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Ancient Dvin
Dvin (aka Duin), located 40 km south of modern Yerevan, was the capital of early medieval Armenia for four centuries. Founded in the 4th century CE, the city prospered and became the administrative head of the Armenian church. Remaining the...

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Medieval Khachkar at Geghard Monastery in Armenia
Geghard Monastery in Armenia contains a number of churches, altars, and tombs, most of which are cut into rock. The monastery is widely considered the very peak of Armenian medieval architecture. It was founded at some point in the 4th century...

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Armenia's Medieval Selim Caravanserai
This medieval caravanserai located in present-day Armenia is located on the ancient Dvin Partav international trade route, which included the Selim Mountain Pass. (It was part of the ancient Silk Road.) According to an inscription at the...

Interview
Interview: Early Medieval Irish Book Art
Early medieval Irish book art is both beautiful and fascinating. It reflects a flourishing monastic culture which played a key role in the cultural development of Europe from the 6th to 9th centuries. Nowhere is this more clearly illustrated...

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Medieval Jewish Tombstone in Yeghegis, Armenia
Nearly 40 tombstones from the 13th and 14th century CE survive in the Jewish cemetery, and another 30 are located nearby. The oldest tombstone dates to 1266 CE and the latest to 1337 CE. Some tombs have inscriptions in Hebrew or Aramaic...

Article
How to Become a Medieval Knight
In medieval society a knight enjoyed a position of high status and often wealth, they were feared on the battlefield and known for their chivalry off it, but it took a long time and a lot of training to get there. Trained in weapons handling...

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Artillery in Medieval Europe
Artillery weapons in medieval Europe included the mounted crossbow (ballista) and single-arm torsion catapult (mangonel), both similar to ancient Roman machines. As armies battled further afield such as in the Byzantine Empire and against...

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Medieval Cures for the Black Death
The Black Death is the 19th-century CE term for the plague epidemic that ravaged Europe between 1347-1352 CE, killing an estimated 30 million people there and many more worldwide as it reached pandemic proportions. The name comes from the...

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The Layout of a Medieval Abbey
Abbeys were a striking feature of medieval urban and rural landscapes. Their layout and architecture reflected their purpose as cut-off monastic retreats which, conversely, also served and inspired their local communities. Although evolving...

Definition
Tigranes the Great
Tigranes II or Tigranes the Great ruled as the king of Armenia from c. 95 to c. 56 BCE. Expanding in all directions, at its peak, Tigranes' Armenian Empire stretched from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Not before or since would Armenians...