The fortress of Magazberd is situated on a rocky outcrop above a bend in the Akhurian river, about four kilometres to the south-west of Ani. There may have been
a castle here as far back as the 6th century - or earlier - but the bulk of the present structure probably dates from the time of the kingdom of Ani. At the end of the 12th century, after the Georgians had expelled the Muslim rulers of Ani, Magazberd and other fortresses formed a protective ring around Ani. To the north of Ani another fortress, called Tignis, still survives as a fragmentary ruin, and near Tignis the ninth century church of Shirakawan, later converted to a fortified tower, survived until the 1950s.
Magazberd in Google Maps: |
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