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Index

Armenia

The Urartu Civilisation

Victory for Independence

Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne

Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids

The Acceptance of Christianity

Defending Christianity

Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty

Cilicia - the New Armenia

Armenia Under Turanian Rule

The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

The Eastern Question

Russia in the Caucasus

The Armenian Question

Battle on Two Fronts

Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians

The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I

The First World War

The Resurrection of Armenia

Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

Eastern Armenia

Western Armenia

"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)

"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)

The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia

Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917

Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)

War and Independence (April-May, 1918)

The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia

The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)

In conclusion

Soviet Armenia

The Second Independent Republic of Armenia

Epilogue

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Gagik, following the footsteps of his predecessors, devoted his efforts to building churches and increasing the number of the religious buildings and charitable institutions. During his reign, Armenian architecture developed at an astonishing pace, a progress mirrored in other areas of national importance.

Alongside Bagratouni Armenia, Kars Armenia continued to develop as well, blossoming during this period. The son of Moushegh, King Abas (984-1024) transformed his capital, the city of Kars, into a great Armenian cultural centre, to such a degree that the youth, from all over Armenia came to Kars to study philosophy, literature and religion. Tournebize writes: "This prince, who had devoted his whole youth to indolence and pleasure, and did not seem at all to fit the role of a glorious regent, as soon as he sat on the throne, was transformed into another human being. He made up for his earlier time wasting, becoming the protector of literature and art and creating a small Athena of his capital." 50

The City of Ani

The real centre of Armenia was undoubtedly located in the Bagratouni kingdom, the magnificent city of Ani, which also has been called "The city of forty gates" and "The city of 1001 churches". 51

The city of Ani was located by the Akhurian River (Arpa-chai), which protected the city from east to south. From north to east the city was defended by a high wall with several guard-towers and fortifications, while in the south-west the city bordered on the Valley of Flowers. Ani, with its countless palaces and religious buildings which were decorated with beautiful mosaics and inscriptions, and due to its high-cultural civilization, according to W. S. Davis, was "truly a street which opened from the palace in the Christian west towards Asia." 53

This city, which since the foundation of Bagratouni Armenia had been revered as a sacred city, was also the setting for the coronation of the first Bagratouni kings. When Ashot III transferred his capital to Ani, the city became the true heart of Armenia. Some years later, the religious leaders of the country and the Catholicos moved to Ani as well (previously having moved from the city of Dvin to the island of Akhtamar in Van Lake in 934).

Jacques de Morgan writes: "In Europe we have some cities, around which there are still walls and fortifications left from the Middle Ages. We can, for example, mention the three cities of Avignon, Aiguesmortes and Carcassonne, in southern France, but the panoramas of none of these is comparable with the view over the city of Ani, given the deep impression which this city has on the viewer, a city which has disappeared in great silence and loneliness and still bears the deep wounds which it received during battles. During the Bagratouni dynasty Ani was a great and beautiful city, decorated with magnificent churches, palaces and beautiful fortresses, built of many-coloured volcanic stones. The cathedral of the city and the churches dedicated to the apostles St Étienne and St Grigor Illuminator were the most important buildings of the city, but the number of churches was so high that its population used to swear by the 1001 churches of Ani. The ruins of these buildings are still there, while the houses have disappeared beneath the debris of the city. This city, which one cannot visit without being deeply moved, was not the fruit of one king or regent's work, but the result of the joint efforts of the Bagratouni kings. These kings enjoyed the ornaments of their capital, but Ani was also the result of the combined efforts of all Armenians who had unconditionally donated gifts to the city. Ani is the symbol of the Armenia which fell a long ago. The previous generations had seen the cities of Artaxata, Tigranakert and Dvin and several of the beautiful cities of Armenia, but these capitals had disappeared one after the other, or fallen into foreign hands. By raising Ani to the level of the greatest of the capitals, the Bagratouni kings managed to create a centre and an institution for the Armenian people, something which they believed would last for ever. Ani had been transformed into the heart of Armenia." 58

According to Tchobanian, the Bagratouni had created "a magnificent Christian cultural and artistic institution and an Asiatic sister for Byzantine."