ANNI, a ruined city in the
Kars district of Turkish-Armenia, is situated
on the right bank of the Arpa, a feeder of the
Arases, in 40° 25' N. lat., 43° 34' E. long.,
at a distance of about 65 miles N.W. from Erivan.
It was founded in the 6th century, and became the
residence of the Armenian kings from the 8th
century till the year 1064, when it was taken and
ravaged by Alp Arslan. The Armenian patriarchs
also resided in Anni from 993 to 1064. The town
stood upon an area terminating on two sides in
abrupt and rocky declivities ; on the south is a
deep ravine, in the bottom of which the Arpa
flows : the area is open towards the north, on
which side it is defended by a massive wall
flanked with numerous towers. The towers are
remarkable for the gigantic crosses formed by
huge blocks of red sandstone let into the
masonry. The walls, towers, and churches are in
good preservation ; so much so, that at a
distance the city does not seem deserted. Besides
the buildings named there are several baths, a
mosque, and a palace. All the public buildings
display much splendour and architectural beauty,
and the fretwork of the arches is very rich. Some
of the churches are decorated with rude
wall-paintings representing scriptural and
legendary subjects. There are inscriptions on
most of the buildings chiefly in Armenian, but
some are Turkish. The private houses of Anni are
supposed to have been of an humble description,
as none of them are left standing, and the whole
area on which they stood is covered merely with
mounds of loose stones. The city continued to be
inhabited till A.d. 1319, when its ruin was
completed by an earthquake. (Wilbraham's Travels
in the Tram-Caucasian Provinces of Rustía.)
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