Katarovank, Armenian monastery in Khojavend District, Azerbaijan

Katarovank is an Armenian monastery on the summit of Dizapayt Mountain, over 2,400 metres above sea level. Its chapel is a single-nave basilica of local coarse-cut limestone, measuring 11.7 by 6.7 metres, with one side set below ground and the other built on bare rock. A rectangular building of 9.8 by 3.8 metres adjoins it to the south, and Armenian khachkars stand nearby.

Founded in the 4th century, Katarovank was rebuilt in its current form in the 17th century. The 5th-century historian Pavstos Buzand describes it as a large monastery on Dizapayt Mountain, where in 335 King Sanesan pursued his three Christian-convert sons and killed 3,870 hermits and pilgrims, burning their bodies; the mountain's name Dizapayt means 'heap of corpses'.

The monastery's name is tied to the mountain: Armenian tradition explains Dizapayt as 'dizel payt', from the heaps of the slain burned on the summit after Sanesan's attack. The chapel holds khachkars, carved stone crosses whose fragments survive on the site. Leo of the Armenian historiography records Katarovank as the seat of the bishop of the Dizak district.

The location on the mountain provides wide views across the surrounding plains and the Aras River, making it a natural vantage point. Visitors should be prepared for steep terrain and wear sturdy shoes, as accessing the site requires some effort.

The monastery stands at more than 2,400 metres on the summit of Dizapayt Mountain (2,478 m), making it the highest monument in the region. Its Armenian name for the mountain, Dizapayt, comes from the story that King Sanesan piled the bodies of the 3,870 hermits he killed there and burned them, dizel meaning "to pile".