Ani, The First Seljuk Architecture in Anatolia

Ani's most prosperous period undoubtedly began with the Bagratuni Dynasty. Its establishment as the dynasty's capital in 961 enriched Ani commercially, turning it into a center of attraction that drew people to migrate there. The city's wealth, in turn, facilitated the development of its architecture. The fact that the first monumental structures in the city belong to this period is still the most vivid proof of this. Although this period, which lasted until 1044, was interrupted for twenty years by Byzantine rule, the new era that began with the Seljuk conquest in 1064 initiated Ani's second period of prosperity. Ani now became one of the rare medieval cities where Christians and Muslims could coexist freely.

While Ani, governed by the Shaddadid Emirate under Seljuk suzerainty, was adorned with a new architectural style, it also directly influenced the subsequent Turkish-Islamic architecture of Anatolia. This book aims to evaluate the pioneering traces of Seljuk architecture in Anatolia by presenting this new architectural style of Ani under Seljuk rule with the most up-to-date data. It is hoped that this book will be beneficial to all scholars and readers working in the field, especially within the academic community of Art History…