Frühchristliche Architektur in Kaukasien

Armenia and Georgia count among the oldest Christian countries in the world. Their medieval architecture is particularly fascinating. Lesser known, however, is the fact that Caucasian Albania, which was located within the territory of present-day Azerbijan, was a Christian country from the fifth until the tenth century AD. This book presents the first contextual examination of the relationship between the early Christian architecture in Armenia, Georgia and Caucasian Albania and that of the Mediterranean world of the Late Antique and early Christian periods. The broad material basis and photographic documentation offer new results concerning the buildings' historical context as well as their dating. The investigation of the architecture is accompanied by historical considerations and a critical analysis of the sources. Thus, this volume provides a complex view of the extensive territory between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and Taurus mountain ranges and the Iranian Plateau in the period from the fourth through the seventh centuries AD: a comprehensive handbook for Late-Antique Transcaucasia.