Armenian and Assyrian Cemetery :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Armenian and Assyrian Cemetery

Iran / Western Atrpatakan / Salmast / Khosrova

Historical Introduction

As already mentioned above, the main cemetery of Khosrova, containing both Armenian and Assyrian graves with predominantly rectangular tombstones, is located at the western extremity (N 38º09°56.88°°, E 44º43°59.04°°) of the village, enclosed within walls. Although smaller in number (only 30), the Armenian tombstones and cross-stones make up the oldest part of this extensive cemetery where only Armenians were buried for centuries, until 1828. Judging from the dated specimens documented by former researchers (some of them are still preserved in situ), the earliest gravestones trace back to the 16th century.

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 303.

The Assyrian part of the cemetery also contains a great number of tombstones with epitaphs in Latin (about 300 to 400).

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 303.

Below follow the Armenian epitaphs of the cemetery which relate to the period between 1573 and 1987:

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 303.

Assyrian Cemetery. As already said above, the extensive cemetery of Khosrova contains both Armenian and Assyrian tombstones, its Assyrian part, which dates back to the 1830s, actually forming the continuation of the Armenian one. The Assyrian epitaphs are of great interest and value as far as the history of the local Assyrians is concerned. Below follow 110 inscriptions from this graveyard which date from the period between 1832 and 2015.

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 308.

The Armenian and Assyrian parts of the cemetery of Khosrova also included many ram-shaped tombstones, more than 10 of which are still preserved, some of them engraved with Assyrian epitaphs. In 2017 several of these memorial stones (one of them dated 1885) were located in the yard of Arthur Khashilo, a local inhabitant.

As A. Khashilo told us, these ram-shaped tombstones were originally placed at his ancestors’ graves in the cemetery of Khosrova. He moved them to his yard 8 years ago, after noticing some Turks coming to the graveyard from time to time and damaging them. According to Khashilo, ram-shaped tombstones were generally placed in memory of those men who had died as bachelors.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 325.

The cemetery also has Persian epitaphs referring to the most recent period: they are chiefly engraved on tombstones with Assyrian epitaphs, repeating their contents (as a rule, the Assyrian inscription is on one face of the stone, and the Persian one is on the other).

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 325.

Author Samvel Karapetian
Date 2011 y․

Khachkar

Grave-stone

Khachkar

Grave-stone

Ram-shaped Grave-Stone