Treasures of Artsakh: Part II
Tigranakert, One of the Cities of Tigran the Great
The Armenian king Tigran II the Great (95-55 BC) founded several cities named after himself in different provinces of Great Armenia (Aghdznik, Utik, Goghtan region), but so far only the city he founded in Artsakh has been investigated by archaeologists.
This city was built at the end of 90s BC. Occupying for more than 70 hectares, the city spread over the slope of Mt Vankasar and into the neighboring plain on the right bank of the Khachen River. Tigranakert had a strategic importance in a defensive system for the highland, and continued to be a large military, administrative, and religious center in early Christian times, existing until the end of the 13th century.
Excavations of the northern wall of the fortified district of Tigranakert in 2009 by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences
Aerial photograph of excavations of the early Christian square of Tigranakert in 2017 by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences
