SOURP ASDVADZADZINE CHURCH AND FORTRESS

The existence of Bjni is attested as early as the ^5th century, but it flourished under the Bagratides, who gave it to their pahlavid vassals in the 10th century. Prince Vassak Pahlavuni was responsible for the construction of the citadel, whose powerful towers were built on the promontory overlooking the village, next to the 7th-century Sourp Sarkis (Saint Sergius) Church, the smallest domed cruciform building in Armenia. His son Grigor Magistros built the main religious building of the village, the Sourp Asdvadadzine Church (of the Holy Mother of God), in 1031, before having to cede the territory to the Byzantines, who had just seized the capital of Armenia, Ani. Situated in the heart of the village, this original church, made of large black volcanic stones, with an imposing drum with an umbrella roof, is surrounded by a modest enclosure and some conventual buildings added in the 17th century. It fits perfectly into the rustic decor of the village, whereas many religious buildings in Armenia are isolated or out of the way. However, the locality is no longer what it was in the Middle Ages. First attacked by the Turks in the 10th century, against whom the local lords, entrenched in the citadel, put up fierce resistance, it did not withstand the onslaught of Tamerlane hordes in the 13th century, which ruined the citadel and caused the inexorable decline of Bjni.