the Persians, then the Seleu-
cids, the Parthians, and the
Romans. But as these differ-
ent empires rose and fell, Ar-
menian identity prevailed.
Christianity became a
central part of Armenian
history when it was still a
young faith. The religion
took hold and Christian
Armenia existed alongside
the Byzantines, the Sassa-
nians, and then the Arab-
Muslims.
In the 10th century the
Bagratid dynasty rose to
power in northern Arme-
nia. King Ashot III (952-977)
chose Ani as his royal cap-
ital. Between 977 and 989
his successor, Smabat II,constructed its double,
northern walls, crowned
with round towers. Trade
routes making up the Silk
Road shifted to pass through
the city. Flush with wealth,
the rulers started to build
more churches.
One of the first, the
Church of St. Gregory of the
Abughamrents, was built as
a private chapel for the pow-
erful Pahlavuni family. Like
many of Ani’s churches, its
location was purposefully
chosen so it could be seen
far away from the city.
As Ani thrived under
the early 11th-century king
Gagik I, more churches were
built from the local basaltstone, which varies in color
from red to yellow to black.
Ani’s imposing cathedral,
built by the great Armenian
architect Trdat, and three
other churches, rose high
above the city walls of Ani
in the first half of the 11th
century. The dome of one of
these, the Church of the Ho-
ly Redeemer, was supported
on an entirely circular drum
and housed a fragment of
the True Cross.
In 1064 the Seljuks at-
tacked. From then on, Ani
was increasingly controlled
by outsiders, including the
Muslim Shaddadid dynas-
ty, under whose rule Ani’s
late 11th-century mosque ofManuchihr was built. Chris-
tian rule resumed under the
Georgian kingdom, during
which more churches rose,
including that of St. Gregory
of Tigran Honents in 1215.
Later in the 13th centu-
ry, Ani was sacked by the
Mongols, and decline set in.
Trade routes shifted away,
and commodities and com-
merce went with them. In
1319 an earthquake badly
damaged the city. After a
period under Safavid Per-
sian rule, the city was of-
ficially absorbed into the
Ottoman Empire in the
16th century. Ani was lat-
er abandoned and became a
ghost town.Ahead of Its Time
ANI’S CATHEDRAL was completed in A.D. 1001 by Trdat the Architect (who also reconstructed the damaged
dome of the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople). Its ribbed vaulting would not be seen in European
cathedrals until at least two centuries later. During Ani’s sacking by the Seljuks in 1064, it was converted
into a mosque; but returned to Christian usage in 1124. Its dome was destroyed in the earthquake of 1319.JANE SWEENEY/AGE FOTOSTOCK92 MARCH/APRIL 2020DISCOVERIES