Forty years ago, when Ani could only be seen from this side of the border, Karen Matevosyan began researching the written heritage of the medieval city. He didn’t even know whether he would ever have the opportunity to see and feel in real life what he had only seen in pictures and read about in books. Over the years, he has visited Ani twice, and after seeing the city in real life his perceptions and feelings have changed.

In December 2024, his book “Ani the capital of medieval Armenia and its inhabitants” was published, which presents the culture, the history and the life of people who lived in Ani, the capital of medieval Armenia.

Karen Matevosyan

Photo: Mediamax

Head of the Department for the Study of the Scriptoria of Matenadaran, the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Karen Matevosyan told Mediamax about his work and the importance of saving from destruction the monasteries that are considered parts of Ani.

Talking about Ani with facts

Forty years ago I began studying the written heritage, the art and the culture of Ani. During those years, I have defended my PhD and doctoral theses, written several dozen scientific articles, and published two books: “The church life and the manuscript heritage of Ani”, “Ani and the People of Ani”. The edited version of this book in English, which is very important to me, was published in the last days of 2024 with some additions.

Photo: Ulu Unligli

During the years of research, I have used the written heritage of historians and colophons (a brief inscription placed at the end of the manuscript containing details of its publication, such as the place of publication, the publisher, the date of publication. I have also studied manuscripts and lithographic inscriptions written in Ani. There is also a lot of information about Ani in frescoes, miniatures, and the inscriptions of Horomos, Bagnayr, and Arjoarch monasteries.

Karen Matevosyan

Photo: Mediamax

In 2016, Ani was inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, which has significantly heightened interest in this historical city. Turkish and Georgian scholars, various institutions began to publish books about Ani, each viewing the city “from their own window”, and not only in their own languages, but also in English. As a result, in some works Ani is presented to the world as a Seljuk city, in others - as Georgian. It may sound boastful, but this is the first time that so much information is revealed about Ani in English. There have been publications in different languages before, but not quite as many. This book provides extensive information. Everything in the book is documented: historical data, architecture, information on manuscripts, everything is referenced. An unbiased scholar from any nation cannot ignore these facts.

The book was published under the auspices of Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, and the English translation and publication were made possible through the generous contribution of “The Clara Margossian Trust”. The book was translated into English by Harutyun Khudanyan, a researcher at the Institute of History of the National Academy Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, and Sona Baloyan, a researcher at Matenadaran. The digital version of the book is publicly available on Internet, and printed copies can be purchased at Matenadaran.

The luxurious and sinful life of the people of Ani

The current publication also aims to draw attention to the monasteries around Ani: Horomos, Bagnayr, Arjoarch, which were closely connected with Ani in the Middle Ages. These monasteries are on the verge of destruction. The surrounding Kurdish population simply tore down the walls and took away the stones. The main idea of the book is that these monasteries, which were part of Ani in the Middle Ages, should also be included into the World Heritage List and protected so that they do not disappear completely. The monastery of Horomos has been preserved to some extent, because it is a closed zone, but the Arjoarch Monastery has been completely destroyed and can only be restored through excavations.

Photo: Mediamax

Those who read this book will understand who the citizens of the medieval city were. The book also features a detailed list of the citizens of Ani, by name and profession, compensating a total of 785 names, including Muslims and Georgians, although these are far and few in between. The citizens of Ani were an interesting people, they had a well-established urban culture, and some customs were also preserved among their descendants. Some of the residents of Ani migrated to Crimea, Poland, and some went to Cilicia.

Ani was a rich city and, obviously, the citizens of Ani gave in to the temptations and pleasures of secular life. Historians accuse the residents of Ani of a luxurious, sinful lifestyle. Aristakes Lastiverts says that “the city was mired in sin.” The historians were mostly monks and for them secular life, performances, festivities, and delicious dishes were unacceptable.

The population of Ani was predominantly composed of artisans and merchants, and the majority of the streets in the city were named after the artisanal and commercial rows that prevailed there, for example, Darbno (Blacksmith’s) Street, Kerpasagorts (Silk weaver’s) Street, Koshkakarots (Shoemakers’) Street, Gdakkarots (Hatters’) Street. These names have been preserved only in Armenian lithographs. Our historians provide scant information about the life of the people of Ani, you have to try to draw conclusions from separate fragments, for example miniatures. There is a book illustrated in the Bekhents‘ Monastery of Ani known as the “Haghbat Gospel”. It portrays the citizens of Ani in their typical clothing. For example, there is a young man named Sheranik, holding a stick over his shoulder with a fish hanging from it, wearing a very interesting taraz, Armenian traditional clothing. The manuscript also features a young man bringing wine, clergymen in the clothes pertaining to that period, a musician sitting under a tree playing the saz, and a couple representing the urban class.

Photo: Mediamax

In the socio-economic sense, Ani also played an important role in the overall development process. Had the Mongol invasions and other events that affected Ani’s fate not occurred, the bourgeois changes that took place in Europe would have possibly started here. If nobility was of utmost importance until the 13th century, already in the 13th century it was no longer the case. For example, Tigran Honents was not a nobleman. He was a rich citizen and wealthy person, a money lender, who was involved in various trade deals. He built a church that surpassed in its splendor anything that others had built. Orientalist and Armenologist Nikolai Marr describes Tigran Honents as “the first Armenian bourgeois.”

To see Ani 3 times and to study it for 40 years

Decades ago, when I started studying Ani, it was during the Soviet era, the borders were closed, and it never crossed my mind that I would visit Ani one day. I started off my work by studying the materials I had at hand: manuscripts, miniatures.

In the feelings and imagination of our people Ani has a halo over it. No other city compares to it, not only because Ani is on the other side of the border, but probably also because of the fate the city had suffered. It was a magnificent city, adorned with huge walls and churches, which was then abandoned. Add to this the tragic fate of the last king of Ani, Gagik II, and Ani has been sanctified by our people.

Karen Matevosyan in Khtzkonk, not far from Ani

Photo: from personal archive

I first visited Ani in 2012, it was a one-day visit, but for me it was very important. In 2013, I participated in an international workshop called “Ani in Context” sponsored by the Norwegian Embassy in Turkey, with the participation of experts from France, United States, Norway, Serbia, Russia and Armenia. We had the opportunity not only to visit Ani but also the Horomos, Bagnayr and Arjoarich monasteries. We were not allowed to enter Maghasberd however, and just came close to it. At the end of the workshop, we filed a reference-proposal with the Turkish Ministry of Culture to take measures to save these monuments.

Photo: Mediamax

The visits were extremely important, and I looked at Ani with different eyes afterwards. Historians testify that when the enemy approaches the city or something happens there, “the city of Ani roars.” During my visits, I understood what they meant. The Akhuryan River flows through a large gorge, and the noise of the city echoes in the gorge and turns into a roar. There are things that you cannot imagine if you are not there.

It has been proven that Ani is an Armenian city

When I published my previous book “Ani and the people of Ani” in Armenian, there was no need to explain what Ani stood for, but when the English version was released I changed the title to “Ani, the capital of Medieval Armenia and its Inhabitants,” so that those who buy the book would immediately understand what kind of city Ani is.

There is an irony that we have to prove that Ani is an Armenian city. Unfortunately, we have to admit that sometimes politics interferes with science so much that nothing remains of the science itself. Therefore, even axioms have to be proven, and it should be done with facts.

Karen Matevosyan

Photo: Mediamax

My 40-year-long study of Ani had different phases, each of which was summarized in an article or a book; when something new would emerge in the process, a new source or a monument, a new stage of study would begin. My work does not end with this publication either, if something new comes up, I will gladly continue the work again.

Ani Khchoyan

Photos: Agape Grigoryan