The Oldest Churches In Iran
Saint Bartholomew the Apostle first founded a church at the site around AD 62, under the reign of the Parthian Empire. The first monastery was built in the seventh century and was later expanded in the 10th century. The monastery was damaged during the wars between the Seljuks and the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. Following the conquest of the region by the Mongols of Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, in the middle of the 13th century, a peace agreement was signed between the Armenian Church and the Ilkhanate, and the Christians maintained an equable situation. The monastery was restored in the second half of the 13th century and was completely rebuilt under the leadership of Zachariah in 1330. By the 14th and 15th centuries, the Saint Stepanos Monastery was at the height of its cultural and intellectual influence, producing paintings and illuminated manuscripts in religion, history, and philosophy.