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ruined medieval Armenian city in Kars, Turkey, and UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Ani (Armenian: Անի) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia.
Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the Bagratuni Armenian kingdom that covered much of present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey. The iconic city was often referred to as the "City of 1,001 Churches," though the number was significantly less. To date, 50 churches, 33 cave chapels and 20 chapels have been excavated by archaeologists and historians. Ani stood on various trade routes and its many religious buildings, palaces, and sophisticated fortifications distinguished it from other contemporary urban centers in the Armenian kingdom. Among its most notable buildings was the Cathedral of Ani, which is associated with early examples of Gothic architecture and that scholars argue influenced the great cathedrals of Europe in the early gothic and Romanesque styles; its ribbed vaulting would not be seen in European cathedrals for at least another two centuries. At its height, Ani was one of the world's largest cities, with a population of perhaps 100,000, though given its limited area historians have cast doubt at this estimate.
Renowned for its splendor, Ani was sacked by the Mongols in 1236. Ani never recovered from a devastating 1319 earthquake and, more significantly, from the shifting of regional trade routes, and was abandoned by the 17th century. Ani is a widely recognized cultural, religious, and national heritage symbol for Armenians. According to Razmik Panossian, Ani is one of the most visible and 'tangible' symbols of past Armenian greatness and hence a source of pride. In 2016, it was added onto the UNESCO World Heritage List. After two decades of continuous international efforts, Ani Archaeological Site has transformed from a seat of conflict and geopolitical instability to a center of cultural tourism that might foster cultural exchange and deepening historical understanding.
The city took its name from the Armenian fortress-city and pre-Christian religious center of Ani-Kamakh located in the region of Daranaghi in Upper Armenia. Ani was also previously known as Khnamk, although historians are uncertain as to why it was called so; according to philologist and Armenologist Heinrich Hübschmann, this name has nothing to do with the ordinary Armenian verb khnamel ("to care for"). According to the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam: "A suggestion has been made that the town may owe its name to a temple of the Iranian goddess Anāhita (the Greek Anaďtis)". The Turkish government previously attempted to obscure the name of the town as Anı in order to give it a "more Turkish character".
The city is located on a triangular site, visually dramatic and naturally defensive, protected on its eastern side by the ravine of the Akhurian River and on its western side by the Bostanlar, or Tsaghkotsadzor, valley. The Akhurian is a branch of the Araks River and forms part of the currently closed border between Turkey and Armenia. The site is at an elevation of around 1,340 meters (4,400 ft).
The site is located in the Turkish province of Kars. Kars is currently an important center for local livestock trades and cheese production. It is linked by railroad with many important Turkish cities and is also considered to be an important military site due to its position near Turkey's border with Armenia. Ani is about 400 m (1,300 ft) from the Turkey-Armenia border. Across the border is the Armenian village of Kharkov, part of Shirak Province.
Armenian chroniclers such as Yeghishe and Ghazar Parpetsi first mentioned Ani in the 5th century. They described it as a strong fortress built on a hilltop and a possession of the Armenian Kamsarakan dynasty.
By the early 9th century, the former territories of the Kamsarakans in Arsharunik and Shirak (including Ani) had been incorporated into the territories of the Armenian Bagratuni dynasty. The Bagratuni dynasty was the second notable dynasty in the Armenian kingdom. They secured their independence from the Arabs near the end of the 9th century after being controlled by the Persians and Umayyad Caliphate for many years up to then. The king of Bagratuni Armenia that led to this independence was Ashot I. He had a short-lived position as the king of the Bagratuni dynasty, however, the impact of securing the freedom of the dynasty would last for many years. His son, Smbat I, ruled directly after he did. The Bagratuni territory consisted of many sub-kingdoms, the most notable of which were the Kingdom of Kars, Lori, Syunik, Artsakh, and Vaspurakan.
The Bagratuni dynasty patronised some of the most notable works of art and architecture in Armenia's history, one of which being the Cathedral of Ani. The leader of the Bagratuni dynasty, Ashot Msaker (Ashot the Meateater) (806–827) was given the title of ishkhan (prince) of Armenia by the Caliphate in 804. The Bagratunis had their first capital at Bagaran, some 40 km (25 mi) south of Ani, before moving it to Shirakavan, some 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Ani, and then transferring it to Kars in the year 929. In 961, king Ashot III (953–77) transferred the capital from Kars to Ani. Ani expanded rapidly during the reign of King Smbat II (977–89). In 992 the Armenian Catholicosate moved its seat to Ani. In the 10th century the population was perhaps 50,000–100,000. Scholars conventionally put the population of Ani at around 100,000. Lucy Der Manuelian noted that the figure, first reported by Matthew of Edessa, has been questioned by modern scholars, but Nikolai Marr, who excavated the site, noted that "most of the people probably lived just outside the walls." Hakob Manandyan noted that Ani's population was "unquestionably more than that of contemporary cities in Western Europe."
Ani did not lie along any previously important trade routes, but because of its size, power, and wealth it became an important trading hub. Its primary trading partners were the Byzantine Empire, the Persian Empire, the Arabs, as well as smaller nations in southern Russia and Central Asia. Its renown was such that it was known as the "city of forty gates" and the "city of a thousand and one churches." Ani also became the site of the royal mausoleum of Bagratuni kings.
Ani attained the apogee of its power during the long reign of King Gagik I (989–1020). After his death his two sons quarreled over the succession. The eldest son, Hovhannes-Smbat (1020–41), gained control of Ani while his younger brother, Ashot IV (1020–40), controlled other parts of the Bagratuni kingdom. Hovhannes-Smbat, fearing that the Byzantines would attack his now-weakened kingdom, made the Byzantine Emperor Basil II his heir. When Hovhannes-Smbat died in 1041, Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian, claimed sovereignty over Ani. The new king of Ani, Gagik II (1042–45), opposed this and several Byzantine armies sent to capture Ani were repulsed. However, in 1046 Ani surrendered to the Byzantines, after Gagik was invited to Constantinople and detained there, and at the instigation of pro-Byzantine elements among its population. A Byzantine governor was installed in the city.
In 1064, a large Seljuk army under Alp Arslan attacked Ani; after a siege of 25 days, they captured the city and slaughtered its population. An account of the sack and massacres in Ani is given by the Turkish historian Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, who quotes an eyewitness saying:
The army entered the city, massacred its inhabitants, pillaged and burned it, leaving it in ruins and taking prisoner all those who remained alive...The dead bodies were so many that they blocked the streets; one could not go anywhere without stepping over them. And the number of prisoners was not less than 50,000 souls. I was determined to enter the city and see the destruction with my own eyes. I tried to find a street in which I would not have to walk over the corpses; but that was impossible.
In 1072, the Seljuks sold Ani to the Shaddadids, a Muslim Kurdish dynasty. The Shaddadids generally pursued a conciliatory policy towards the city's overwhelmingly Armenian and Christian population and married several members of the Bagratuni nobility. Whenever the Shaddadid governance became too intolerant, however, the population would appeal to the Christian Kingdom of Georgia for help. The Georgians captured Ani five times between 1124 and 1209: in 1124, 1161, 1174, and 1199. The first three times, it was recaptured by the Shaddadids.
In 1199, Queen Tamar of the Georgian Bagrationis captured Ani and in 1201 granted the governorship of the city to the generals Zakare and Ivane. Supported by Tamar, Zakare's new dynasty — the Zakarians — considered themselves to be the successors to the Armenian Bagratunis. Prosperity quickly returned to Ani during the Georgian Golden Age. The city's defences were strengthened and many new churches were constructed.
Zakare was succeeded by his son Shahnshah. In 1217 and 1220, the city came under attack from the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum whose forces destroyed and pillaged the city however they did not occupy it.
The Mongols unsuccessfully besieged Ani in 1226, but in 1236 they captured and sacked the city, massacring large numbers of its population. During Mongol invasion of Georgia in 1238-39 Queen Rusudan had to evacuate Tbilisi for Kutaisi, leaving eastern Georgia in the hands of atabeg Avag Zakarian, Shahnshah Zakarian, and Kakhetian lord, Egarslan Bakurtsikheli. The Mongol general Toghta was sent by Chaghatai to assault Avag's troops at the fortress of Kayan. After some resistance, Avag surrendered, and had to agree to pay tribute to the Mongols, and to provide troops to join the Mongol army. The combined troops went on to Ani, the Armenian capital being defended by Shahnshah Zakarian, but the city was eventually captured and destroyed. Following this disastrous campaign of 1238–1239, the Armenians and Georgians made peace with the Mongols and agreed to pay them tribute and supply them with troops.
Ilkhanid rule continued uninterrupted until the death of the last Ilkhanid emperor Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan in 1335. Following the decline of the Il-Khanate, during the later part of the reign of George V (between 1319 and 1335) and the reign of the later king Bagrat V, the city of Ani again became part of the Kingdom of Georgia. From 1335, various Mongol factions vied for power, successively occupying Zakarid Armenia and minting their coinage in Ani, while maintaining effective control on the Kingdom of Georgia. First were the Jalayirid Muhammad Khan, followed by the Chobanids with their puppet rulers Suleiman Khan and Anushirwan, again followed by the Turco-Mongol Jalayirids. The Jalayirids ruled Armenia until the conquests of Timur from 1386.
Between 1386 and 1404, the Turco-Mongol forces of Timur raided the countries of Transcaucasia from their bases in northern Iran. Tiflis was finally conquered by Timur in 1404, and King George VII was forced to recognize Timurid suzerainty. Armenia too, which had been under Mongol Jalayirid control, was incorporated into the Timurid realm. Tamerlane captured Ani in the 1380s. On his death the Kara Koyunlu gained control and made Ani their capital, but transferred their capital to Yerevan. In 1441 the Armenian Catholicosate did the same.
The Persian Safavids then ruled Ani until it became part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1579. A small town remained within its walls at least until the middle of the seventeenth century, but the site was entirely abandoned by 1735 when the last monks left the monastery in the Virgin's Fortress or Kizkale.
"Of true Armenian architecture the finest and most characteristic specimens are to be found in the ruined city of Ani..."
In the first half of the 19th century, European travelers discovered Ani for the outside world, publishing their descriptions in academic journals and travel accounts. The private buildings were little more than heaps of stones but grand public buildings and the city's double wall were preserved and reckoned to present "many points of great architectural beauty". Ohannes Kurkdjian produced a stereoscopic image of Ani in the second half of the 19th century.
In 1878, the Ottoman Empire's Kars region—including Ani—was incorporated into the Russian Empire's Transcaucasia region. In 1892 the first archaeological excavations were conducted at Ani, sponsored by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and supervised by the Georgian archaeologist and orientalist Nicholas Marr (1864–1934). Marr's excavations at Ani resumed in 1904 and continued yearly until 1917. Large sectors of the city were professionally excavated, numerous buildings were uncovered and measured, the finds were studied and published in academic journals, guidebooks for the monuments and the museum were written, and the whole site was surveyed for the first time. Emergency repairs were also undertaken on those buildings that were most at risk of collapse. A museum was established to house the tens of thousands of items found during the excavations. This museum was housed in two buildings: the Minuchihr mosque, and a purpose-built stone building. Armenians from neighboring villages and towns also began to visit the city on a regular basis, and there was even talk by Marr's team of building a school for educating the local Armenian children, building parks, and planting trees to beautify the site.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Ani”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.