Beautiful Illustrations of Ani’s Ruins from an Old French Book (1861)

Below are published illustrations of the ruins of the medieval Armenian capital Ani. The illustrations are from a 19th-century French book titled “The Ruins of Ani — the Armenian Capital of the Royal Bagratid Dynasty of the 10th and 11th Centuries: History and Description” written by Mr. Brosset (published in the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1861).

Ani became the capital of the Armenian Kingdom during the reign of the Bagratid dynasty (since ca. 961 AD). At its zenith, the city had over 100,000 inhabitants, about as much as Constantinople and Cairo. Because of its size and beauty, Ani was also known as “the city of 1001 churches” and “the city of 40 gates”.

Due to the relentless attacks and countless incursions by external forces, the city would eventually be destroyed and abandoned.

Today, Ani remains a largely forgotten ancient ghost town in the modern Turkish province of Kars. Travelers, writers, and other adventurers through the centuries wrote about Ani with great reverence.