The Church of Saint Elia also Zakare's church, is located in Kizkale, near Ani in Turkey. It was built by the

Zakarids The Zakarid dynasty, also Zakarids or Zakarians () were an Armenian noble dynasty, rulers of Zakarid Armenia (1201–1350) under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Georgia, and from 1256 under the control of the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia. Their dyn ...

in the early 13th century, as well as the nearby church of

Tigran Honents Tigran Honents () was a rich Armenian trader of the early 13th century, during the Zakarid period. He is especially known for his dedication of the Church of St Gregory of Tigran Honents in Ani, in Turkey's province of Kars next to the closed bor ...

. p.211: "The Church of St. Gregory of Tigran Honents, dated by an inscription in Armenian on the exterior of the church to 2015."
p.212: "The church dedicated to St. Gregory the llluminator, was founded by the wealthy merchant Tigran Honents in 1215, when the city was under the control of Zakarians." The building of the church came at a tumultuous period: in 1064 the city of Ani had been captured by the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

from the Byzantines, who granted it to a Kurdish line of Muslim emirs known as the

Sheddadids The Shaddadids were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin. who ruled in various parts of Armenia and Arran from 951 to 1199 AD. They were established in Dvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with the Bagratuni r ...

. "In 1064 the Seljuk Turks captured the city, and granted it to a Kurdish line of muslim emirs known as the Sheddadids, who intermarried with the Bagratid family, and who were also vassals of the Seljuks. The Sheddadids ruled Ani for a hundred years, from about 1072 to 1199, during which time Georgian leaders attacked the city on several occasions. A Georgian alliance of princes known as the Zakarids (referred to as the Mqargrdzeli in Georgian sources), with a combined Georgian and Armenian army, eventually took Ani and ruled there from 1199 to 1237." Then in 1199, the

, vassals of the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

, captured Ani with a combined Georgian and Armenian army. Ani was then captured and destroyed by the Mongols in 1239. Part of an inscription on the church reports its building at the time of Queen Tamar (ruled 1184–1213) by Zakare ''

amirspasalar ''Amirspasalar'' or ''amirspasalari'' ( ka, ამირსპასალარი, from , ) was the commander-in-chief of the medieval Georgian army and one of the highest officials of the Kingdom of Georgia, commonly rendered as "Lord High C ...

'' (Commander-in-Chief of the Georgian army), probably circa 1200: In another part of the inscription the brothers Ivane and Zakare are described as "Kings of Armenia". Parts of the church have collapsed in the 1988 earthquake.

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