Was the Ararat really that important to ancient Armenia?

Magnificent pottery, beautifully decorated drinking cups made of gold and silver, intriguing bronze animal figures and special jewellery: the exhibition Under the spell of the Ararat in the Drents museum in Assen is a feast for the eyes. But when you try to discover a line in all that beauty, it becomes a lot more difficult.

Because all those 160 masterpieces, really every object is special, together should tell the story of the long and complicated history of Armenia, from the earliest prehistory to the year 301 AD. That is the year in which, according to tradition, King Thrat III of Armenia declared Christianity the official state religion. Despite the beautifully designed text panels, which are scattered throughout the room, and the long introductory text at the entrance, the compilers have only partially succeeded. The average visitor will quickly get lost between all those names, places and years. For although a certain degree of chronology has been introduced into the circular arrangement, it is also often difficult to follow.

And anyone who knows anything about the early history of the part of the world in which today’s Armenia is located (the border area between Europe and Asia) will be puzzled by the choices made by the compilers. For example, the Roman influence – the kingdom of Armenia played an essential role in the ongoing struggle between the Romans and their powerful neighbors the Parthians – apart from another beautiful glass portrait of Emperor Caligula – remains quite underexposed.

‘Under the spell of the Ararat’ is a feast for the eyes with 160 masterpieces

And then there is the title of the exhibition: Under the spell of the Ararat. The suggestion is thus created that Mount Ararat has been an important, if not the most important symbol in the long Armenian history. And for the last two centuries – the period in which Armenia is a Christian nation – this has undoubtedly been the case. But the exhibition focuses on the very long period that preceded it. And it is entirely questionable what the role of the Ararat has been in roughly 1800 BC. Or 400 BC.

Mountain view

The book accompanying the exhibition contains a photo of the ruins of Artashat, a city that was destroyed in 176 BC. was founded and which will be the capital of the Armenian, then still heathen, kingdom for more than three hundred years. The Ararat is clearly visible in the background. But, as the caption to the photo suggests, does this mean that the city was deliberately built in a place where there was a constant view of that mountain? There are few places in western Armenia where you can’t see the Ararat in good weather.

It becomes all the more problematic because the Ararat with its iconic double top also plays a dominant role in the design. For example, the center of the exhibition is formed by a large circle. That circle is provided with huge images of the mountain both outside and inside. All objects are again arranged around this ‘mountain’, again creating the suggestion that all objects have a relationship with that mountain.

This applies in any case to the objects that are arranged inside the circle. They have to do with the (relatively short) period in which Armenia became a Christian nation. To demonstrate the importance of Christianity, and of the Ararat as its most important symbol, for the further history of Armenia, there are also two ‘modern’ pieces. The first is a piece of wood that, according to tradition, came from Noah’s ark. The same tradition has it that the ark ran aground on the flanks of the Ararat. One of Noah’s descendants subsequently became the ancestor of all Armenians. The second is a bible written in Armenian.

So there is content that can be negotiated with this exhibition, but so much beauty as there is now to be seen in Assen, you will not easily get back together in the Netherlands.