Ani
Ani (Armenian: Անի), known to Romans as Abnicum, is a ruined capital of medieval Armenia, now situated in the Turkish province of Kars, immediately south of the Turko-Armenian frontier, at an altitude of 4390 ft.. It is located near the Arpaçay Brook (a branch of the Araks River ("Aras" in Turkish) that constitutes the border between Armenia and Turkey, but is within Turkish borders.
History
In the tenth century the town of Ani was expanded into a major city by Ashot III, who made it the capital of Armenia under the Bagratid Dynasty in 961. When it was handed over to the Byzantine Empire in 1045, it was a populous city (with up to 100,000 inhabitants at its height), known traditionally as the "city with the 1001 churches". It was then occupied by the Seljuk Turks in 1064, coming under Turkmen sovereignty later. It was then taken five times by the Georgians between 1125 and 1209, by the Mongols in 1239, and its ruin was completed by an earthquake in 1319. It was slowly abandoned after the 14th century, becoming dominated by the Ottoman Empire and Turkey after 1534.
Archaeology
It was during a brief period of Russian domination (from 1878 to 1917) that scientific investigation of the site was made possible. The first excavations were conducted by the celebrated Georgian historian Nikolai Marr.
The city is renowned for its well-preserved ruins of medieval Armenian architecture, although the ruins are threatened by Turkish efforts to "rebuild" them, which are largely ignorant of the architectural continuity of the ruins. It is still surrounded by a double wall partly in ruins, and amongst the remains are a "patriarchal" church (or Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator) finished in 1010, two other churches (St. Patrick's Church, constructed 1034-1036 and The Arak'elto Church, built in 1031), both from the 11th century, a fourth, the Virgin Mary Cathedral, built in 1215, and a large Seljuk palace, probably built in 11th century.
See also
