Ani was first mentioned by the 5th-century Armenian historians Yeghishé and Ghazar Parpetsi. In 885, Armenia’s independent statehood was restored, and Ashot I Bagratid was proclaimed king of the Armenians. Ani became the capital of Armenia in 961. Worship structures brought glory and recognition to the city. In written sources, Ani was mentioned as “a great city”, “capital city and “universal city”. In folk legends, Ani has remained as a city of a thousand and one churches. After the decline of the Kingdom of the Bagratids, in the period between 1045 and

1199, now and then, Ani appeared under the hegemony of the Byzantines, the Seljuks and the Shaddadids. In 1236, the Mongols captured and destroyed Ani. The greater part of the inhabitants had to flee in large masses to foreign countries: Crimea, Galicia, Poland, Southern Russia and elsewhere.

The Exhibition presents:

• unique photographs of masterpieces of Armenian architecture of the 7th-14th centuries printed from glass plates, made during the excavations in Ani from 1892 to 1917: walls, towers, bridges, palaces, cathedrals, churches, fortresses, examples of sculpture
• priceless artefacts of Ani’s material culture: censers, crosses, candle-sticks, lecterns, highly valued specimens of decorative-applied art (made of faïence, glass, metal, clay and bone).