Cathedral of Ani

The Cathedral of Ani (Armenian: Անիի մայր տաճար, Anii mayr tačar; Turkish: Ani Katedrali) is the largest standing building in Ani, the capital city of medieval Bagratid Armenia, located in present-day eastern Turkey, on the border with modern Armenia. Its construction was completed in the early 11th century by the architect Trdat and it was the seat of the Catholicos, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, for nearly half a century.

In 1064, following the Seljuk conquest of Ani, the cathedral was converted into a mosque. It later returned to being used as an Armenian church. It eventually suffered damage in a 1319 earthquake when its conical dome collapsed. Subsequently, Ani was gradually abandoned and the church fell into disrepair. The north-western corner of the church was heavily damaged by a 1988 earthquake.

The cathedral is considered the largest and most impressive structure in Ani. It is a domed basilica with a rectangular plan, though the dome and most of its supporting drum are now missing. Its use of pointed arches and cluster piers has been widely cited by scholars to have possibly influenced, or at least preceded, Gothic architecture. The cathedral, along with the entire site of Ani, was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2016.

In modern Armenian, the cathedral is usually referred to as Անիի մայր տաճար, Anii mayr tačar and in Turkish as Ani Katedrali, both meaning "cathedral of Ani". Historically, however, it was known in Armenian as Անիի Կաթողիկե, Anii Kat'oghike. The cathedral is also known as Holy Mother of God Church of Ani (Armenian: Անիի Սուրբ Աստվածածնի եկեղեցի, Anii Surb Astvatsatsni yekeghetsi; Turkish: Meryem Ana Katedral) and the Great/Grand Cathedral of Ani (Մեծ Կաթողիկե, Mets Kat'oghike; Büyük Katedral).

Following more than two centuries of Arab rule, Armenia gained independence under the Bagratid (Bagratuni) dynasty around 885. King Ashot III made Ani capital in 961, after which the city emerged as a prosperous urban center with 100,000 residents at its height. The construction of the cathedral began in 989. The architect Trdat was commissioned by Bagratid King Smbat II to build a cathedral in the new capital of the Armenian kingdom. The construction was halted when Smbat died in 989, according to an inscription on the south wall. Meanwhile, Trdat was hired to direct the repairs of the dome of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, which had collapsed in an earthquake. Trdat returned from Constantinople in 993. The construction was continued and completed by Queen Katranide (Katramide), the wife of King Gagik I, Smbat's brother and successor. It was completed either in 1001 or 1010. According to Christina Maranci the generally accepted date of completion is 1001, but it may have extended until 1010. The contradiction is based on the reading of the inscription of the cathedral's northern wall. The cathedral served as the seat of the catholicos, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church from its foundation in 1001 until the mid-11th century (1046 or 1051). Thus, for around half a century Ani was both the religious and secular (political) center of Armenia.

A silver cross originally stood on its conical dome and a crystal chandelier, bought by King Smbat II from India, hang in the cathedral. In the 1010s, during the reign of Catholicos Sarkis I, a mausoleum dedicated to the Hripsimean virgins was erected next to the cathedral. The mausoleum was built on some of the remnants of the virgins brought from Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin). In the 1040s–1050s inscriptions were left on the cathedral's eastern and western walls about urban projects, such as restoration of defensive walls, installation of water pipes and easing of the tax burden on the residents of Ani.

Ani surrendered to the Byzantine Empire in 1045, who held it until 1064, when the city was captured by the Seljuks, led by Sultan Alp Arslan. According to Turkish sources, Alp Arslan and his soldiers performed their first prayer in Ani at the cathedral. Consequently, the cathedral was converted into a mosque, known as Fethiye Mosque (Turkish: Fethiye Camii). Official Turkish sources often refer to it by that name. According to Matthew of Edessa, its silver cross was removed by the Seljuks and transferred to a mosque in Nakhchivan, where it was placed under the threshold, destined to be trodden upon. A crescent was placed on its dome according to Vardan Areveltsi.

In 1124 a crescent was placed on the cathedral's dome by the Shaddadid amir of Ani. In response, Ani's Armenians appealed to King David IV of Georgia to capture Ani, after which the cathedral returned to Christian usage. Vardan Areveltsi celebrated the brief reversal. Only two years later, in 1126, Ani came under the control of the Shaddadids. During the 12th century historians Mkhitar Anetsi, Samuel Anetsi and philosopher Hovhannes Sarkavag served at the cathedral in various capacities. Mkhitar was an elder priest at the cathedral in the second half of the century. In 1198 Ani was conquered by the Armenian Zakarids princes, under whose control the cathedral prospered. In 1213 the wealthy merchant Tigran Honents restored the cathedral's steps.