St. Tovma Monastery of Agulis
Location: Yukhari Aylis (Az.) / Agulis (Arm.)
Destruction & Reuse
St. Tovma (St. Thomas) Monastery was one of the most important religious centers in medieval Armenia. The exquisite architectural complex was still in relatively good condition when historian Argam Ayvazyan documented it during his fieldwork in Nakhchivan (1964-1987). 1,2 The main church was a domed basilica with a spacious nave, two aisles, and a seven-sided apse with vestries on either side (see plan below). Four cruciform pillars supported a cupola with 12 windows. Bell towers could be found at the western, northern, and southern doorways, which were decorated with ornamentation, reliefs, and Armenian inscriptions. Wall paintings by a well-known painter and poet adorned the interior.
St. Tovma is seen intact in KH-9 Hexagon satellite images from 1973 (first swipe below, left) and 1982. Large structures in the monastery complex were in the process of being dismantled on February 25, 2000, when the IKONOS satellite image in the first swipe below (right) was captured. A few of the monastery's outer buildings are still extant in the image, but the central church had been razed. The erasure of the monastery had been completed by June 28, 2009, when the now-vacant plot was captured in a QuickBird-2 image (second swipe below, left). On May 15, 2014, a mosque opened in its place. This reuse of the monastery site is visible in the September 6, 2021, WorldView-2 image in the second swipe below (right).
Drag the swipe tool right to see the monastery in 1973; drag left to see the site in 2000 after the monastery's destruction.
Drag the swipe tool right to see the empty site in 2009 after St. Tovma's destruction; drag left to see the site in 2021 after the construction of a mosque.
Geolocation
St. Tovma Monastery is marked on nearly all Soviet-era maps. Its precise location is confirmed by KH-9 Hexagon and modern satellite imagery.
Timeline
Construction
St. Tovma is mentioned in written sources since the beginning of the 14th century. 1 A 1694 Armenian inscription on the lintel of the western doorway attested to the rebuilding of the monastery in the 17th century (various texts attest to renovations between 1633 and 1636). The inscription also recounts the legend that St. Tovma was founded by the Apostle Bartholomew in the 1st century A.D. and rebuilt in the 4th century by Gregory the Illuminator. 2
1680s
Frescoes by the prominent Armenian poet and painter, Naghash Hovnatan, were added to the dome, pillars, and under the arch of the western entrance. 3 Hovnatan studied at St. Tovma Monastery before living in Tbilisi and Yerevan, and eventually painting the interior of Etchmiadzin Cathedral in 1710. 4
1936
The monastery is marked on the 1:50K scale Soviet map of 1936. 5
1973
The monastery is visible on KH-9 Hexagon satellite imagery dated November 3, 1973. 6
1977
The monastery is marked on the 1:50K scale Soviet map of 1977. 7
2000
Large structures in the monastery complex were in the process of being dismantled in February 25, 2000, when the IKONOS satellite image at right was taken. 8
2009
The erasure of the monastery was complete by June 28, 2009, when the vacant site was captured in the QuickBird-2 image at right. 9
2012
Research on Armenian Architecture publishes the destruction of the monastery using Google Earth satellite imagery. 10
2014
In May, a mosque (pictured below) opens on the plot where St. Tovma Monastery once stood. 11
2021
The new mosque is visible in the September 6, 2021, WorldView-2 satellite image at right. 12
2021
The destruction of St. Tovma Monastery is first published in The Art Newspaper, in a special investigation by Simon Maghakyan, using satellite imagery provided by CHW.
Image Gallery
Images © Argam Ayvazyan Archive, used with permission.
References
1 Ayvazyan, Argam. The Historical Monuments of Nakhichevan. Transl. Krikor H. Maksoudian. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990, p. 16.
2 Ayvazyan, Argam. Agulis: Patmamshakutayin hushardzanner. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1984. p. 2.
3 Basmajian, Gabriel, Franchuk, Edward S., Ouzounian, Nourhan. Hacikyan, Agop Jack (ed.). The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Sixth to the Eighteenth Century, Volume II . Detroit : Wayne State University Press . 2000, pp. 867–872. ISBN 0814330231 .
4 UNESCO World Heritage List, Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots.
5 Upravlenie voennykh topografov RKKA, J-38-44-B (Dasta), 1:50,000, 1936.
6 KH-9 Hexagon, D3C1206-100170A020, July 29, 1973.
7 Generalnyi shtab, J-38-44-B (Dasta), 1:50,000, 1977.
8 Maxar Technologies & East View Geospatial, February 25, 2000.
9 Maxar Technologies & East View Geospatial, June 28, 2009.
10 Research on Armenian Architecture, Nakhijevan Atlas. Yerevan: Tigran Metz Publishing House, 2012, p. 33.
12 Maxar Technologies & East View Geospatial, September 6, 2021.
