Ani Ruins

The medieval city of Ani combines residential, religious and military structures built over the centuries by Christian and then Islamic dynasties, and the city flourished in the 10th and 11th centuries AD when it became the capital of the medieval Armenian kingdom of Bagratids, and benefited from controlling one branch of the Silk Road. It also maintained its position under Byzantine, Seljuk and Georgian sovereignty as an important crossroads for trade caravans. The Mongol invasion and devastating earthquake in 1319 marked the beginning of the city's decline. Today, the site provides a comprehensive overview of the development of medieval architecture by having traces and examples of all the different architectural innovations. The region was inhabited approximately between the seventh and thirteenth centuries AD, and the archaeological site of Ani was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016.