Long walls of derbent. Story

A city that breathes history at every step. It is the southernmost and most ancient city of Russia. Most recently, it celebrated its 2000th anniversary, but the first mention dates back to the 5th century BC, which is more than 5000 years. It has not yet been spoiled by tourists and a remake and breathes history.
So Lenin points out - the Sea is there)

The first mention of the "Caspian Gates" is the most ancient name Derbent - refers to the IV century. BC, it is given by the famous ancient Greek author Hecateus of Miletus (IV century BC). The city is located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, near the mouth of the Samur River, where the mountains Greater Caucasus closest to the Caspian Sea, leaving only a narrow three-kilometer strip of plain, closing it, the city formed the so-called Derbent or Caspian passage. The role of Derbent and the Derbent passage was great, it was located in one of the most strategically important and topographically convenient location the famous Caspian route linking Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The importance of this passage was the reason for the aggressive aspirations of the Scythians, Sarmatians, Allans, Huns, Khazars, etc. It survived turbulent historical events, assaults and resolutions, periods of decline and prosperity. One of the most important sections of the Great Silk Road ran here, and Derbent acted as a “crossroads of civilization”, linking East and West, North and South.

But the main attraction of the Derbent fortress Naryn-Kala

The fortress in the vicinity of Derbent was built to protect the peoples who inhabited Asia Minor and Transcaucasia from the destructive invasions of northern nomads. It is a massive defensive complex, which included city, sea, mountain walls and Naryn-Kala (citadel). Ancient buildings were erected during the reign of the Sassanid dynasty. In their power, they were not inferior to the Great Wall of China.

This is what she looks like in pictures.

Naryn-Kala stretches along the city for 700 m. The thickness of its walls in some places reaches 3.5 m, and the height is 20 m. The citadel rises on top of a 300-meter steep hill. Steep slopes reliably protected it from the invasion of enemies from the east and north. The southern part of the fortification is equipped with steps, and on its wide walls there are platforms used today by tourists to view the panorama of the city and the Caspian Sea.

Inside the citadel you can see the ancient khan's baths with windows in the roofs and buildings that have come down to our time

Inside the fortress

through the loopholes the whole territory is visible

water was supplied to the fortress through ceramic pipes from mountain springs.

Derbent was also a harbor, in the photo there are ancient anchors

narrow streets of old Derbent

Surprisingly, there are wonderful people here, very funny and not scary)

Juma Mosque is the oldest mosque in Russia. It is located in the center of the old part of the city of Derbent.

Throughout its centuries of history Juma Mosque was rebuilt several times. Above the entrance, for example, there is an inscription stating that in 1368-1369. it was restored after the earthquake by Tajutdin from Baku.

The famous plane trees in the courtyard of the Juma mosque. Age - more than 800 years. According to legend, plane trees in the courtyard of the Juma mosque were planted in the 9th century by the great scientist and imam of the Sharia and the tariqa Abul-Qasim al-Junayd al-Baghdadi, who were to play one of the main roles in preserving the mosque from natural disasters. Plane trees have saved the mosque from destruction for centuries. Trees draw all the moisture out of the ground. Therefore, the mosque is always dry.

The Juma Mosque of Derbent is rightfully considered one of the main points of reference for the spread of Islam in Russia. It is located in the center of the old part of the city and is represented by a complex of interesting architectural ensembles, which includes a mosque, madrasah and living quarters for imams.

local flavor

The Derbent wall is a double wall from the Sassanid times, blocking the Caspian Gates in Derbent. The toponym "Derbent" means "narrow gates", and the wall blocks these gates from the sea coast to the Naryn-kala fortress. The wall was used for defensive purposes by the Persians, Arabs and Mongols for 15 centuries.

The length of the wall is 3600 meters. The southern and northern walls run parallel to each other at a distance of 300-400 meters. mountain part walls (Dag-bars) goes 40 km to the side Caucasian ridge; this is no time grand building survived only in fragments. The sea part of the wall extends 500 meters into the sea, blocking the entrance to the harbor. The most ancient part of the city is enclosed between these two walls. The south wall, like the later one, was largely demolished in the 19th century, while the north wall largely retains its original appearance.

Lezgi theater, located almost in the center of the city. Local pop stars often perform here and interesting plays are staged in Lezgi and Russian.

And here is the Caspian Sea, shells here you can get a full suitcase)

The streets are mostly narrow, houses are located close to each other

But it is more interesting to just walk around the market and the surrounding streets. this is where the local color is preserved

Everything is here. Warm sea with sandy beaches, high mountains, a city with ancient history, plus local flavor. If you build hotels and logistics, then Turkey will not be needed

Especially the issue of attacks by nomadic tribes became more acute during the period of the Great Migration of Peoples (4-7 centuries AD). Therefore, it is not surprising that it was from the 5th century that grandiose fortification construction began in Derbent, designed to protect Western Asia from a new wave of nomads - the Turkic tribes of the Huns and Khazars. In its modern form, the defensive complex of Derbent was built in the 6th century. AD, during the period of the greatest prosperity of the Iranian Sassanid dynasty.

The construction of the Derbent complex was carried out in stages: first the citadel and the northern wall of the city, then the southern wall, and later the Mountain Wall (Dag-Bary).

Plan of modern Derbent

In the VI century, the first transverse wall was erected, separating the settled part of Derbent near the citadel from the uninhabited seaside (two other transverse walls appeared in the X-XVIII centuries).

An engraving from the 19th century. You can clearly see the transverse walls that have not survived today.


Engraving by Fiedler. 1836 Source: http://samoe-samaya.ru/goroda-i-strany/samyj-staryj-gorod-rossii.html

The fortress became a stronghold of the Sassanids in the Caucasus, the residence of Iranian governors - marzpans, guardians of the borders, the seat of his court and garrison, an administrative, military-political and cultural center.

With the conquest of Derbent by the Arabs (in 652), the city turns into the main stronghold of the Arab Caliphate in the Caucasus, into the most important military, political and ideological center; there is significant construction work going on. Derbent becomes the largest medieval city in the Caucasus.

Medieval Derbent is the largest port in the Caspian Sea, the most important center of international transit trade East and West, North and South. Derbent maintained close trade relations with many regions and cities of the Near and Middle East, of Eastern Europe. Trade caravans and ships arrived here from Khazaria, Rus', Volga Bulgaria, Khorasan, Khorezm, India, etc.

In 1239, Derbent, conquered by the Mongols, became part of the Golden Horde. The Mongols ravaged the entire district of Derbent, the city gradually begins to decline. Much more followed - Tamerlane's passage through the Caspian Gates at the mouth of the Terek, where he defeated the Golden Horde troops, the struggle for Derbent between the Ottoman Empire and Iran, and then between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, and, finally, joining Russia in 1813.

But back to medieval Derbent and its main architectural monument- defensive complex of the city. It can be conditionally divided into three parts: the Sea Walls, the Naryn-kala citadel and the Mountain Wall (Dag-bars). Each fortification could function independently, and at the same time they are parts of a single defensive system.

sea ​​walls

The northern fortress wall stretches about three kilometers from the Naryn-Kala citadel to the Caspian Sea from west to east. It has been preserved almost completely to the present day. The wall is equipped with 43 rectangular and semicircular towers, which are located about 60-70 meters apart.

View of the eastern gate of the citadel from the side of the city. On the right you can clearly see the preserved northern wall.

To climb from the inside, the wall had stone stairs.

The wall of the citadel and the stone staircase adjoining it.

The wall was built in the 6th century. from large hewn stones, its height is 7-8m, width - from 2.5 to 3.5m. To go outside the fortress, three gates were made in the northern wall.

The southern fortress wall stretches, like the northern one, from the Naryn-Kala citadel to the Caspian Sea. The distance between them is approximately 300-350m. The south wall, like the later one, was largely demolished in the 19th century, while the north wall largely retains its original appearance. The eastern part of the southern wall, about 1.5 km long, has been preserved.

View of the south wall and the citadel from the city

Unlike the northern wall, the southern one did not play a big role in protecting the city, therefore it had fewer towers and more gates (four).

The citadel and the south wall adjoining it.

The first authors who described Derbent saw that the city walls go far into the sea. At present, that part of the walls that went into the sea is completely destroyed, and therefore their length, configuration and material from which they were made can only be judged by conflicting, and sometimes mutually exclusive reports of ancient authors.

All Derbent until the end of the 19th century. was within the sea walls.

Derbent in the 70s 19th century from a lithograph from the 1870s.

Construction features.
The lower parts of the wall are made of unbaked bricks, but its main volume, dating from the 6th century, is lined with large blocks of hewn stone - local shell rock (100 by 65 by 25 cm). The wall between two rows of stone blocks is packed with broken stone; masons used lime mortar. For a strong connection of the facing blocks with the “body” of the wall, slabs laid with a poke (narrow side outward) and a spoon (wide side outward) alternated in the masonry.

The oldest masonry consists of slabs of the same type, but not strictly standard in shape: individual slabs were pressed to each other already in the process of construction. Such a construction of the walls, in addition to exceptional strength, betrayed monumental inviolability and splendor.

Later construction periods are easily distinguished by the small size of the blocks (on average 30 by 40 cm). In addition, later masonry is distinguished by more strict geometry and processing of blocks, the same height of rows and horizontal joints. During masonry, masons alternated blocks with “face” and “base”, which made the masonry more durable. The average height of the walls is 12 meters, the thickness varies from 230 to 380 cm.

The Naryn citadel - kala has preserved its fortress walls almost completely. At the same time, it was the walls of the citadel that underwent the most alterations, especially in later times (XVII-XIX centuries). For example, the walls of the citadel in many areas end with battlements made in the 19th century.

The photo clearly shows the Sasanian masonry (below) with traces of later repairs and battlements of the 19th century.


Attribution of clutch to alienordis (so not sure if it is correct, although it seems obvious). Photo source: http://www.nofollow.ru/photos_37470.htm

South wall gate

The gates of the southern wall (Kala-Kapy - Fortress Gates) are the uppermost gates in the city walls. The gate opening probably dates from the time the wall was built.

From the east, the gates are flanked by a semicircular tower of the 10th-11th centuries, which appeared during the period of the intensification of the struggle between Derbent and Shirvan. In 1920 the gate collapsed, and in their place for a long time there was an opening in the wall. In 1960 they have been restored.

semicircular defensive tower south gate(they are not visible from this angle).

The outer facade of Cala Capa is extremely simple - it is a rectangular opening with a wedge-shaped lintel in the fortress wall; such a gate is also shown on one of the drawings of the early 19th century.

Wedding at the gate of the southern wall.

More interesting is the inner facade of the gate, during the restoration of which, by analogy with earlier gates, the vaulted ceiling of the passage was given an lancet shape.

Interior facade of the south gate.

mountain walls
In the south-western corner of the fortress wall of the citadel there is a rectangular opening leading to the corner tower, through which there was once an entrance to the Mountain Wall (Dag-bars), starting just from this tower.

Mountain wall of Derbent. From a drawing of the 17th century.

Currently, only small sections of this wall have survived, but their study showed that it was a grandiose structure 3 meters thick and 10 meters high, with numerous fortified forts, half-forts and rectangular towers.

This powerful line of defense, meandering over a continuous mountainous terrain, went deep into the Caucasus for more than 40 kilometers.

Source: http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1070.pdf

Citadel

The core of the defensive complex of Derbent was the Naryn-Kala Citadel. The hill on which the citadel is located north side has round slopes - towards the ravine, and in the east - towards the city. The southern and western slopes of the hill are more gentle.

The irregularly shaped fortress occupies an area of ​​4.5 hectares. Its walls (approximately 180 meters wide and 280 meters long) are fortified with small towers (at a distance of 20-30 meters from each other). In terms of plan, the citadel has the shape of an irregular polygon, all its ledges are deaf: two of them have internal stairs that climbed the walls.

Plan of the citadel

The degree of natural protection of one or another side also influenced the nature of the walls of the citadel. So, for example, the northern and northwestern parts of the wall, despite the fact that the enemy was mainly expected from this side, do not have powerful towers. Instead of them, small deaf ledges were made here, many of which were attached to the wall at a later time.

Western wall with rectangular towers.

On the east side, the natural defense of the fortress is a steep hill.

View of the city from the east side of the citadel.

The southern side of the citadel, where there are no natural barriers, is stronger than the northern one. The wall here is much higher (in some places reaches a height of 20 meters) and more powerful, with many protruding square forts, standing at a distance of 20-30 m from each other. All these towers have been repeatedly repaired and restored.

South wall of the citadel with battlements, 19th century

Due to the rather steep hill on which Naryn-kala is located, all four of its courtyards are located at different levels in the form of artificially leveled terraces with a system of retaining walls.

The photo clearly shows artificial terraces and retaining walls on both sides of the road.

The Naryn-Kala citadel, located on a high hill, dominated the narrow passage between the sea and the spurs of the Dzhalgan Range. Powerful walls with a thickness of 2.5-3.5 m, reaching a height of 20-25 m in some areas, as well as a system of reservoirs for large water reserves, make it impregnable fortress capable of withstanding a heavy and prolonged siege.

Gates

There are two gates leading to Naryn-kala: the eastern one is facing the city, the western one - the Mountain Gate - leads to the citadel, bypassing the city.

On the left - the eastern gate of the citadel, above which the khan's office is located.

East gate

The eastern gates of the Naryn-kala citadel (NARYN - KALA - KAPI) - its main gates - are arranged in a retaining wall and covered with lancet arches and base slabs of Fet-Ali-khan's khan's office.

East gate of the citadel.

The entrance to the citadel is made in the retaining wall, as the ground level difference inside and outside the eastern wall of the citadel reaches 5m. Behind the gate, in the thickness of the earth, an inclined passage more than 3 m wide is arranged, limited on the sides by retaining walls. In the 12th century a two-story building was erected above the gate and the passage, the walls of which rested on two powerful lancet arches.

Entrance to the citadel.

A heavily damaged inscription has been preserved above the entrance opening, in which Shah Abbas I (1521 - 1629) is mentioned.

Western gate

The western gates of the citadel (Dag-Kapy) (10th century) were called mountain gates. They are flanked from the outside by two rectangular ledges, offset up to 8 meters, reinforced with inclined retaining walls, which form a narrow passage about 3 m wide in front of the rapids, well shot through from the flanking ledges of the gate. The opening of the mountain gates is blocked by a wedge-shaped lintel; from the inside, a passage blocked by a lancet vault leads to the opening.

Western gate of the citadel.

These gates, located on the western side of the citadel, served for the entry of pack vehicles into the territory of the citadel and for external relations of the rulers of the city. Help to the besieged defenders could come through the mountain gates to the fortress under the cover of the Dagbara mountain wall. Therefore, these gates had another name - the Secret Gate.

View from the citadel to the western wall and mountains, where the Western Gate went (the arch of the gate itself is visible on the left, there is a blue plate on it).

The people also called this gate the “Gate of Shame”, since the rulers of the city, in a moment of danger for themselves, left through this gate, leaving the defenders alone against the enemy.

Water

An important place among the sights of the city is occupied by facilities for the storage and use of water, which for any fortified city was almost of paramount importance.

The water that came from the springs on the slope of Mount Dzhalgan was directed through numerous stone and ceramic conduits discovered during excavations to several underground reservoirs, including an old Christian church adapted for this purpose.

Water to this fountain is still supplied through ancient pipes.

small reservoir

One of the smallest reservoirs of Naryn-kala is located at the entrance to the citadel. It is square (2.65x2.65 m) and covered with a dome.

small reservoir

Rectangular reservoir.

In the north-eastern part of the Naryn-kala citadel there is a rectangular reservoir. Not found on the territory of the European part of Russia, this type of architectural structure is extremely widespread in hot arid regions.

Rectangular reservoir.

Such reservoirs were arranged to store large reserves of water in case of a siege of the city or a temporary delay in the flow of water. Scientists disagree about the timing of the construction of the reservoir. It may have been built in the 11th century.

Khan's Palace Complex

The palace in the Derbent citadel was built in 1768. Fet-Ali Khan, the strongest feudal ruler of the Eastern Caucasus. Under him, the Khan's palace turned into a residence, where outbuildings, administrative and bureaucratic apparatus, warriors, and clergymen were located.

Khan's palace complex.

Derbent, in translation, means "Narrow gate". In the place where the city is located, the mountains of the Greater Caucasus are closest to the Caspian Sea, leaving only a narrow three-kilometer strip of plain; closing it, the city formed the so-called Derbent or Caspian passage. Derbent was, as it were, at the crossroads of civilizations, namely, close to trade routes connecting north and south, east and west. Here lay the Great Silk Road, part of which was the Caspian passage connecting Eastern Europe and Asia Minor.
The first settlements arose here in the early Bronze Age - at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. The first mention of the Caspian Gates - the most ancient name of Derbent - dates back to the 6th century. BC e., it is given by the famous ancient Greek geographer Hecateus of Miletus.
During the reign of the Persian Sissanid dynasty in the 5th-6th centuries, the city of Derbent turned into a real stone fortress. Shah Kavad laid here a stone fortress - the citadel of Naryn-Kala, and his son Khosrov I Anushirvan a few years later blocked the passage between the sea and the mountains with a fortress wall (with a total length of about 40 kilometers), erected a powerful citadel of Naryn-Kala and built a port.
Naturally, due to its favorable strategic location, the city has always been a tasty morsel for many conquerors. At one time, the Romans and Parthians, the Byzantines and Sasanian Iran, etc. fought for dominance over it.
In 313, Christianity became the official religion of Caucasian Albania, which included Derbent. And since 733, the Arabs have been strengthening in the city. From that time on, Derbent became the stronghold of the Caliphate in the Caucasus; Islam became the dominant religion.
Medieval Derbent is the largest port on the Caspian Sea, the most important center of international transit trade of East and West, North and South. Derbent maintained close trade relations with many regions and cities of the Near and Middle East, Eastern Europe - both medieval authors and numerous archaeological finds testify to this.
In the X-XIII centuries. Derbent either gains independence or falls under the rule of the Seljuk Turks. Since 1239, it has been part of the Golden Horde. In the following centuries, the city gradually fell into decay, becoming the scene of a fierce struggle between Turkey and the Safavid state. In 1606 Derbent became part of Persia.
In 1722, the city was occupied by the troops of Peter I. But it finally became part of the Russian Empire only in 1813.

Near the entrance to the citadel.

View of the city from the observation deck.

On the walls of the fortress.

violino_s against the backdrop of Derbent.

Merlons.

Administrative building.

Another view of the city.

Western "Mountain" gates of the X-XVII century.

One of the towers.

The water tank is a former Christian church.

Near the Khan's Palace.

Gate of the Khan's Palace.

Derbent is one of the most ancient cities in the world and the most ancient city Russia. The first settlement of the Kuro-Araks culture, discovered by an archaeological expedition led by Professor A. A. Kudryavtsev, arose here in the Early Bronze Age - at the end of the 4th millennium BC, i.e. five thousand years ago, which is confirmed by the conclusion of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation dated December 04, 2010, signed by Academician-Secretary A.P. Derevyanko.

The inhabitants of the settlement lived in turluch and stone houses with adobe floors and outdoor hearths. The presence of grain pits in these houses testifies to the agricultural activities of local tribes, i.e. they led a sedentary lifestyle. At the bottom of the granaries, two ceramic female figurines were found, symbolizing the goddess of fertility. Similar figurines were widespread in the 5th-3rd millennium BC. over the vast territory of Malaya and Central Asia, but are extremely rare in the Caucasus.

The first fortifications on the Derbent hill appeared in the 8th-7th centuries. BC. The appearance of powerful fortifications here at that time was a response to the invasion of nomads (campaigns of the Cimmerians and Scythians).

In IV-III centuries. BC. on the territory of present-day Southern Dagestan and Azerbaijan, the state of Caucasian Albania arose, which included Derbent. A significant milestone in the history of Derbent and the entire Caucasian Albania was the official adoption of the Christian religion as the state religion under King Urnair in 313.

Thus, Caucasian Albania was the first Christian state on the territory of the Russian Federation. Derbent was the most ancient Orthodox city in Russia, where until 552 the throne of the patriarch (Catholicos) of Caucasian Albania was located, which is also confirmed by the location on the territory of the Naryn-kala citadel of a cross-domed church dating from the 4th-5th centuries. the buildings.

Along with this, we are proud to note that Derbent is the only city of the ancient era that has been preserved in its historical place, among all the cities of the Russian Federation.

There is information about Derbent and the events around it in the writings of the ancient authors Pliny the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD) and Strabo (c. 64/63 BC - c. 23 /24 AD). The first mentions of the Derbent passage are found in the even earlier Hecateus of Miletus (approx. 550-490 BC) and the “father of history” Herodotus (c. 484-c. 425 BC).

From the 1st century BC. to the 1st century AD The Roman Empire began a struggle for the possession of the Derbent Pass, which ended with the establishment of a protectorate of Rome over Caucasian Albania.

From the 4th century BC. until the 5th century AD Serious work continued to strengthen the Derbent fortifications. Consequently, the first fortifications were built and strengthened by the autochthonous population and their state formations.

Fight of two largest states- Rome and Parthia for the possession of the Caucasus significantly increased the strategic role of the Caucasian passages and especially the main one - Derbent.

In the V-VI centuries. Iranian kings from the Sassanid dynasty launched a grandiose fortification construction in the Eastern Caucasus, designed to protect the civilizations of Western Asia from new waves of nomads - the Huns and Khazars. A monumental witness of this era and an outstanding monument of defensive architecture is the Derbent defensive complex, striking in its grandeur, grandeur and power. It included a citadel, two long city walls that completely blocked the passage and went into the sea, forming an artificial harbor. From the citadel to the mountains for 42 km. the Great Caucasian Wall (Dag - bars) was leaving.

The citadel "Naryn-Kala" and the Great Caucasian wall "Dag-Bary" are one of the three largest fortifications in the world, along with the Great Wall of China and the Roman Danube fortifications that have not survived. In terms of the volume of laid building material, they are seven times larger than one of the seven wonders of the world, the Pyramid of Cheops.

In VII, a new world religion, Islam, began to penetrate into Derbent, and with it into South Dagestan with the Arabs. This process continued here until the 10th century. and subsequently spread to the territory of the entire North Caucasus and the Volga regions of present-day Russia. Derbent is also one of the few modern cities mentioned in the Holy Quran.

As well as the oldest Christian church in Russia, Derbent also has the oldest mosque, built in 733-734, and the oldest synagogue, built in 1614, and rebuilt on the same site in 2010.

At the beginning of the 8th century, with the conquest of Derbent by the Arabs, the city turned into the main stronghold of the Caliphate in the Caucasus, into the most important military, political and ideological center. Derbent becomes the largest medieval city of the Caucasus with developed handicraft industries (pottery, glassmaking, metalworking, jewelry, stoneworking and construction, weaving, carpet weaving, production of paper, silk, soap, etc.) and agriculture (agriculture, gardening, saffron cultivation). , madder, cotton, linen, etc.).

Period from VIII to the beginning. 13th century was the most important for the city. At this time, it reached its peak and turned into one of the significant cities of the Middle Ages.

At the beginning of the XIII century. in the steppes of Central Asia, under the rule of Genghis Khan, nomadic Mongolian tribes united, which terrified the vast territory of Asia and South-Eastern Europe. Selected Mongol troops led by the two most capable commanders Genghis Khan Subudai and Jebe, having plundered many regions from Iran to Derbent in 1222, appeared under the walls of Derbent.

The greatness and power of the Derbent fortifications made a very strong impression on Subudai and Jebe and, without making an attempt to storm, the Mongols decide to bypass the fortress along internal communications Dagestan. But in 1239 the Mongols nevertheless took Derbent, which, however, was not destroyed.

In the second half of the XIV century. V Central Asia a new threat appeared in the face of Timur. In 1395-96. Timur invaded Shirvan and Dagestan, passed Derbent and defeated Tokhtamysh on the Terek.

In the XVI century. the struggle for Derbent between Turkey and the Safavid state escalates. For a long period, the city becomes the scene of fierce wars.

At the beginning of the XVII century. one of the powerful Safavid rulers Shah Abbas inflicted a serious defeat on the Turks in the Caucasus. He made great efforts to restore the Derbent fortifications and the port, turn the city into a stronghold of the Safavids in the Eastern and Northern Caucasus, a major center in the trade of Transcaucasia and Iran with Russia.

With the strengthening of the Russian state and its access to the Caspian Sea, interest in the Eastern Caucasus and Derbent increased significantly. By analogy with St. Petersburg, which, according to the plan of its founder Peter I, is a window to Europe, Derbent, by virtue of its geographical location historically is a link between Europe and the ancient civilizations of the East. The possession of Derbent, which many great conquerors aspired to, opened the way to the richest markets of the East.

Economic and political interests in the Caucasus and the Caspian region forced Peter I to come to grips with the "Eastern issue" and begin preparations for the Persian campaign.

On July 27, 1722, Peter I landed with troops on the northern coast of Dagestan and moved to Derbent, which he entered on August 23. Naib of the city presented Peter I with the keys to the city gates. The emperor lived in the citadel, in the palace, where, according to legend, in one of the halls he personally cut through a window overlooking the sea.

On September 6, the emperor set out with his troops on the return journey, leaving a strong garrison in Derbent. By his order, extensive repairs were carried out in the city to restore walls, gates and other structures.

After the withdrawal of the Russian garrison from Derbent, the city was occupied by one of the most cruel rulers, the "thunderstorm of the universe" Nadir Shah. It was a time when the Dagestanis were subjected to severe trials for their freedom. Cities and villages of Dagestan were destroyed and plundered, civilians were destroyed. And yet Nadir - Shah suffered his defeat in these mountains in 1741. and was forced in 1743. leave Derbent.

After the death of Nadir Shah in 1747, with the process of disintegration of his empire, a number of new feudal states - khanates - began to form on its outskirts. A prominent place among the rulers of that time was occupied by Fet-Ali-Khan of Cuba. He was a talented and energetic person. In 1759, Fet-Ali Khan captured Derbent. During the first ten years of his reign, he united a significant part of the territory of southern Dagestan and the northeastern coast of Azerbaijan. He sought to collect all the lands within the borders of the former Caucasian Albania. Fet-Ali-Khan was a very skillful and far-sighted ruler, whose main directions of political activity were: first, an uncompromising struggle for the separation of Southern Dagestan and the territory of modern Azerbaijan from Iran and the creation of a single state; secondly, a clear dissociation from the Sultan's Turkey, and finally, thirdly, unchanging loyalty to the alliance and friendship with Russia.

In 1806, Derbent was finally annexed to Russia, and in 1813, under the Treaty of Gulistan, Iran legally recognized the entry of Derbent into the Russian state

The entire 19th century also marked by turbulent events in Dagestan, including Derbent. From 1834 to 1859 the Caucasian war was going on, exhausting the already bloodless Dagestan. Early 20th century on the wave of revolutionary sentiments throughout Russia, Dagestan, already a restless region, literally began to seethe. In this mountainous region, the interests of the Turkish and British interventionists, Bicherakhov, Denikin, Bolsheviks and Mensheviks clashed. It was only in 1921 that relatively peaceful state building began in Dagestan. In all these events, ancient Derbent played a key role.

Derbent met the difficult trials of the Great Patriotic War as befits a city-warrior, a city-defender, adequately meeting the next tough challenge of the time. Thousands of Derbents went to the front, hundreds of whom were awarded orders and medals. Nine residents of Derbent became Heroes Soviet Union, one full cavalier of the Order of Glory.

Today Derbent - the second largest city of Dagestan - a unique monument ancient history, the only surviving ancient city on the territory of the Russian Federation, a museum under open sky, a major center of tourism. Here, under the protection of powerful city walls, ancient mosques and madrasahs, temples and synagogues, magnificent medieval baths and caravanserais, huge underground reservoirs and ancient fountains, impressive khan's palaces and mausoleums, buried in the greenery of seven hundred-year-old plane trees, are well preserved.

Appreciating the importance for the whole world of the history of Ancient Derbent and its contribution to world culture, in 2003. UNESCO included the citadel "Naryn-Kala" and the historical part of the city in the list of World Heritage Sites.

Derbent, which served as a "locked gate" for foreign conquerors, today hospitably opened its ancient gates for its friends from all over the world and is waiting for its explorers, for whom it keeps many secrets.

CHRONOLOGY

k. IV - n. III millennium BC - The emergence of the oldest settlement of the Kuro-Araks culture on the Derbent hill.

VIII-VII centuries. BC. - The emergence of the first fortifications.

3rd century BC-IV c. AD - The entry of Derbent into the Caucasian Albania.

I-III centuries AD – Derbent is a major economic and political center of Caucasian Albania.

3rd-6th centuries – Derbent is a large center for the spread of Christianity, a developed ancient city.

5th-6th centuries – Derbent is the residence of the Albanian Catholicos.

5th century AD (439-457) - The construction of powerful defensive structures under the Sasanian king Yezdigerd II.

531-579 - The final completion of the construction of the defensive complex under Khosrov I Anushirvan.

VI-VII centuries. – Derbent is a developed medieval city with a high level of socio-economic development.

2nd floor 7th century - The struggle between the Arabs and the Khazars for Derbent.

1st floor 8th century (733 - 734) - The Arabs finally fortified themselves in Derbent under Maslam bin Abd al-Malik.

8th - 10th centuries – Derbent is one of the most significant shopping centers in the Near East with a well-fortified harbor.

10th-11th centuries – Derbent is the center of an independent emirate. largest port in the Caspian.

1075 - Derbent under the rule of the Seljuk Turks.

12th century - Derbent is again an independent principality.

1239 - Derbent is conquered by the Mongol-Tatars.

1395 - Tamerlane with an army passed through the Derbent passage.

XVI-XVII centuries – Derbent is the arena of battles between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid state.

1735 - Derbent was returned to Persia under the Ganja Treaty.

October 12, 1813 - Signing of the Gulistan peace treaty. Derbent is finally annexed to Russia.

November 27th, 2017 04:16 pm

The walls of Derbent are an amazing monument of ancient fortification in Russia. There are no analogues to it in Western Asia, despite the fact that these walls were built by the Persians in the Sasanian era, there is nothing like it on the territory of Iran itself, the continuation of the Long Walls of the Caucasus across the Caspian Sea - the Gorgan Wall is now almost completely in a ruined state, therefore, to judge stone Persian fortification is now possible only along the fortifications in the Derbent region.

At the moment, it is recognized that the stone walls of Derbent were erected in the 6th century under the Sasanian king Khosrov I Anushirvan on the site of more ancient adobe walls built by his predecessors, the kings of Persia, Yazdegerd II and Kavad I. Did long walls in place of Derbent even earlier - an interesting question, but there is no clear answer to it. Based on the essence of these fortifications that blocked the passage along the Caspian Sea, we can conclude that some walls existed before the Sassanids, because the term "Caspian Gate", usually referred to Derbent, has been known since the 6th century BC.

Archaeological excavations in the citadel of Derbent confirmed the antiquity of the local locality, some kind of fortress existed here back in the days of the Scythians, but it is not known whether any walls blocked the Great Caucasian Passage at that time.

The very location of Derbent made it possible to control the passage along the Caspian Sea, in this area the spurs of the Caucasus Range come very close to the sea, so this 3.5 km long segment could easily be blocked by fortifications.
The process of building fortifications in the east of the Caucasus was complex and lengthy, the passages along the Caspian were not always strengthened in the narrowest places, in the territory of northern Azerbaijan, the remains of walls erected across a wider passage are known - this is the Shirvan wall (its length on the plain is about 8 km), also there are insignificant ruins of the walls in an even narrower passage than the Derbent one - in the area of ​​​​the Beshbarmak rock (2 km) in the same place in northern Azerbaijan. Perhaps it was the walls in Beshbarmak that became the prototype of the Derbent ones, since they are similar in their plan to two almost parallel lines of Derbent fortifications, only the Beshbarmak fortification was inferior to the latter in quality, the walls there were created from clay and poorly processed stones, so they almost did not survive to our days. time.

Even the very essence of the fortifications of the Caspian Gates may not always be clear, the fact is that the generally accepted main property of such walls is the protection of southern agricultural civilizations from the raids of nomads from the north, no doubt that all these fortification lines were erected by immigrants from Iran and Transcaucasia. But the names of the Derbent fortifications in historical sources are often in dissonance with their main point- protection of developed agricultural states, because the old names of Derbent - the Hun Gates, the Khon Gates, the Khon Fortress, rather indicate that the passage along the Caspian Sea could be controlled by the northern nomads, including through the construction of fortifications in this area.

The beginning of the southern fortress wall of Derbent.

The Derbent fortifications of the Caspian passage consist of two lines of fortification, connecting in the area of ​​the citadel of Derbent, one line included two almost parallel walls that went from the citadel to the sea (and even continued hundreds of meters deep into the depths of the sea), the second consisted of a very long The mountain wall (Dag-bars), which stretched 40 km west of Derbent and crossed the spurs of the Caucasus Range.

There will be a separate story about the Mountain Wall, but now let's look at the impressive ruins of the northern and southern walls of Derbent, it was they who formed the topography of this city, because the local settlement, which has become large medieval center, has always existed only within these walls. The city never spread out in breadth, but always sought to fill all the free places in the narrow space between the lines of ancient fortifications.

Derbent had a classic Persian urban layout and consisted of a kuhendiz - the Citadel (Naryn-Kala), a shakhristan - a fortified upper aristocratic part adjacent directly to the Citadel, and a rabad, in this case a fortified settlement in the lower part of the city, where a predominantly Christian population lived for a long time .

View from the citadel to the remains of the southern fortress wall and shahristan - the upper city of Derbent.

The walls of Derbent were about 4-5 meters wide and about 10-15 meters high. Now only the northern wall has survived to its full height, but it is difficult to climb it in order to view it from above. The southern wall, which is in the photo below, is worse preserved, but it is available for inspection.

There is an opinion that the northern wall was built first, which actually protected the Derbent passage from nomads attacking from the northern plains of coastal Dagestan. The southern wall was erected later, it was supposed to prevent attacks from the Transcaucasus, the southern wall became especially relevant during the long confrontation between Shirvan and Derbent, when, after the collapse of the Caliphate, local dynasties began an irreconcilable struggle for leadership in the region.

Therefore, we will begin our examination of the Long Walls from the northern, best-preserved line of fortifications.
It begins at the foot of the Citadel with the fortress gates of Jarchi-Kapy (Messenger's Gate), here the khan's herald (dzharchi) read out the decrees of the ruler. In Arabic texts, this gate is also called Bab al-muhajir (Gate of the fugitives), it is believed that the Khazars fled from the city through it, unable to withstand the siege of the Arab troops.

Unfortunately, most of the gates of Derbent came in a rebuilt form, Russian architects of the 19th century did their best here. The appearance of Jarchi-kapa in 1811 was greatly changed by the Russian engineer Karpov, he replaced the old lancet arch of the gate with a new semi-circular one. It is interesting that the early Sasanian arch of these gates could also be only semicircular (if these gates existed at all in Sasanian times), since only the Arabs began to use lancet arches for the first time, they significantly strengthened and rebuilt the entire Derbent fortification. But, most likely, in the Sasanian era, these gates did not exist at all, because the early Arabic written sources do not mention them.

The most powerful tower of the northern wall of Derbent, it covered the most important gates in this direction - Kyrkhlyar-Kapy (Forty Gates).

The wall gradually descends from the hill of the Citadel. Numerous reconstructions of the fortifications are visible, the ugliest (upper) was made already in the 21st century for the celebration of the city's 2000th anniversary in 2015.

Picture of a horse on the wall.

The Kyrkhlyar-Kapy Gate got its name from the nearby Kyrkhlyar (Forty) cemetery, where, according to legend, 40 Arab martyrs who died in battle with the Khazars were buried. The Arabs called these gates Bab al-jihad (Gate of the Holy War), since it was through them that the Arab troops went to war with the infidels (usually the Khazars).

The lions on the gates of Kyrkhlyar (and these are lions) were mentioned by Arab authors as early as the 11th century, so it can be assumed that they have been preserved here since the Sasanian times.

The gates themselves are very archaic, which indicates their significant age and precisely Persian origin. The later gates of the southern wall were erected as separate bastions, they were supplied with side towers and were structurally more complicated than the northern gates.

Northern wall of Derbent. It was these fortifications that held back the nomads of the north for a thousand years. One can only guess about the horrors of the wars for the Caspian passage, in the history books they only briefly write about these events, although there are serious assumptions that it was the endless wars of the Caliphate with the Khazar Khaganate that stopped the advance of the Arabs into Europe, because the resources for these wars were incredible, the Khazars often broke through Derbent fortifications and reached in their raids almost to Iraq. Derbent passed from hand to hand several times a year, the Khazars not only stormed this city, but also defended it, so Derbent is not only a Sasanian, Arab, but also a Khazar city in many respects, a separate Khazar quarter existed here for almost its entire medieval history.

Behind the gates of Kyrkhlyar there is an interesting section of the wall, where interesting masonry is clearly visible; Moreover, during the construction of the fortifications of Derbent, blocks of the outer stone shell were laid on a dry one, only the inner backfill was poured with mortar. This method of laying walls was characteristic of all the fortifications of Derbent, including the Mountain Wall, the remains of which can still be found in the forest to the west of the city.

Stones of internal filling with mortar can be seen on this part of the walls, mutilated by the growth of trees.

Kirchlyar gate view from the inside.

The north wall had 45 towers, usually round towers here they alternated with rectangular ones.

Some kind of archaeological site near the northern wall. The degree of its neglect can be judged by the collapse of the glass dome. Unfortunately, most of historical objects of Derbent is in a terrible state, much is destroyed by economic activity local residents or from the crazy reconstructions of modern reenactors.

The next gate of the northern wall of the Dash-Kapa (Gate of Stone) has not been preserved, but at least you can see the opening where they once were. They were rebuilt many times and were finally dismantled in the 60s of the 20th century.

After Dash-Kapa, ​​the northern wall follows through a picturesque wasteland of some kind of long-term construction, here they wanted to make something similar to a park, but as you can see, the laid paths themselves have already become an archaeological object, although, judging by the material, the tiles for the paths were laid relatively recently, a maximum of 10 -15 years ago.

The northern wall has preserved here the remains of machicules (mounted loopholes), which apparently were equipped with all the walls of Derbent in the Middle Ages.

Interestingly, the current, in some places remaining, battlements on the fortress walls are very different from the early battlements of the Arab and Sasanian times. Old battlements were found on the ruins of the Mountain Wall and are now in the Derbent Museum in the Citadel. They have a stepped pyramidal shape characteristic of many ancient structures of Asia Minor; similar teeth can be seen even in the images of Assyrian palaces and fortresses.

Here, on the overgrown wasteland, you can find another gate of Derbent - this is the mysterious Bab al-qiyamat (Gate doomsday), these gates are around the 10th-11th centuries. were half-filled, i.e. it is impossible to pass through them through the wall, they became a Sufi cult place and apparently symbolized the entrance to the underworld (i.e. underground). Here, in addition to numerous Arabic inscriptions, the burial of some saint was found, Bab al-qiyamat was used as a feast ( Holy place, grave) until the 20th century, it was called Burunj Pir (Angular Feast), then they were forgotten for a long time, and now after the excavations of archaeologists they are incredibly overgrown with thorny bushes, so I could not somehow inspect them and took only a couple of photos from afar. There was a feeling that the bushes were planted here on purpose, so that tourists would not be able to get to these gates.

Surprisingly, in the adjacent section of the wall, I discovered another semi-underground passage, about which nothing is known and also overgrown with bushes.

The round tower-bastion of the northern walls of Derbent, as we see, there are no vaults inside, the ceilings here were exclusively wooden. In earlier Arab times, many towers of the walls of Derbent served as block mosques, but now it is difficult to say where they were located specifically, even the blocks themselves can only be guessed at.

Numerous small holes in the walls can be traces of driving nails, in Dagestan there has long been a similar custom, it is believed that if you drive a nail into the wall the first time, some desire will come true if the nail does not enter, respectively, no. Nails were driven in some holy places, for example, a lot of them were driven in around the gates of the Day of Judgment, which we examined above, why there are many holes on this wall is not clear.

After Derbent became part of Russia, a lighthouse was built on one of the bastions of the northern wall in 1853.

Derbent was a port city before, since the time of the Arabs, but now from ancient port nothing left. At the moment, the length of the walls that go deep into the sea is not known exactly, according to the stories of Arab authors, the walls of Derbent could stretch into the sea for 100 meters or more, thereby protecting the port and creating a cozy harbor for ships. It seems that some remnants of the walls in the sea were found in the 60s by L.N. Gumilyov, but the exact plan of the Derbent port is unknown.

Coast of the Caspian Sea near Derbent. When in this place the Long Walls went hundreds of meters deep into the sea.

The last ruins of the walls of Derbent are visible in the area railway, apparently this is the remains of the tower.

Some kind of square tower is built into the wall of a modern building, also next to the railway tracks.

Having reached the sea coast, we will begin to move back to the Naryn-kala citadel to inspect the ruins of the southern wall.
The southern wall differed from the northern one in a shorter length, as well as in the abundance of fortress gates, this was due to the fact that the southern direction in Derbent was more often used for economic and commercial activities, because roads went to the central parts of Western Asia from here. Numerous gates on the northern wall would create vulnerable areas of defense, because any gate in the fortresses is always a vulnerability.

It is interesting that back in the 19th century, in the Russian Derbent, the city expanded precisely in the south direction - towards Azerbaijan, because of this, a significant part of the southern walls of the city was demolished, while the fortification of the north of Derbent was almost completely preserved.

In the southern wall, the most extreme gates to the sea, the Dubary kapy (Gate of the Double Wall), have been preserved, they differ from the northern flanking towers, characteristic of the entire southern Derbent fortification line. It is not known when these gates were erected, but in 1184 they already existed, as evidenced by the inscription about their restoration. The name Du-bari kapa apparently follows from the presence of the remains of another wall next to them - a mud wall, created under the Sasanian shahs Yazdegerd II or Kavad. The remains of this adobe wall existed at the beginning of the 20th century, but now it is very problematic to find them.

Most likely Dubar-kapy was built by the Arabs, since earlier there were also lancet arches here, which were even captured in a photo of the 19th century. But now, as we can see, these arches do not exist, they died during the 20th century, and were replaced by the fantasies of modern restorers in 2015, who depicted instead of several arches of different heights one high and round one, since it was with such semicircular arches that the old lancet Russian arches were replaced in Derbent builders in the 19th century. In general, there were Arab fortress gates, but they became Russian triumphal ones, judging by their modern look. Even the Russian architect Karpov himself would not have come up with the idea of ​​​​making the arch of the fortress gates of such a height, he was still a military engineer, and not a modern dreamer-reenactor.

Dubara-kapa gate at the beginning of the 20th century.

A significant section of the southern wall has now disappeared, and with it at least three gates have disappeared - Bab Hims, Bab Kaisar or Bab Filastin, Bab Dimashk, all of them were named after the residential quarters of the city of the times of the Caliphate - Chomsky, where people from the Syrian city of Homs, Kaisar settled , where immigrants from Palestinian Caesarea lived, it may have coincided with the Palestinian (Filastin) quarter, Damascus (Dimashk), where the Arabs from Damascus lived.

For the Arabs, Derbent was of great importance, since it closed the approaches to the central part of the Caliphate from the north, so the caliphs settled here numerous Arab settlers, who were entrusted with the task of protecting the borders of the Islamic world. The Arabic name of the city itself spoke of its importance - Bab al-abwab (Gate of the gate). Derbent was the main stronghold of Islam in the Caucasus, it was from here that the Arab warriors carried out their expansion to the entire North Caucasus.

Fortunately, the most beautiful gates of Derbent have been preserved - this is the Orta-Kapy (Middle Gate) of the southern wall. Sometimes they were called Bab al-hadid (Iron Gates), this name was often applied to the whole of Derbent.

Bab al-hadid, indeed, had gates lined with iron, this is mentioned by Arab authors. The Arabs rebuilt these gates from the old Sasanian ones, they erected a luxurious portal with a pointed arch and also reduced the height of the opening of the old Persian gates, making them more impregnable.
Orta-kapy were the main gates of Derbent along with the northern gates of Kyrkhlyar, between them a through road passed through the whole city, connecting the Arab Caliphate with the Khazar Khaganate.

The lion on the gates of Orta-Kapa could have appeared both in the Sasanian period and later, during the reign of the Shirvanshahs.

You can safely climb the stairs to the battlefield of Orta-kapa from the inside of the gate. The inscription on the banner reminds us that Derbent is now a predominantly Shiite city.

The south wall is actively used for residential construction; it has become the foundation of many residential buildings. The heterogeneity of the masonry suggests that the wall was repeatedly dismantled and then reassembled.

Many stones of the Derbent walls sin with polygonality, which exposes them hoary antiquity, so built in ancient world, and the Sassanids continued to use similar polygonal masonry, after which the Arabs began to use more even blocks in construction.

It is not clear why it was necessary to disfigure the ancient walls in such a way, specifically using material very different from the original, especially in such an arbitrary way. Why was it necessary to build old wall, if in the plans of the current reenactors there was not even a hint of getting closer to the historically accurate appearance of the walls. In fact, some kind of stone fence was erected over the remains of the old fortifications.

At the very foot of the hill of the Naryn-kala citadel in the 8th century, the Arabs erected a gate, now called Bayat-kapy, they served as the main entrance to the upper aristocratic quarter of Derbent. Like other gates in the city of Bayat-Kapy, they came down to us in a heavily rebuilt form, under the Arabs they had lancet arches and vaults, but in 1811 Karpov also turned them into semicircular ones, plus he added loopholes over the passage. From Arab times, only the base of the gate has been preserved; in terms of plan, it was a protruding bastion with two semicircular towers at the corners.

The Arabic name of these gates Bab al-Maktub (Gate of the Inscription) implied the presence of some Arabic sayings above the gate, now they have all disappeared, but a Russian one appeared in the 19th century - "Time destroyed me, obedience built me, 1811".

In the southern wall of Derbent there is another gate - Kala-kapy, the fortress gate at the top of the Naryn-Kala citadel, but we will examine them next time, in a post dedicated to the most ancient part of the city - its citadel.

To be continued...

Previous post about Dagestan.