New documentary film by the Center for Early Medieval Studies

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

we cordially invite you to watch a new documentary film by the Center for Early Medieval Studies.

It tells the story of the incredible capital of the medieval kingdom of Armenia, which, at the time of its greatest glory in the 10th and 11th centuries, was one of the commercial and political centers of the Silk Road, but also a crossroads of the world where different cultures, religions and arts coexisted, and its wealth was legendary. The Mongol invasion, together with the devastating earthquake of 1319 and especially the changes in trade routes, were the beginning of the decline of Ani.

The archaeological site has been part of the UNESCO Heritage list since 2016. In its description, we read that the city consists of residential, religious and military buildings, characteristic of medieval urbanism built over centuries by Christian and then Muslim dynasties. Is this characteristic still valid today, hundreds of years after the creation of the metropolis and only a few years after this inscription? What does its current form symbolize?

We are looking forward to seeing you on December 20, 2023 at 6:00 pm in the Museum of Applied Arts of the Moravian Gallery at Husova 14 in Brno.

The film was produced within the project Armenian Art and Culture: an Endangered Heritage, which is implemented by the Center for Early Medieval Studies at the Seminar of Art History of the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in the Czech Republic and with the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia.