Kakavaberd (Keghi fortress)

Mets Gilanlar, Armenia, Armenia

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Kakavaberd, also known as Geghi Berd ( Gjegi Berd), Keghi Berd, or simply Kegh, is a medieval fortress on a narrow ridge overlooking the Azat River gorge in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve in the Ararat Province of Armenia, about 84 km from Yerevan near the village of Metz (Bolshoy) Gilanlar.

The fortress sits at 1,516 meters above sea level and is naturally inaccessible on three sides due to steep cliffs and rugged terrain, with its main defensive walls and towers concentrated on the fourth, more accessible side, where towers reach 8 to 10 meters in height and fortified walls still crown the ridge.

Inside the fortress are the ruins of a church and other structures, and the whole site is remarkably well preserved, reflecting its role as a strategic stronghold controlling the passage through the Azat valley and the surrounding reserve. Kakavaberd was first mentioned in the 9th–10th centuries by the historian Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi in his History of Armenia, noting that it was held by the Bagratuni noble family and that in 924 a commander named Beshir attacked it after a defeat at Lake Sevan before being defeated by Gevorg Marzpetuni, a celebrated 10th‑century Armenian prince.

In the 11th century the fortress passed to the Pahlavuni family, and in the 12th–13th centuries to the Proshyan dynasty, the powerful local princely house that also built nearby towns, and it was last mentioned in 1224 when the general Ivane Mkhargrdzeli, after suffering a defeat near Garni, took refuge in Kakavaberd; the site is also described in Grigor Magistros’s 1896 historical novel Gevorg Marzpetuni, which is set in 10th‑century Armenia.