{"product_id":"the-ruins-of-ani-a-journey-to-armenias-medieval-capital-and-its-legacy-9781978802919","title":"The Ruins of Ani: A Journey to Armenia's Medieval","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2019 Dr. Sona Aronian Book Prize for Excellence in Armenian Studies (NAASR)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e From the tenth to the thirteenth centuries, the city of Ani was the jewel of the Armenian kingdom, renowned far and wide for its magnificent buildings. Known as the city of 1001 churches, Ani was a center for artistic innovation, and its architecture is a potential missing link between Byzantine and Gothic styles. By the fifteenth century, Ani was virtually abandoned, its stunning buildings left to crumble. Yet its ruins have remained a symbol of cultural accomplishment that looms large in the Armenian imagination.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Ruins of Ani \u003c\/i\u003eis a unique combination of history, art criticism, and travel memoir that takes readers on a thousand-year journey in search of past splendors. Today, Ani is a popular tourist site in Turkey, but the city has been falsified in its presentation by the Turkish government in order to erase Armenian history in the wake of the Armenian Genocide. This timely publication also raises questions about the preservation of major historic monuments in the face of post atrocity campaigns of cultural erasure.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Originally written by young priest Krikor Balakian in 1910, just a few years before the Armenian genocide, this book offers a powerful and poignant counterpart to Balakian’s acclaimed genocide memoir \u003ci\u003eArmenian Golgotha\u003c\/i\u003e. This new translation by the author’s great-nephew, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Peter Balakian, eloquently renders the book’s vivid descriptions and lyrical prose into English. Including a new introduction that explores Ani’s continued relevance in the twenty-first century, \u003ci\u003eThe Ruins of Ani \u003c\/i\u003ewill give readers a new appreciation for this lost city’s status as a pinnacle of both Armenian civilization and human achievement.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This fine English translation breathes new life into a crucial, and yet neglected source for the celebrated medieval Armenian city of Ani, and for the brief but important period of Russian control in the region.\" -- Christina Maranci * author of Medieval Armenian Architecture: Constructions of Race and Nation *\u003cbr\u003e\"Peter Balakian's translation and recasting of his great uncle's memoir combines sensitive Armenian religious and cultural history with a clear focus on the cultural dimension of genocide. It is a remarkable and invaluable study.\" -- Robert Jay Lifton * author of Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide *\u003cbr\u003e\"This is an enthralling account of the 1909 pilgrimage of an Armenian priest to the ruins of the Armenian city of Ani. Introduced by his great-nephew, the distinguished poet Peter Balakian, this memoir is a powerful expression of Armenian pride and longing for the land on which they lived for a millennium. Written a bare six years before Ottoman forces carried out the Armenian genocide, this document underscores forcefully how central cultural destruction was and is in the unfolding of that crime against humanity.\" -- Jay Winter * author of War beyond Words: Languages of Remembrance from the Great War to the Present *\u003cbr\u003e“Vartabed Balakian describes Ani as an 'Armenian genius,' a title befitting of Balakian. His eye on the ancient capital is intricate and mournful, and creates a new depth post genocide.” -- Donna-Lee Frieze * editor and transcriber of Totally Unofficial *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Krikor Balakian’s rhapsodic narrative is a scholarly, flowery mix of architectural history and a travelogue of his much-anticipated pilgrimage. He writes lovingly about church ornamentation and holy day services held among the architectural ruins; he also thunders against bloodthirsty marauders and unworthy, greedy priests in Armenia’s past. The text is accompanied by numerous richly toned photographs of Ani’s dramatic ruins, which are critical evidence of lost history.\" \u003c\/p\u003e * Foreword Reviews *\u003cbr\u003e\"Krikor Balakian’s The Ruins of Ani published by Rutgers University Press,\" by the Armenian-American Spectator * The Armenian-American Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e\"[\u003ci\u003eThe Ruins of Ani\u003c\/i\u003e] documents the history, genius, and tragedy of the Armenian civilization as refracted through its ancient capital. It also illuminates one of those rare places that leaves visitors feeling they might have to dust off the word \u003ci\u003emystical\u003c\/i\u003e to describe the experience.\" * The Arts Fuse *\u003cbr\u003e\"Balakian’s book explores both the ancient and modern versions of the city of Ani, unknown to many non-Armenians. The intertwined legacy of the Balakian family and their connection to a revered city provides a moving and enduring account of history.\" * Armenian Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e\"This book is a valuable contribution to the scholarly study of the art, architecture, and archaeology of Ani, and its translation into English will help it to reach a wider audience.\"  * Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies *\u003cbr\u003e\"This new edition of \u003ci\u003eThe Ruins of Ani\u003c\/i\u003e is not merely an informative description of a dazzling city that became a 'great museum of the arts and crafts of Armenian antiquity'. It is also an intriguing document of trans-historical and cross-generational imagination. The 'richness and opulence' that 'always [aroused] the greed of conquering rulers” when Ani was in its prime have long vanished, but eyes are converging on the city once more.'\" * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eContents\u003cbr\u003e Introduction by Peter Balakian\u003cbr\u003e Chapter I:  The History of Ani\u003cbr\u003e Part I—The Foundation and Flourishing of Ani\u003cbr\u003e Part II—The Sale of Ani\u003cbr\u003e Part III-The Seljuk Invasions and the Destruction of Ani\u003cbr\u003e Chapter II: The Topography of Ani\u003cbr\u003e Chapter III:  The Description of the Ruins of Ani\u003cbr\u003e The External Walls\u003cbr\u003e The Cathedral\u003cbr\u003e Surp Krikor Lusaworich‘ [St. Gregory the Illuminator] Church\u003cbr\u003e Surp Aṙak‘elots‘ [Holy Apostles] Church\u003cbr\u003e Abughamrents‘ Surp Krikor Church\u003cbr\u003e Kakgashēn [Gagkashēn] Surp Krikor Church\u003cbr\u003e Vrats‘ [Georgian] Church\u003cbr\u003e The Palace of the Pakradunis\u003cbr\u003e Ani’s Residence of the Catholicos\u003cbr\u003e The Statue of Kakig [Gagik] I\u003cbr\u003e Ani’s Citadel\u003cbr\u003e The Girls’ Fortress\u003cbr\u003e The Two Story Bridge and the Pekhents‘ Monastery\u003cbr\u003e The Tombstone of the Royal Princes\u003cbr\u003e The Ruins of the Royal Bath\u003cbr\u003e The Royal Road Leading to the Akhurian River\u003cbr\u003e Ghōshavank‘ Near Ani [The Monastery of Hoṙomos]\u003cbr\u003e The Vaulted and Pillared Inner Part of the Royal Conference Hall in Ghōshavank‘\u003cbr\u003e Surp Minas and Surp Kevork Chapels in the Valley of Ghōshavank‘\u003cbr\u003e The Tomb of King Ashod [Ashot] the Merciful\u003cbr\u003e Chapter IV:  Scholarly Ani\u003cbr\u003e Part I—The Armenian Architectural Style\u003cbr\u003e Ani’s Plan [illustration]\u003cbr\u003e Part II—The Present Excavations of Ani\u003cbr\u003e Voyage to Ani\u003cbr\u003e His Holiness the Holy Patriarch’s Voyage to Ani\u003cbr\u003e The Pilgrim of Ani\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Glossary\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  ","brand":"Rutgers University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51043450192215,"sku":"9781978802919","price":25.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781978802919.jpg?v=1750958272","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-ruins-of-ani-a-journey-to-armenias-medieval-capital-and-its-legacy-9781978802919","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}