Yerevan: Haypethrat (in Armenian)․
Barkhudaryan, S․ 1967. Divan hay vimagrut‘yan, Vayoc‘ jor, Ełegnajori ev Azizbekovi šrǰanner (Corpus of Armenian Inscriptions. Vayots Dzor and Azizbekov Regions), prak/Issue III. Yerevan: Haykakan SSH GA hratarakč‘ut‘yun/Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (in Armenian)․
Berikashvili, D. 2017. Ark‘eologiuri gat‘xrebi samšvildesi (2015-2016 clis masalebi) /(Archaeological Excavations in Samshvilde (Materials 2015-2016)/). Tbilisi: Publishing House of the University of Georgia (in Georgian).
Dashdondog, B. 2011. The Mongols and the Armenians (1220-1335) (Brill’s Inner Asian Library 24). Leiden – Boston: Brill.
Ghulyan, A․ 2010. Ełegisi išxanakan aparank‘nerǝ (The princely palaces of Yeghegis), in: Hay arvesti harc‘er. Gitakan hodvacneri žołovacu (Issues on Armenian Art. Collection of Scientific Papers), girk‘/vol. 3: 278-286. Yerevan: HH GAA arvesti instituti hratarakč‘ut‘yun/Publishing House of the Institute of Arts (in Armenian).
Grigoryan, G․ 1981. Syunik‘ǝ Orbelyanneri orok‘ (XIII-XV darer) /(Syunik under the Orbelyans (13th-15th centuries)/). Yerevan: Haykakan SSH GA hratarakč‘ut‘yun/Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (in Armenian)․
Harutyunyan, V․ 1960. Miǰnadaryan Hayastani k‘aravanatnern u kamurǰnerǝ (Caravanserais and Bridges of Medieval Armenia). Yerevan: Haypethrat (in Armenian).
Kiwrtean, Y․ 1949-1950. Manrankarič‘ Kirakos T‘avrizec‘i (1330) /(Мiniaturist Kirakos of Tavriz (1330)/). Hask: Hayagitakan taregirk‘, B tari: 115-130 (in Armenian).
Khachikyan, L․ 1950. ŽD dari hayeren jeṙagreri hišatakaranner (Colophons of the 14th-Century Armenian Manuscripts). Yerevan: Haykakan SSH GA hratarakč‘ut‘yun/Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (in Armenian)․
Khachikyan, L․, Kirakosyan, G․ 2014. Hayastann Ilkhanut‘yan ankman Č’obanyanneri u elairyanneri išxanut‘yan šrǰanum (Armenia in the period of the Ilkhanate’s decline during the rule of the Chobanids and Jalayirids), in: Shahnazaryan et al. 2014: 525-532 (in Armenian)․
Kirakosyan, G 1982. Orbelyanneri išxanakan tunǝ XIV-XV dd. (The princely house of the Orbelyans in the 14th-15th centuries). LHG 7(475): 52-64 (in Armenian)․
Kirakosyan, G․ 2014. Haykakan išxanakan tnerǝ (Armenian princely houses), in: Shahnazaryan et al. 2014: 551-583 (in Armenian)․
Lalayan, Y․ 2021. Yerker, hator 4 (Works, vol. 4). Yerevan: Hnagitut‘yan ev azgagrut‘yan instituti hratarakč‘ut‘yun/Publishing House of the Institute of Archaelogy and Ethnography (in Armenian)․
Malkhaseants, S․ 1944. Hayeren bac‘atrakan baṙaran (Armenian Explanatory Dictionary), hator/volume 1. Yerevan: Haypethrat (in Armenian).
Margaryan, H․ 1980. Hyusisayin Hayastani ev Vrastani ŽB dari patmut‘yan mi k‘ani harc‘er (Several Issues in the History of Northern Armenia and Georgia in the 12th Century). Yerevan: Haykakan SSH GA hratarakč‘ut‘yun/ Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (in Armenian)․
Margaryan, H․ 2014a. Zak‘aryanneri išxanut‘yunneri ev išxanakan nor tneri aṙaǰac‘umǝ (The rise of the Zakarian princedoms and new noble houses), in: Shahnazaryan et al. 2014: 229-239 (in Armenian)․
Margaryan, H․ 2014b. Monłolneri soc‘ial-tntesakan k‘ałak‘akanut‘yunǝ ev dra hetevank‘nerǝ (The socioeconomic policy of the Mongols and its consequences), in: Shahnazaryan et al. 2014: 281-285 (in Armenian)․
Margaryan, H․ 2023. Nšanavor išxanakan tnerǝ Hayastanum ŽB daric‘ – ŽD dari aṙaǰin kesin (Prominent Princely Houses in Armenia from the 12th Century to the Early 14th Century). Yerevan: HH GAA ‘Gitut‘yun’ hratarakč‘ut‘yun/Publishing House ‘Gitutyun’, NAS RA (in Armenian)․
Matevosyan, A․ 1984. Hayeren jeṙagreri hišatakaranner, ŽG dar (Colophons of Armenian Manuscripts, 13th Century). Yerevan: Haykakan SSH GA hratarakč‘ut‘yun/Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (in Armenian)․
Matevosyan, K․ 2017. Noravank‘i vimagrerǝ ev hišatakarannerǝ (Epigraphs and Colophons of Noravank Monastery). Yerevan: Mughni (in Armenian)․
Matevosyan, K․ 2025. Glajori hamalsarani patmut‘yunic‘ (From the History of Gladzor University). Yerevan: Mughni (in Armenian)․
Papukhyan, N․ 1963. Glxatan čartarapetakan komplek‘sǝ Ełegnajori ev Azizbekovi šrǰannerum (Architectural complex of glkhatun (main room in the house) in the Yeghegnadzor and Azizbekov districts). PBH 3(22): 284-291 (in Armenian).
Shahnazaryan, A․ 2014a. Monłolakan erkrord aršavank‘ǝ ev Zak‘aryan Hayastani nvačumǝ (The second Mongol campaign and the conquest of Zakarid Armeni), in: Shahnazaryan et al. 2014: 272-278 (In Armenian)․
Shahnazaryan, A․ 2014b. Hayastanǝ monłolakan kusakalut‘yan šrǰanum (Armenia during the period of Mongol viceroyalty), in: Shahnazaryan et al. 2014: 285-297 (in Armenian)․
Shahnazaryan, A․ 2014c. Hayastann Ilxanut‘yan stełxcman, verelk‘i u t‘ulac‘man šrǰanum (Armenia during the formation, rise, and decline of the Ilkhanate), in: Shahnazaryan et al. 2014: 297-321 (in Armenian)․
Shahnazaryan, A․, Torosyan, V., Bartikyan, H., Grigoryan, G., Khachatryan, K., Vardanyan, V., Ter-Ghevondyan, V. (eds) 2014. Hayoc‘ patmut‘yun: Miǰin darer (IV dar – XVII dari aṙaǰin kes), Girk‘ erkrord (IX dari kes – XVII dari aṙaǰin kes) /(History of Armenia: The Middle Ages (4th century – fist half of the 17th century), Book II (first half of the 9th century – first half of the 17th century)/). Yerevan: ‘Zangak’ hratarakč‘ut‘yun (in Armenian).
