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ANI: CAUCASIAN POMPEY
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 11 2013
11 November 2013 - 11:18am
Yana Vinetskaya exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The history of the monuments of Ani has several millennia, from
ancient Urartu. The flourishing city of Ani was reached in the tenth
and eleventh century, when Bagration dynasty chose it the capital
of the Armenian state and the place of their residence. According to
some accounts, the city's population at that time reached 100,000. The
preserved inscriptions mention the ancient names of streets, markets
and bridges. Flemish missionary Rubruck who visited Ani in the
thirteenth century, reported that the city had 1,000 churches.
But, alas, the prosperity was short - the future was preparing
difficult times for the Armenian capital. A whole avalanche of
invasions rolled across the land, sweeping and distorting the
cultural shoots that with untiring patience were nurtured by the
Armenian people.
At first the Byzantines inder Constantin Monomachos, then the Seljuks
and the Kurds consistently seized the rich Armenian capital. In the
twelth century, the struggle for the possession of Ani developed
between the Persians and Georgians. In 1239, Ani was conquered and
destroyed by the Mongols, and in 1319 a major earthquake completed the
work of invasions and permanently buried the ancient city underground.
A poor village remained where a lush capital used to stand, and
the ruins of palaces and churches were used for the erection of
wretched huts.Gradually, even these houses were abandoned, and Ani
was forgotten for a long time until the nineteenth century, when the
ruins attracted the attention of archaeologists. From 1878 to 1917,
the territory of Ani belonged to the Russian Empire. A new era began
for Ani, when connoisseur of Oriental History Professor Nikolai
Marr started the excavations with the support of the St. Petersburg
Academy of Sciences. Under his supervision, the excavations led to
the reconstruction of an entire historical culture, that was not
less interesting than the culture of Pompey. Numerous monuments and
everyday objects found in excavations made it possible to resurrect
an interesting picture of life. Thus, the excavations revealed
the water supply system of the tenth century, consisting of iron
pipes embedded in clay, and the inn of the twelth century, as well
asseveral churches. A traveler Henry Tasteven described his impression
of the site as follows: "Undoubtedly, the number of churches used to be
impressive, because I counted at least 10 well-preserved churches. The
remains of huge architectural structures: temples, palaces, acropolis,
baths, city walls, bridges - all testify to the fact that there was
a city with a large population."
In the early twentieth century an Archaeological Museum was created
on the territory of the settlement . This museum presented valuable
findings related to different historical periods. Despite the fact
that access to Ani was not easy, the museum grew in popularity -
in 1912, the museum was visited by 3,000 people, including foreigners.
However, the history of the museum was short - in 1918, the territory
was occupied by the Turks, the most valuable artifacts have been
removed and all that remained was looted and destroyed.
A century later, the fate of monuments of Ani provokes great concern.
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) placed Ani on its 1996, 1998, and 2000
Watch Lists of 100 Most Endangered Sites. In an October 2010 report
titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund identified
Ani as one of 12 worldwide sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable
loss and destruction, citing insufficient management and looting as
primary causes.[ At the same time, the ruins of the ancient Armenian
capital are among the three sites of historical heritage, which are
most at risk of extinction.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/society/47423.html
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 11 2013
11 November 2013 - 11:18am
Yana Vinetskaya exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The history of the monuments of Ani has several millennia, from
ancient Urartu. The flourishing city of Ani was reached in the tenth
and eleventh century, when Bagration dynasty chose it the capital
of the Armenian state and the place of their residence. According to
some accounts, the city's population at that time reached 100,000. The
preserved inscriptions mention the ancient names of streets, markets
and bridges. Flemish missionary Rubruck who visited Ani in the
thirteenth century, reported that the city had 1,000 churches.
But, alas, the prosperity was short - the future was preparing
difficult times for the Armenian capital. A whole avalanche of
invasions rolled across the land, sweeping and distorting the
cultural shoots that with untiring patience were nurtured by the
Armenian people.
At first the Byzantines inder Constantin Monomachos, then the Seljuks
and the Kurds consistently seized the rich Armenian capital. In the
twelth century, the struggle for the possession of Ani developed
between the Persians and Georgians. In 1239, Ani was conquered and
destroyed by the Mongols, and in 1319 a major earthquake completed the
work of invasions and permanently buried the ancient city underground.
A poor village remained where a lush capital used to stand, and
the ruins of palaces and churches were used for the erection of
wretched huts.Gradually, even these houses were abandoned, and Ani
was forgotten for a long time until the nineteenth century, when the
ruins attracted the attention of archaeologists. From 1878 to 1917,
the territory of Ani belonged to the Russian Empire. A new era began
for Ani, when connoisseur of Oriental History Professor Nikolai
Marr started the excavations with the support of the St. Petersburg
Academy of Sciences. Under his supervision, the excavations led to
the reconstruction of an entire historical culture, that was not
less interesting than the culture of Pompey. Numerous monuments and
everyday objects found in excavations made it possible to resurrect
an interesting picture of life. Thus, the excavations revealed
the water supply system of the tenth century, consisting of iron
pipes embedded in clay, and the inn of the twelth century, as well
asseveral churches. A traveler Henry Tasteven described his impression
of the site as follows: "Undoubtedly, the number of churches used to be
impressive, because I counted at least 10 well-preserved churches. The
remains of huge architectural structures: temples, palaces, acropolis,
baths, city walls, bridges - all testify to the fact that there was
a city with a large population."
In the early twentieth century an Archaeological Museum was created
on the territory of the settlement . This museum presented valuable
findings related to different historical periods. Despite the fact
that access to Ani was not easy, the museum grew in popularity -
in 1912, the museum was visited by 3,000 people, including foreigners.
However, the history of the museum was short - in 1918, the territory
was occupied by the Turks, the most valuable artifacts have been
removed and all that remained was looted and destroyed.
A century later, the fate of monuments of Ani provokes great concern.
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) placed Ani on its 1996, 1998, and 2000
Watch Lists of 100 Most Endangered Sites. In an October 2010 report
titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund identified
Ani as one of 12 worldwide sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable
loss and destruction, citing insufficient management and looting as
primary causes.[ At the same time, the ruins of the ancient Armenian
capital are among the three sites of historical heritage, which are
most at risk of extinction.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/society/47423.html