page_title: Temple of Garni
section_title: Collapse
hierarchical_section_title: Temple of Garni / History / Collapse
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Pomnik odbudowy świątyni. Garni, Prowincja Kotajk, Armenia. English: Monument to the Reconstruction of the Temple. Garni, Kotayk Province, Armenia. Русский: Памятник реконструкции Храма. Гарни, Котайкская область, Армения. Հայերեն: Հուշակոթող` նվիրված տաճարի վերականգնմանը և ճարտ. Ալ. Սահինյանին This is a photo of a monument in Armenia identified by the ID 6.21/4.11
context_page_description: The Temple of Garni is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union. Built in the Ionic order in the village of Garni, Armenia, it is the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia.
  The structure was probably built by king Tiridates I in the first century AD as a temple to the sun god Mihr. After Armenia's conversion to Christianity in the early fourth century, it was converted into a royal summer house of Khosrovidukht, the sister of Tiridates III. According to some scholars it was not a temple but a tomb and thus survived the destruction of pagan structures. It collapsed in a 1679 earthquake. Renewed interest in the 19th century led to excavations at the site in early and mid-20th century, and its eventual reconstruction between 1969 and 1975, using the anastylosis method. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Armenia and the central shrine of Hetanism.
context_section_description: The entire colonnade of the temple collapsed in a devastating June 4, 1679 earthquake, the epicenter of which was, according to many scholars, located in the gorge of Garni. Most of the original building blocks remained scattered at the site, allowing the building to be reconstructed. As much as 80% of the original masonry and ornamental friezes were in the site by the late 1960s.
  European travelers mentioned the temple in their works as early as the 17th century. Jean Chardin (1673, who visited Armenia before the earthquake) and James Morier (1810s) both incorrectly described it through local informants since they never actually visited the site. Upon Robert Ker Porter's visit the fortress was called "Tackt-i-Tiridate" ("throne of Tiridates" in Persian) by the locals. Ker Porter described what he saw as follows: "a confused pile beautiful fragments; columns, architraves, capitals, friezes, all mingled together in broken disorder." Another European to visit and document the ruins of the temple was DuBois de Montpereux, who referred to the fortress as "Takh Terdat". In his 1839 book he proposed a reconstruction plan.
caption: A fountain dedicated to the reconstruction by Sahinian (1978)
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