“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
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2025
2025
2025-03-28
In the photo: Saint Tovma Monastery
The historical region of Goghtn (Goghtan) in Armenia (territorially corresponding to the present-day Ordubad district and partially the Julfa district of the Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic) was a cradle of Armenian culture, literature, and traditions. Goghtn is located in the southeastern part of Nakhijevan, on the left bank of the Araks River. According to the Ashkharhatsuyts (Geography), it was the 33rd region of the Vaspurakan province, and according to the 5th-century historian Koryun, Mesrop Mashtots lived in this region for some time.
As the renowned Armenian ethnographer, folklorist, and archaeologist Yervand Lalayan notes, the region of Goghtn is rightfully called "forerunners" because Syunik and this region were among the first to adopt Christianity. Saint Bartholomew the Apostle and Saint Thomas preached here. “Coming from Atropatene, Saint Bartholomew entered Goghtn, where he built a church, which was called Towards the Lord....”
Vahan Goghtnetsi (700-737), one of the saints of the Armenian Church, was from Goghtn and the son of the local prince Khosrov. Tovmas Vanandetsi and Ghukas Vanandetsi, who made a significant impact on the history of Armenian printing, came from the Nurijanyan family of Vanand village in this region. They established a printing press in Amsterdam, where they published several important works, including "Abridged Grammar," "Sharaknots", "Psalter," "Parzatumar," and others.
Manuk Abeghyan links the epic songs to the region of Goghtn, pointing out that they were “not only narrated but also partially sung.” The historian Movses Khorenatsi wrote: “This truth is revealed through the songs, which were lovingly preserved, as I hear, by the people of the wine-rich region of Goghtn.” The minstrels (gusans) of this wine-rich area played a crucial role in preserving and passing Armenia’s ancient mythological and legendary tales, as well as theatricalized historical stories through their songs, dances, and storytelling.
The ancestors of two great figures of Armenian music, Komitas and Aram Khachaturian, also hailed from Goghtn.
The rich cultural history of Goghtn is further enriched by the manuscript heritage carefully written in the towns and villages of the region. Some of these manuscripts have survived to this day and are stored in the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) in Yerevan. This heritage includes Gospels, Lectionaries, Mashtotses, and more. Among the oldest manuscripts is the Gospel copied in 1336 at the Saint Nshan Monastery (Matenadaran, manuscript number 6257), and the Collectanea written in 1385 (Matenadaran, manuscript number 592), which contains a Horologion, Liturgikon, and prayers. The scribe was Father Ghazar.
During the 16th to 18th centuries, several important Armenian manuscripts were created in Goghtn, including the Gospel written at Bist Monastery (Matenadaran, manuscript number 592), Grigor Tatevatsi’s “Book of Questions” copied by Priest Martiros in 1637-1638 in the village of Paraka (Matenadaran, manuscript number 8205), and the “Mashtots” copied by Priest Marut in the village of C’ġna a in 1634, composed by David the Scribe for Tanki (Matenadaran, manuscript number 4175). A notable example is the Gospel copied in 1708 in Goghtn, which is distinguished by its beautiful illuminations, semi-vignettes, and marginal decorations (Matenadaran, manuscript number 2590), among others.
These manuscripts are living witnesses to the intellectual thought of the Armenian scholars of Goghtn, the scribe priests, the Armenian script centers, the settlements, and, more broadly, to the history of Nakhijevan, whose Armenian history and culture were silenced in the early 20th century when it was annexed by Azerbaijan.
The Geghard Foundation is launching a new series titled “Armenian Settlements of Nakhijevan.”
See:
Yervand Lalayan, Nakhijevan Province, Vol. 1, Goghtn, 1904.
Manuk Abeghyan, History of Ancient Armenian Literature, Vol. 1, 1944.
Ed. Aghayan, “The Place Name Goghtan < Goghtn,” Reports of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR, Social Sciences 12, 1957, pp. 51-52.
Catalogue of Manuscripts of the Matenadaran after Mesrop Mashtots, Vol. A-G.
A. Ayvazyan, “Architectural Monuments of the Bist Village in Goghtn Region," Historical and Philological Journal 1, 1978, pp. 283-289.