The Khachkar Field of Kichan

The Khachkar Field of Kichan

Location

The monument is located to the southwest of Kichan village in the Martakert Region, on the left bank of the Khachenaget River, along the edge of the North–South highway. The cemetery is set on the western slope of a longitudinal, oval-shaped rise; it is visible from afar and shapes the area’s cultural landscape (figs. 1–2). All the steles are made of local limestone, which gives the entire khachkar field a white appearance. It covers about 1 ha. The site belongs mainly to the 12th–13th centuries, though earlier examples are also present.

Currently under Azerbaijani occupation.

Fig. 1 The general view of the khachkar field.

Fig. 2 The general view of the khachkar field.

Semantic–Iconographic–Epigraphic Examination

The khachkars of Artsakh form an inseparable part of the broader Armenian khachkar tradition. Preserved in monasteries, village sites, old cemeteries, at road junctions, near springs, on heights, and elsewhere, the thousands of khachkars are among the most evident testimonies to the Armenian character of this mountainous land.

They display complete confessional and cultural continuity with Armenian khachkar art at large: identical functions to khachkars in other regions of Armenia; fundamentally, the exact structural solutions in sculptural composition; analogous Christian–canonical iconographic themes and figures; and hundreds of Armenian inscriptions with shared structures, onomastics, and semantics. Artsakh's khachkars also suggest a comparatively looser degree of ecclesiastical–canonical oversight of the carving process here, which allowed broader expressions of folk imagery. Local flora, diverse sculptural themes, and figures representing mortals lend a distinctive charm to Artsakh's khachkar culture, transforming it into a rich and unique gallery that reflects dress, warfare, family relations, and various rites and beliefs (for details, see Petrosyan and Yeranyan 2022, 23–48).

The Kichan khachkar field is one of the notably well-preserved manifestations of typical Artsakh khachkars. Such fields are numerous in Artsakh, but as a rule, the slabs are toppled, moss-covered, and overgrown with shrubs. Kichan is among the rare examples cleaned by cultural-heritage organizations in Artsakh, where the khachkars have been re-erected and restored to approximately their original positions (Fig. 3). More than twenty khachkars dating to the 10th–13th centuries reveal communal expressions of this culture and attest to the presence of a large and prosperous settlement here in that period. Individual khachkars derive a special appeal from rarely encountered pomegranate carvings, bird motifs, finely interlaced and sinuous geometric reliefs, and commemorative inscriptions.

The oldest stele in the field is an antique anchor (Fig. 4) that was brought into the cemetery; a rectangular mortise was cut to receive a khachkar's tenon, converting it into a pedestal.

Fig. 3 The general view of the khachkar field.

Fig. 4 The antique anchor converted into the pedestal of the khachkar.

Fig. 5 The 10th–11th-century khachkars.

Several examples in the cemetery dating to the 10th–11th centuries (Figs. 5–7) stand out for their fairly simple iconography, where raised crosses terminate in bilobed arms, and the carving is executed by cutting back the background and/or using deep incised grooves.

Fig. 6 The 10th–11th-century khachkars.

Fig. 7 The 10th–11th-century khachkars.

Khachkars of the 12th–13th centuries are distinguished by comparatively more prosperous detailing—border bands, sculpted cornices, bird motifs accompanying the cross, and vegetal additions—which impart a "paradisiacal" meaning to the salvation anticipated through the Cross (Figs. 8–13).

Fig. 8 The 12th–13th-century khachkars.

Fig. 9 The 12th–13th-century khachkars.

Fig. 10 The 12th–13th-century khachkars.

Fig. 11 The 12th–13th-century khachkars.

Fig. 13 The 12th–13th-century khachkars.

Fig. 12 The 12th–13th-century khachkars.

The inscriptions, too, have not been overlooked. On one khachkar—the most elegantly decorated stele in the field (Figs. 11, 14)—an inscription is carved beneath the composition:

"In the year 648 (1199), I, Ishkhan, erected this khachkar over the grave of my father, Vagram. Remember me in your prayers" (published here for the first time).

Note that the personal name Ishkhan is interpretable only in Armenian (on individual names in Armenian inscriptions of Artsakh, see Petrosyan, Yeranyan 2022, 44–45), and the name Vahram/Varham was widespread and favored in several princely houses of Khachen.

The second inscription has survived on the right side of a fragmentary khachkar (Fig. 15), from whose composition only the trilobed right horizontal arm of the central cross is visible. The inscription is weathered, and some parts are hard to decipher. It reads: "I, Sahl/un, son of Tchar, raised my … cross. Remember me in your prayers …" (1231) (published here for the first time). The name Sahlun is also attested in a notable inscription from Arajadzor dated 1257, where Sahlun is presented as a military commander who took part in distant campaigns as part of the Mongol forces (for details, see Petrosyan 1991; Petrosyan 2023, 205–206). Arajadzor and Kichan lie very close to one another, as do the dates of the inscriptions; it is therefore possible that they refer to the same person. The personal name Tchar is a dialectal variant of Degh (Acharian 1946, 158); by the same token, it is pretty plausible that Sahlun is a hypocoristic (endearing) form of Sahl, attesting to the long-lived use of the name borne by the renowned Artsakh-Armenian political and military figure of the first half of the ninth century, Sahl (Sahak) Smbatyan.

Fig. 14 Khachkar, 1199:

Fig. 15 Khachkar, 1231:

The Condition Before and After the Artsakh Wars

During the Artsakh wars, the monument did not suffer damage. Following the Azerbaijani occupation, no information has been available about the khachkar field.

Bibliography

  1. Acharian 1946 - Acharian, H., Dictionary of Armenian Personal Names, vol. 3. Yerevan: YSU Press.
  2. Petrosyan, Yeranyan 2022 - Petrosyan, H.; Yeranyan, N., The Monumental Culture of Artsakh. Yerevan: Antares.
  3. Petrosyan 2023 - Petrosyan, H., "How to Win: The Theme of Battle and the Figure of the Warrior in the Khachkar Iconography of Artsakh," History and Culture, no. 1 (19), pp. 200–212.
  4. Petrosyan 1991 - Petrosyan, G., "A Newly Discovered Khachkar from Arajadzor," Bulletin of Social Sciences of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia, no. 4, pp. 147–152.
The Khachkar Field of Kichan
The Khachkar Field of Kichan
The Khachkar Field of Kichan
Artsakh