Monument to David Sasun

For over six decades, the equestrian statue of David of Sasun has stood proudly on the square in front of Yerevan’s railway station, becoming one of the city’s most iconic symbols. Weighing an impressive 3.5 tons, it is the largest statue in the Armenian capital — a dramatic, larger-than-life tribute to one of Armenia’s most revered national heroes.

David of Sasun is the legendary warrior of the medieval Armenian epic “Sasna Tsrer” (“The Daredevils of Sasun”), a figure embodying the eternal spirit of resistance, freedom, and the will to defy tyranny. The powerful composition — a lone rider astride a rearing steed — radiates fierce dynamism and is perched upon a pedestal of basalt. At the foot of the monument, a granite-carved bowl symbolizes the boundless patience of the Armenian people.

The idea to erect this monument was born in 1939, as Armenia celebrated the millennium of the epic poem. To mark the anniversary, it was decided that a statue of David of Sasun should grace the square by the train station. Most sculptors claimed they needed at least a year or two for such an ambitious project. But one man — Yervand Kochar, a visionary artist newly returned from Paris — stepped forward with a bold promise to create it in record time. Astonishingly, in just 18 days, the first version of the statue was complete.

In 1941, the original statue was installed on the square. However, its fate soon took a dramatic turn. Just two years later, Kochar was arrested. One of the alleged reasons for his imprisonment was that David’s raised sword pointed ominously in the direction of neighboring Turkey. The statue, now politically controversial, was neglected, and eventually demolished.

It wasn’t until 1957 that the authorities resolved to resurrect the monument. And once again, the task was entrusted to Yervand Kochar. This time, however, he created a profoundly different interpretation of David of Sasun — not just in form, but in meaning.

Kochar imbued his new sculpture with a wealth of symbolism. The pedestal, noticeably small in relation to the towering rider, was a deliberate artistic decision: it represented the diminished Armenian homeland, a remnant of its once-vast territory. The horse’s hooves are lifted entirely off the ground — a subtle yet poignant symbol of the Armenian diaspora, a people suspended in space, without soil beneath them to anchor their step.

Even the horse’s tail was exaggerated in length — an element drawn directly from the epic, in which David’s steed uses its tail in battle. Kochar’s granddaughter later added a more practical reason: the elongated tail also serves as the statue’s third point of support, helping stabilize the dramatic pose.

Beneath the horse’s hooves, the bowl — carved into the stone — continues to remind visitors of the people’s patient endurance. Kochar placed the entire statue in a basin of water, a poetic gesture steeped in the mythology of the epic, where heroes are born from water. In doing so, the sculptor honored the epic’s sacred genealogy.

Today, Kochar’s David of Sasun has transcended its role as a mere sculpture. It has been immortalized on Armenian currency, coins, commemorative medals, and metro tokens. For years, it served as the emblem of the legendary “Armenfilm” studio. The image of David — sword drawn, poised in eternal motion — stands not just as a monument, but as a living emblem of Armenia’s unyielding spirit.