Ani's long-term decline began in 1239 when Mongols sacked the city and massacred its population. In 1319 a devastating earthquake struck Ani. It resulted in the collapse of the cathedral's conical roof. Ani was completely deserted by the 18th century. The drum reportedly collapsed during an 1832 or 1840 earthquake. The north-western corner of the cathedral was heavily damaged by a 1988 earthquake with its epicenter in modern Armenia's north. It resulted in a large gaping hole. According to VirtualAni it also caused "a serious rent in the south-west corner; by 1998 parts of the roof here had started to fall." Lavrenti Barseghian wrote in 2003 that the damage from the earthquake was so great that the entire building would collapse unless strengthened and restored.