SEARCH SYSTEM OF THE ARMENIAN HIGHLAND MONUMENTS

Vargav 10 Monuments

Georgia (Country) / Javakhk (District) / Aspindza (District) / Vargav (Village)

Location

The village of Vargav, which forms part of the district of Aspindza at present, lies 15 kilometres north-west of Akhalkalak in a straight line, at an altitude of 1,700 to 1,720 metres above sea level.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 476.

Historical Introduction
1595 y․

In 1595 the state exacted 3,000 akches from the village, which did not comprise any rayas.

”გურჯისტანის ვილაიეთის დიდი დავთარი”, გვ. 206: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 476.

Population

Like the village of Khezabavra situated nearby, Vargav preserves a number of medieval Armenian monuments attesting that it was primarily inhabited by Apostolic Armenians. In the 17th century, these people adopted the Catholic faith to escape the demands for Islamisation which were growing stricter and stricter. After the resettlement of some Georgian newcomers in the village, the local Armenian Catholics grew assimilated into these people in the course of time and gradually forgot their mother tongue.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 476.

The Georgian resettlers of Vargav also included some families which had moved to the village from the depths of Georgia. Among them can be mentioned the Sheshaberidzes, who came from the village of Kavtistsikhe. One of the members of this family, Kostandianos Sheshaberidze, served as the spiritual shepherd of the local parish in the 1910s.

During our visit to Vargav in August 2001, one of the local inhabitants, Iosep Mikhail Sheshaberidze, told us that his great grand-father was from Kavtistsikhe. Allegedly, this man killed the Georgian king of those times to save his wife from his hands and moved to Vargav to escape punishment. Later he received awards from the Russian Emperor for his participation in the struggle against Turks and the valour he manifested during it. As for the village of Kavtistsikhe, most presumably, it is identical to Kavtiskhev located in the present-day Caspian District of Georgia. «Օրացոյց և պատկեր տօնից», Թիֆլիս, 1916, էջ 83: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 476.

Vargav is one of those villages in Javakhk which have a Georgian-speaking Armenian Catholic population.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 476.

The village participated in World War II with 170 of its residents, 68 of whom lost their lives on the battle-field.

Դավթյան Ա., Ջավախք, Երևան, 1994, էջ 102: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 477.

Priests
1915 y․

In 1915 the village was consigned to the spiritual leadership of Father Kostandianos Sheshaberidze, who parallelly served as parish priest of Khezabavra.

«Օրացոյց և պատկեր տօնից», Թիֆլիս, 1915, էջ 84: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, pp. 477-478.

Type Photo
View Exterior
Direction From the south-east
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Colour Negative
Date 1998 y․

The available statistical records relating to the number of the local inhabitants during the 19th and 20th centuries represent the following picture:

Dates	Armenian Houses	Armenians (Male)	Armenians (Female)	Total (Armenians)	Notes	Source
1884				115		«Արձագանք», 1885, N 26, էջ 368: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 476.
1908	24			172		Հայաստանի ազգային դիվան (National Archives of Armenia), ֆ. 316, ց. 1, գ. 102, թ. 34: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 476.
1914				291		“Кавказский календарь на 1885 г.”, Тифлис, 1884, стр. 103: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 477.
1915				185		«Օրացոյց և պատկեր տօնից», Թիֆլիս, 1915, էջ 83: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 477.
1916	24	101	98	199		Հայաստանի ազգային դիվան (National Archives of Armenia), ֆ. 316, ց. 1, գ. 65, թ. 36-37: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 477.