UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | Russia |
Criteria | Cultural: iii, iv |
Reference | 1070 |
Inscription | 2003 (27th Session) |
Area | 9.7 ha |
Buffer zone | 2 ha |
Coordinates | 42°03′10″N48°16′27″E / 42.05278°N 48.27417°E |
The Fortifications of Derbent (Darband) are one of the fortified defense lines, some of which date to the times as early as those built by the Persian Sasanian Empire to protect the eastern passage of the Caucasus Mountains (the "Caspian Gates") against the attacks of the nomadic peoples of the Pontic–Caspian steppe. With the first parts built in the 6th century during the reign of Persian emperor Khosrow I and maintained by various later Arab, Turkish and Persian regimes, the fortifications comprise three distinct elements: the citadel of Naryn-Kala at Derbent, the twin long walls connecting it with the Caspian Sea in the east, and the "mountain wall" of Dagh-Bary, running from Derbent to the Caucasus foothills in the west. The immense wall, with a height of up to twenty meters and a thickness of about 10 feet (3.0 meters), stretched for forty kilometers between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, thirty north-looking towers stretched for forty kilometers between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, effectively blocking the passage across the Caucasus. The fortification complex was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.
Already in Classical Antiquity, the settlement of Derbent and its wider region (the "Caspian Gates") were known for their strategic location between the Caspian Sea and the eastern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, separating the settled regions south of the Caucasus from the nomadic peoples dominating the Pontic–Caspian steppe to the north. [1] Archaeological evidence points to the establishment of a fortified settlement on the Derbent hill as early as the late 8th century BCE, probably under the impact of Scythian raids. This settlement initially covered only the more protected northeastern side of the hill (some 4–5 hectares), but over the 6th–4th centuries BCE expanded to cover its entire surface (c. 15 hectares). The walls of that settlement were some 2 metres (6.6 ft) high and maximally 7 metres (23 ft) thick, with evidence of repeated destruction and rebuilding throughout the period. [1]
From the 4th century BCE, the settlement began to expand beyond the hill fortress, which became a citadel to an expanding city. In the 1st century BCE, Derbent became incorporated in the kingdom of Caucasian Albania, probably as its northernmost possession. Derbent experienced a period of considerable prosperity in the first three centuries of the Common Era, but the resumption of nomad raids in the 4th century (the Alans and later the Huns) meant that it quickly reverted to its role as a frontier post and a "symbolic boundary between nomadic and agrarian ways of life". [1] In the late 4th century CE, Albania passed under Sasanian influence and control; in the 5th century, it was a Sasanian border fortress and the seat of a march-warden ( marzban ). [1]
During the reign of Khosrow I the fortress was built. There are also various Middle Persian (Pahlavi) inscriptions on the walls of the fortress and Northern/Southern walls inside the city. After the Arab conquest of Persia various Arabic inscriptions were also made.
The Citadel of Derbent is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city of Derbent and the Republic of Dagestan.
In 2022 Pejman Akbarzadeh made the documentary film "Derbent: What Persia Left Behind". [2] The film which explores the history and architecture of Derbent fortification was screened at various academic conferences including the German Orientalists Day in Berlin and the biennial of Iranian Studies Association in Salamanca. [3]
Yazdegerd II, was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 438 to 457. He was the successor and son of Bahram V.
The Darial Gorge is a river gorge on the border between Russia and Georgia. It is at the east base of Mount Kazbek, south of present-day Vladikavkaz. The gorge was carved by the river Terek, and is approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long. The steep granite walls of the gorge can be as much as 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) tall in some places. The Georgian Military Road runs through the gorge.
Derbent, formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second-most important city of Dagestan. Derbent occupies the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian Steppe to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south; covering an area of 69.63 square kilometres (26.88 sq mi), with a population of roughly 120,000 residents.
The Great Wall of Gorgan is a Sasanian-era defense system located near modern Gorgan in the Golestān Province of northeastern Iran, at the southeastern corner of the Caspian Sea. The western, Caspian Sea, end of the wall is near the remains of the fort at: 37.13981°N 54.1788733°E; the eastern end of the wall, near the town of Pishkamar, is near the remains of the fort at: 37.5206739°N 55.5770498°E. The title coordinate is for the location of the remains of a fort midway along the wall.
The Russo-Persian Wars or Russo-Iranian Wars were a series of conflicts between 1651 and 1828, concerning Persia and the Russian Empire. Russia and Persia fought these wars over disputed governance of territories and countries in the Caucasus. The main territories disputed were Aran, Georgia and Armenia, as well as much of Dagestan – generally referred to as Transcaucasia – and considered part of the Safavid Iran prior to the Russo-Persian Wars. Over the course of the five Russo-Persian Wars, the governance of these regions transferred between the two empires. Between the Second and Third Russo-Persian Wars, there was an interbellum period in which a number of treaties were drawn up between the Russian and the Persian Empires, as well as between both parties and the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman interest in these territories further complicated the wars, with both sides forming alliances with the Ottoman Empire at different points throughout the wars. Following the Treaty of Turkmenchay, which concluded the Fifth Russo-Persian War, Persia ceded much of its Transcaucasian territory to the Russian Empire.
The Gates of Alexander, also known as the Caspian Gates, are one of several mountain passes in eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Persia separating the Greco-Roman world from the Persian world. They are often imagined as an actual fortification, or as a symbolic boundary separating the civilized from the uncivilized world. The original Gates of Alexander were just south of the Caspian Sea, at Rhagae, where Alexander crossed while pursuing Darius III. The name was transferred to passes through the Caucasus, on the other side of the Caspian, by the more fanciful historians of Alexander.
Sarir or Serir was a medieval Christian state lasting from the 6th or 7th century to the 12th century in the mountainous regions of modern-day Dagestan in southern Russia. Its name is derived from the Arabic word for "throne" and refers to a golden throne that was viewed as a symbol of royal authority.
Barda is a city and the capital of the Barda District in Azerbaijan, located south of Yevlax and on the left bank of the Tartar river. It served as the capital of Caucasian Albania by the end of the 5th-century. Barda became the chief city of the Islamic province of Arran, the classical Caucasian Albania, remaining so until the tenth century.
Caucasian Albania was a kingdom in the Caucasus, which was under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire from 252 to 636.
The Russian conquest of the Caucasus mainly occurred between 1800 and 1864. The Russian Empire sought to control the region between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. South of the mountains was the territory that is modern Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Iran and Turkey. North of the mountains was the North Caucasus region of modern Russia. The difficult conquest of the intervening mountains is known as the Caucasian War. Multiple wars were fought against the local rulers of the regions, as well as the dominant powers, the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Iran, for control. By 1864 the last regions were brought under Russian control.
Historically, Dagestan consisted of a federation of mountainous principalities in the eastern part of the North Caucasus. Located at the crossroads of world civilizations of north and south, Dagestan was the scene of clashes of interests of many states and until the early 19th century, most notably between Iran and the Russian Empire.
Aswagen was the eight Arsacid king of Caucasian Albania, ruling from approximately 415 to 440. He was most likely the son of the previous Albanian king Urnayr, while his mother was a daughter of the Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah) of Iran, Shapur II. Aswagen was himself married to a daughter of shahanshah Yazdegerd II. It was under Aswagen that the Caucasian Albanian script was created in c. 420.
The Derbent Khanate was a Caucasian khanate that was established in Afsharid Iran. It corresponded to southern Dagestan and its center was at Derbent.
Iranian Russians or Persian Russians are Iranians in the Russian Federation, and are Russian citizens or permanent residents of (partial) Iranian national background.
The defense lines of the Sasanians were part of their military strategy and tactics. They were networks of fortifications, walls, and/or ditches built opposite the territory of the enemies. These defense lines are known from tradition and archaeological evidence.
Murtazali Gadjiev is a Russian-Dagestani archaeologist and scholar. He is the head of the archaeology department of Dagestan Scientific Center of Russian Academy of Science.
The Maskut were a group of Massagetaen-Sarmato-Alanian tribes located in the eastern part of the Caucasus, along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. They lived between Derbent and Shaporan, which corresponds to present-day northeast Azerbaijan and southeast Dagestan (Russia). The name "Maskut" is also sometimes used to refer to a geographic area, rather than an ethnic group. The first wave of these tribes arrived in the 3rd-century from the Volga–Don Canal and the northern coast of the Caspian Sea. The modern Russian-Dagestani historian Murtazali Gadjiev suggests that these tribes had immigrated as a result of not only climate changes and longing to explore new regions, but as well as due to concurrent conflicts.
Chola was ancient province, as well as its capital city located western coast of Caspian Sea in Toprakhgala archaeological site of Derbent.
Naryn-Kala is an ancient pre-Arab citadel, part of the Derbent fortress, connected to the Caspian Sea by double walls designed to block the so-called Caspian gates to the Persian state. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Judaism in Dagestan is mainly practiced by Mountain Jews. By the beginning of the 8th century BCE Mountain Jews had reached Persia from Israel. Under the Sasanian Empire, with the arrival in Dagestan of Iranian-speaking tribes from the north, they settled in different regions of the Caucasus.