Katranide II

Katranide II
Spouse	Gagik I
Issue	Khushush, Hovhannes-Smbat, Ashot IV, Abbas
Dynasty	Siunia Dynasty
Father	Vasak I of Syuni
Mother	Shahandukht 2
Religion	Armenian Apostolic Church

Katranide II (Armenian: Կատրանիդե Բ) was queen of Armenia and wife of King Gagik I of the Bagratid Armenia. She was responsible for the construction of the Cathedral of Ani.^[1][2][3][4]

Biography

The Ani Cathedral.

Katranide was the daughter of King Vasak I and Queen Shahandukht II of Syunik, granddaughter of king Smbat 1 of Syuni, an offshoot Armenian kingdom.^[5] in 1001 by King Gagik's wife Katranide, important monument, Cathedral of Ani was built by one of the famous and prestigious architects of the time, Trdat.^[6] After her death, Queen Katranide was buried with great pomp and church rites in the cemetery of the cemetery next to the Catholic Church of Ani. At the beginning of the 20th century, when a group of archaeologists, the orientalist Joseph Orbeli, opened the tomb of Katranides and the skeleton of the queen was revealed, they saw that the queen's legs were crossed exactly as the legs of Christ were crucified. This was his last wish.^[7] Katranide decorated the Cathedral of Ani with "apricot blossom gold" fabrics, silver and gold vessels. A man-sized silver cross was erected on the dome of the temple, and King Smbat the Cosmonaut brought a giant crystal torch from India.^[8]

Except Cathedral of Ani, this was not her only endeavor. The Khtzkonk Monastery (Խծկոնք) with its 5 churches were either completed or renovated by the queen.^[9][10] Unfortunately church was destroyed in 1960s.^[11] Katranide also built Church of Saint Gregory.Church was destroyed shortly after its construction.^[12] including, the Church of St. John the Baptist, where an inscription was made by “pious and God-loving” Queen Katranide, the Lady of King Gagik. Unfortunately, the Church of St. John the Baptist, like many other churches throughout Western Armenia, were destroyed by the Turks in the 1950s.

References

1. "Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia 1" (in Armenian).
2. Essefian, Srpouhie-Anna (1976). Medieval Monarchies of Armenia: The Last Phase. Georgetown University. p. 186.
3. "Historic City of Ani - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". 2016-07-12. Archived from the original on 2016-07-12.
4. "Cathedral of Ani | armenianreligion.am".
5. Adalian, Rouben Paul (2010-05-13). Historical Dictionary of Armenia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7450-3.
6. Belli, Prof Dr Oktay (2021-08-01). ANI IN EVERY ASPECT. Türkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu. p. 154. ISBN 978-975-7641-75-9.
7. "KATRANIDE / ԿԱՏՐԱՆԻԴԵ" (in Armenian).
8. "Անի. Ավերակների թագուհի' ուժասպառ, խոնարհված, բայց հպարտ". Արեւմտահայաստանի եւ Արեւմտահայութեան Հարցերու Ուսումնասիրութեան Կեդրոն (in Armenian). 2011-06-25.
9. "Armenian Architecture - VirtualANI - Khtzkonk Monastery". www.virtualani.org. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
10. Sinclair, Thomas A. (1987), Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey, vol. 1. London: Pindar Press, p. 421.
11. (in French) Thierry, Jean-Michel"Notes Sur des Monuments Armeniens en Turquie (1964)," Revue des Études Arméniennes 2 (1965), pp. 165-84.
12. Belli, Prof Dr Oktay (2021-08-01). ANI IN EVERY ASPECT. Türkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu. p. 165. ISBN 978-975-7641-75-9.