Written by Gevork Nazaryan
he history of Ani began far away from its present day location near
Kars. Ani owes much to its prehistory and name from the ancient Armenian
city of Ani, which was located in the Bardzr Haik or Upper Armenia
province of Greater Armenia. The city of Ani located in Upper Armenia
was a place of worship for the gods of Armenia and as well as classical
gods of Greek mythology. On the current location of Ani on the Left Bank
of the River Akhuryan, archaeologists found remains of early bronze
culture and as well as burial shrines in forms of hilltops dating back
to VIII th and VII th century B.C. Ani is first mentioned by Armenian
chroniclers Yeghishe and Ghazar Parpetsi in the V th century A.D. as a
strong and impregnable castle built on a hilltop in possession of the
Noble House of Kamsarakans. The castle was built at a strategically
fortified point near a chain of mountain cliffs which formed a natural
obstacle and a barrier against possible sieges. From the north the
castle was fortified by thick and long walls. The shifting of possession
of the city of Ani took place in the IX th century A.D. when Ashot
Bagratuni, the ruler of Armenia, bought the castle along with its nearby
estates of Arsharunik and Shirak, from the House of Kamsarakans. Under
the rule of the increasingly growing in power Bagratuni, who by the late
IX th century had liberated Armenia from the Arab rule and restored the
Armenian Monarchy, Ani became an expanding and ever growing and
populated city. In 961 A.D. Bagratunis having seen the rapid growth of
Ani and its strategically good location proclaimed Ani as their new
capital and moved from the old capital of Kars to Ani. In 964 A. D. King
Ashot III renewed and built new larger walls, thus giving Ani a more
formidable look. By the end of X th century, because of its crossroad
location of merchant caravans and flow of population from the rural
areas of Armenia, Ani became a large city with an international fame for
its famous craftsmen and artisans, whose pottery was known throughout
the Byzantine Empire and as well as other parts of the medieval world.
Merchants and craftsmen flocked to Ani from old cities such as Dvin and
Kars, which by now begone to give in to the competition with Ani for the
control of trade routes and as well as the right to be called "The
Mother City of Armenia" or Armenia's capital. In 989 A.D. to assure and
to show the grandeur of Ani King Smbat Bagratuni built the second layer
of walls around the city making the city virtually invulnerable to an
enemy conquest from outside. Many of the noble houses and knights loyal
to Bagratuni kings built their mansions and palaces such as the Palace
of Baron, the great city walls of Smbatashen and Ashotashen which had
small chapel towers which served also held mass and gathered the
faithful of the city. New marketplaces, taverns and workshops were built
to house and control the flow of traffic of the huge city. New churches
and monasteries were also built by the finest craftsmen and architects
of Armenia who gained fame by the building of the churches such as the
splendid and grandeur Church of Gregory the Illuminator built by Tigran
Honents, The Church of the Savior and the Beautiful Mother Church of Ani
or St. Mary's Church which many travelers called the Jewel of Caucasus.
The construction of the church began during the reign of Smbat II in the
year 898 A.D. and was completed during the reign of Gagik I in the year
1001 A.D. by famous architect Trdat, who also rebuilt the dome of the
famous Church of Aya Sofia of Constantinople by the invitations of the
Byzantine Emperor. The church was covered by beautiful frescos and
ornaments from the motifs of the Holy Bible and as well as motifs from
the history Bagratuni rule. It was one of the biggest architectural
buildings in Ani and it is still the church to this day has not lost its
majestic and astonishing beauty. The city had a numerous of other
churches and chapels in order to fulfill the spiritual life of tens of
thousands of devout Armenian Christians, who lived in the city. Churches
such as the Church of Apostles, the church of the Holy Pastor Jesus
Christ, the church of Because of the great number of churches that were
in the city, Ani became known as "The City of One Thousand and One
Churches". Many of the architectural marvels of Ani were lost and buried
under deep layers of dirt, until the excavation and mappings that took
place by famous Armenian architectural historian, T. Toramanyan and as
well as distinguished historian, archaeologist and a linguist N. Marr,
who first began excavations in Ani from in 1892 and organized another
expedition in the year 1904, the publishing of the detailed findings of
Toramanyan in late XIX th end early XX th century were greatly studied
by famous professor of Vienna University, Joseph Strizhigovski, who
greatly contributed in restoring and reviving the lost treasure
monuments and architerctural marvels of Ani with his detailed sketches
of the buildings the way they looked in the glory days. of the great
city of Ani, during the Bagratuni reign. Ani had commercial ties with
the cities of Byzantium, Persia, Southern Russia and Central Asia. Fine
china was imported from China, silk and expensive and exotic crystals
from places and countries such as Mesopotamia, Byzantium and Egypt. Ani
also had strong commercial ties with the cities of Cilicia, which had
considerable number of Armenian population. Armenian fine rugs made of
soft wool were famous throughout the world for their beauty and quality.
Armenian jewelers made beautiful and delicate necklaces, rings and
earrings of precious stone and rubies of the finest quality and
elegance.
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The Great City of Ani: Early Origins, Growth and Expansion |
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