National Geographic History - 03.2020 - 04.2020

time and devastation have
left more heavy strokes.”
In 1839 British Army
captain Richard Wilbra-
ham marveled at the solid-
ity of Ani’s defenses and
the presence of Christian
iconography. “The sacred
symbol of Christianity
is introduced in various
places,” he observed. “Huge
blocks of blood-red stone,
let into the masonry of
the tower, form gigantic
crosses, which have defied
the hand of the destroy-

ing Moslem [sic].” Despite

these glimmers of scholarly

interest, time and weath-

er continued to take their

toll on Ani. Several more

dec ades would pass before

archaeologists arrived to

carry out a formal survey.

New Capital, Old Nation

The medieval kingdom of

Armenia once extended far

beyond the modern bound-

aries of today’s nation. In

ancient times these lands

came under the control of

IN THE 10TH CENTURY the Bagratid dynasty laid

the foundations of an extensive kingdom in

eastern Anatolia. In 961 King Ashot III (below,

in a modern statue from Gyumri) made Ani

ROYAL METROPOLIS

VLADIMIR SMIRNOV/GETTY IMAGES

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 91

his capital. He improved

the fifth-century

fortifications on the

site, creating a city

to showcase the

architectural

glories of Chris-

tian Armenia.