Domes of the Churches of the Ani Architectural School of the Bagratid Epoch

Typology and the Origin of Forms

Authors

  • Armen Y. Kazaryan Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU) Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18688/

Keywords:

architecture of the Bagratid epoch, Armenia, Ani, creative method, domed head, blind arcade, umbrella-type dome, 9th–11th centuries

Abstract

The study has been realized by the grant of the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 22-18-00354-П, https://rscf.ru/project/22-18-00354/, in the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU), National Research University.

For the first time, an analytical review of the domes over the drum crowning the churches of the Bagratid era in the Armenian capital of Ani and the surrounding monasteries has been carried out. The study, covering the last quarter of the 10th and the first half of the 11th century, reveals the features of the works of the metropolitan architects, the degree of their fascination with the samples from the 7th century (The Golden Age of Armenian architecture) and the relationship of the work of the architects of Ani with the samples of the immediately preceding period, known as the pre-Ani period of the Bagratid era. The results of the typological classification of the domes are presented, the chronology of the development of individual types is determined, and the features of the most significant works are revealed. The most common types of domes are: 1) with a cylindrical drum and a conical dome cover (external dome); 2) with a drum design with blind arcade and a frieze; 3) with a drum with beam pilasters supporting a zigzag cornice of an umbrella cover. The formal architectural analysis unravels the creative thought of the Ani’s architects and reveals their abilities to rethink and improve the achievements of the past, harmoniously instill innovations on the traditional base of the dome with a drum, with conical, pyramidal, or folded forms of cover. The creative ideas of professional architects, representatives of the Ani or metropolitan school of Armenian architecture that developed in the same period, played a decisive role in the creation of new works.

Author Biography

  • Armen Y. Kazaryan, Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU)

    Kazaryan, Armen Y. — Doctor habil. (Art History), Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences, academician, director. Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU), National Research University. Yaroslavskoye Shosse, 26, 129227 Moscow, Russian Federation;  SPIN-code: 9008-1375; ORCID: 0000-0002-8039-207X; Scopus ID: 57194429313.

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Published

2025-12-12

Issue

Section

Byzantine and Eastern Christian Art

How to Cite

Kazaryan, A. Y. (2025). Domes of the Churches of the Ani Architectural School of the Bagratid Epoch: Typology and the Origin of Forms. Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art, 15, 165-179. https://doi.org/10.18688/

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