Gafan tower

Monument date:
Circa VI-VII c.
Placement /
Previous toponym:

It is located on the Gafan-Ga­jaran highway, on the right bank of the Okchu River, 10 km north of the present city of Gafan.

Placement /
Current toponym:

09.09.1930 and 11.04.1995 Gafan region. Now, according to the admi­nistra­tive-terri­torial division of the Republic of Armenia, the­­re is no district named Gafan. The city of Kapan (new name) is the center of Sunik region.

Classification:

Architec­ture

Current situation

The stones of the Kapan fort­ress were dis­mantled by the Armenians and used in various constructions. Only ruins re­main of the castle.

Information:

People settled in the territory of Gafan district as early as the 6th century BC. The geographical extent of the states of Gatar, Bagkh, Zork, Govsak mentioned in the ancient Albanian and Armenian sources of the Sunik (Sisakan) gover­no­rate of Albania corresponds to the terri­tory of the present Gafan region. The city of Gafan consisted of Gafan Castle (Bagaberd in Armenian sources) until the 18th century. The name of the Gafan region and the Gafan fortress is mostly related to the name of the kapan tribe of the Pechenegs, one of the Turkic tribes. Gafan Castle is located on the highway, on the right bank of Okhchuchay, 10 km north of the present city of Gafan. In order to achieve their dirty intentions in the future, the Armenians deceived the Azerbaijanis, transferred the lands to the disposal of the church with their consent, thus they appropriated many Azerbaijani villages of Gafa for hundreds of years. Gafan Castle was conquered by Salchuk Turks in 1103, the process of Musli­mization of Gafan population was almost completed during this period. In 1170, due to the ingratitude of the Armenians, the Salchuk Turks were forced to expel them from Baghaberd and other villa­ges.

Information about Gafan Castle, other his­torical mo­numents, cast­les, ancient inscrip­tions, mos­ques and churches of Ga­fan, photos pro­ve that none of the churches in the villages of the region are monuments built by Ar­me­nians. Referring to historical sources, we can undoubtedly say that the an­cient buildings were Albanian monuments. Ga­fan Castle was important in terms of the safe living of the population and protection from foreign attacks.

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