Kakavaberd

Kakavaberd Կաքավաբերդ
Ararat Province, Armenia
The Fortress of Kakavaberd.
Kakavaberd Կաքավաբերդ
Coordinates	40°06′51″N 44°43′46″E / 40.1140778°N 44.7293361°E / 40.1140778; 44.7293361
Type	Fortress
Site information
Open to the public	No. One must ask permission to enter the reserve.
Condition	Large sections of fortification walls are well preserved.
Site history
Built	4th century?, first mentioned in the 9th-10th centuries.

Kakavaberd or Kaqavaberd (Armenian: Կաքավաբերդ; also known as Geghi Berd, Keghi Berd or Kegh (Armenian: Գեղի բերդ) is a fortress on a ridge overlooking the Azat River gorge at the Khosrov State Reserve in the Ararat Province of Armenia. Kakavaberd is 1,516 metres (4,974 ft) above sea level.

The fortified walls of Kakavaberd are well preserved and crown a ridge within the Khosrov State Reserve. It is inaccessible from three of its sides because of the steep terrain. Towers at the northeastern side are 8 to 10 metres (26 to 33 ft) tall. Within the fortress are the ruins of a church and other structures.

The fortress was first mentioned by Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi (John V the Historian) in the 9th-10th centuries in his History of Armenia as being controlled by the Armenian noble Bagratuni family. He wrote that in 924, after losing a battle at the island of Sevan, the commander and chief Beshir went on to attack the fortress of Kakavaberd. He was later beaten by Gevorg Marzpetuni. The same event is recorded in the book "Armenia and the Armenians" (1874) by James Issaverdens where he writes,

In the 11th century it passed over to the Pahlavuni family, and in the 12th–13th century to the Proshyan family for whom the nearby town is named. Kakavaberd was last mentioned in the year 1224 when after losing a battle that took place near Garni, Ivane Zakarian found shelter there.

Muratsan has also mentioned the fortress in Gevorg Marzpetuni (1896), a historical novel set in Armenia in the 10th century.