Site Background
The Aghdzk royal cemetery in Aragatsotn is one of the most significant surviving monuments connected with the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, whose very presence in Armenia was the result of Iranian imperial politics. The Armenian Arsacids were a branch of the Parthian royal house of Iran and came to power in Armenia in 52 CE, when Tiridates I, brother of the Parthian king Vologases I, was installed on the Armenian throne. This arrangement made Armenia a buffer kingdom between the Roman Empire and the Iranian world, while firmly embedding Iranian dynastic, cultural, and ideological models of kingship in Armenian political life. By the 4th century CE, Aghdzk had become a dynastic burial ground where the remains of Arsacid kings were gathered and reinterred, forming a royal pantheon that reflected Iranian-Parthian concepts of ancestry, royal legitimacy, and sacral memory, even as Armenia was transitioning from paganism to Christianity. Armenian historical sources report that the Sasanian Empire, heirs to Iranian imperial authority after the fall of Parthia, attempted to seize the royal remains at Aghdzk in order to appropriate Arsacid dynastic prestige, underscoring how deeply royal ancestry functioned as a political symbol in the Iranian world. During our visit, we will see the ruins of the royal mausoleum, architectural fragments, and relief carvings with hunting and banquet scenes that echo Parthian-Iranian royal iconography, making Aghdzk a key site for understanding how Iranian imperial culture shaped Armenian kingship and how those traditions were later reinterpreted in a Christian context.
Pre-Visit Activities (Bus Session)
Students will preview vocabulary related to ancient dynasties, burial practices, and Persian-Armenian historical relations, while instructors provide a conversational overview of the site.
On-Site Activities
Guided exploration, observation tasks, discussion in Persian, and Q&A to connect historical content with language practice