The city and fortress of Kars

According to history, the city of Kars was founded in the 4th century and played an important role in the state and public life of medieval Armenia. It was the centre of the Vanand district in the province of Ayrarat and a major centre of crafts through which international trade routes passed. In the 10th century the city was for a time the capital of Armenia, until King Ashot III moved the new capital to Ani. In the 10th–11th centuries Kars was the capital of the Armenian kingdom of Vanand, or Kars, ruled by the Bagratid royal dynasty.

Today the Armenian church built by the Bagratid King Abas (9th century) survives in Kars; in 1978 it was turned into the Kümbet Mosque.

The photograph shows the fortress with a flag on top of a rocky hill, the town’s houses on its slope and at its foot, and a domed building on the right. “Kars” is written at the bottom.