Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Azerbaijan
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Reference	958
Region **	Europe
Inscription history
Inscription	2000 (24th Session)
Endangered	2003-2009
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

Palace of the Shirvanshahs (or Shirvanshahs' Palace; Azerbaijani: Şirvanşahlar sarayı) is the biggest monument of the Shirvan-Absheron branch of the Azerbaijan architecture, situated in the Inner City of Baku. The complex contains the main building of the palace, Divanhane, the burial-vaults, the shah's mosque with a minaret, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's mausoleum, a portal in the east - Murad's gate, a reservoir and the remnants of the bath-house.

The palace is depicted on the obverse of the Azerbaijani 10,000 manat banknote of 1994-2006,^[1] and of the 10 new manat banknote issued since 2006.^[2]

History[link]

In the 15th century the Shirvanshah dynasty, under Ibrahim I of Shirvan, transferred his country's capital from Shemakha to Baku following a devastating earthquake, and where he committed himself to the construction of the "palace". The building is believed to be a memorial complex built around the sacred place of worship (pir) and a tomb of Seyyid Yahya Bakuvi who was a Helwati Sufi saint. The Shirvanshahs were patrons of the Helwati Sufi order and Shirvanshah Khalilullah I was buried with his family in the grounds of the palace. Other historians argue that the building was used as the ruler's palace, however both theories suffer from the absence of evidence. It is known however, that wells inside the grounds of the "palace" were considered to have healing qualities until recent times, as was the hill where the palace was built.

After the Safavid conquest of Baku in 1501, the Sufi order was expelled and over centuries the "palace" fell into ruin, and was known in Baku as Baku Khans palace; this toponym moved into Russian historiography, first cited by Bartold.

Architecture[link]

The main building of the complex was started in 1411 by Shirvanshah Sheykh Ibrahim I. The two-storey building of the palace numbers about 50 different dimensions and outlines of the constructions connected with 3 narrow winding staircases. The big lancet portal directly leads from the courtyard to the second floor, into a high octahedral lodging covered with a cupola. A small, also an octagonal vestibule, located behind it, connects it with the rest of the lodgings in the palace.

Turbe (Mausoleum) of Shirvanshahs in Baku. 15th century.

Divankhana is a small stone pavilion. It is situated inside a small courtyard surrounded by a gallery-arcade on three sides. The Divankhana pavilion consists of an octahedral hall covered with a stone cupola both inside and outside. The well-proportioned high portal of the main entrance is decorated with an ornament and Arabic inscription. The ornament pictures the interlacing fig and vine leaves. The portal is also decorated with two medallions inside of which there are inscriptions in Kufic Arabic.

The Mausoleum of the Shirvanshahs is of a rectangular shape and crowned with a hexahedral cupola which is decorated from outside with multi-radial stars. The inscription on the entrance doorway indicates the purpose of the building, "Khalilullah I, the greatest Soltan, Great Shirvanshah, the namesake of the divine prophet, the defender of the religion ordered to construct this light burial-vault for his mother and son in 839" (1435–1436). On two drop-shaped medallions in the flannel parts of the portal there are inscriptions with the architect's name - Memar Ali (architect Ali).

The Palace Mosque (1430s) is situated in the lower court of the complex. The laconicism of its prismatic volumes, completed with two slightly pointed cupolas, is shaded by a well-proportioned vertical line of the minaret rising above in the north-eastern corner of the building. There are 2 chapels for prayers in the mosque: a hall of a large size for men and a hall of a small size for women, also a couple of small subsidiary rooms. There is an inscription laid under the stalactite belt of the minaret which reads, "The greatest Soltan Khalilullah I ordered to build this minaret. May Allah exalt the days of his governing and reign. The year of 845" (1441–1442).

Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's Mausoleum is situated in the southern part of the complex. Seyid Yahya Bakuvi was a royal scholar in the court of Shirvanshah Khalilullah. The Mausoleum is of an octahedral shape and covered with an octahedral marquee. It consists of ground and underground parts. The upper part of the Mausoleum served to perform the cult rites, and the lower one housed the sepulchral vault. There are three small lancet windows with a stone bar - shabaka on the southern, eastern and western verges of the Mausoleum.

The Shirvanshahs' Palace complex also includes the portal of Eastern Gates, the so-called "Sultan Murad's Gate" (1585). It was built within the walls of the citadel rather later than all the other constructions of the complex during Ottoman occupation of 1585-1603rd century. The gates were named by them in honor of Sultan Murad III.

The Palace Bath-house is situated on the lowest terrace of the complex. It was discovered in 1939 and dates to 17th century. The archaeological excavations exposed a big bath-house consisting of 26 rooms. On the basis of the surviving remains of the walls of the bath-house one can say that its rooms used to be covered with cupolas and the light penetrated through the openings in the cupolas. The bath-house was semi-underground for keeping the heat in winter and the cool in summer.

The Shirvanshahs' Palace complex was declared a museum-reserve in 1964 and was taken under the state protection. Major restoration works are ongoing.

See also[link]

• List of World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Palace of the Shirvanshahs

v t e World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan Gobustan National Park  · Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower · Sites on the Tentative List: Baku Stage Mountain  · Binegadi 4th Period Fauna and Flora Deposit  · Lok-Batan Mud Cone  · Hyrkan State Reserve  · Ordubad historical and architectural reserve  · Sheki, the Khan's Palace  · Surakhany, Atashgyakh (Fire - worshippers, temple - museum at Surakhany)  · Susha historical and architectural reserve  · The Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions  · The mausoleums of Nakhichevan

Coordinates: 40°21′58″N 49°50′00″E / 40.366149°N 49.833443°E / 40.366149; 49.833443

Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshahs' Palace and Maiden Tower *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Azerbaijan
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Reference	958
Region **	Europe
Inscription history
Inscription	2000 (24th Session)
Endangered	2003–2009
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

The Maiden Tower (Azerbaijani: Qız Qalası) or also known locally as Giz Galasi located in the Old City, Baku in Azerbaijan is an ancient tower with cultural affinity corroborating the presence Zoroastrians, Sassanians, Arabs, Persians, Shirvanis, Ottomans, and Russians. Built in the 12th century, as part of the walled city of Baku, the Maiden Tower, with the Shirvanshahs' Palace dated to the 15th century, are an ensemble of historic monuments which have been inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property under category iii, in 2001. It is one of the most noted landmarks and Azerbaijan's most distinctive national emblems, and is thus featured on Azeri currency notes and other official letter heads.^[1][2]

The Maiden Tower houses a museum, which presents the story of historic evolution of the Baku city. It also has a gift shop. The view from the roof takes in the alleys and minarets of the Old City, the Baku Boulevard, the De Gaulle house and a wide vista of the Baku Bay. In recent years, the brazier on the top has been lit during the nights of the Novruz festival.^[2]

Consequent to the receding of the sea shore line of the Caspian Sea, a strip of land emerged. This land was developed between the 9th and 15th centuries, when the walls of the old city, the palace including the huge bastion of the Maiden Tower were built.^[3]

History[link]

There are a number of competing explanations for the name, the most prominent of which is the legend of a maiden (said to be the daughter of the Khan of Baku^[4]) who threw herself off its top to her death in the waves below.^[5] In some sources she was said to be the sister rather than the daughter of the king who was actually incarcerated by her brother and to escape from the ignominy of incarceration she jumped to death from the top of the tower. Another explanation for the name is testament to the fact that the tower has never been taken by force (hence a metaphorical reference to 'virginity') and the fact that some believe that it was once a Watch Tower [Azeri: Göz Qalası] which can account for its name.

The Maiden Tower set in the south-east part of Icheri Sheher, has mystique and hoary history and legends that are linked to two periods, though not conclusively established. The area was first settled in the Palaeolithic period.^[6]

Depiction of Maiden Tower on Azerbaijani manat (1993)

Sara Ashurbeyli, a prominent historian and expert in the history of Baku has calculated that the tower foundations, which extend 15 metres below ground level and the bottom three stories above ground, were originally built between the 4th and 6th centuries CE and points out the marked difference in the stone used in the tower compared to the stone used in the medieval city surrounding it.^[7] This view is partly supported by historian Bretanitskiy who has postulated that the tower was partly built in the 5th to 6th centuries and then later in the 12th century.^[7] The site was believed to have used originally during the Sasanid era as a Zoroastrian temple.,^[8] An inscription located 14 metres high on the south wall which in old Kufic script mentions Qubbeye Masud ibn Davud or Kubey Mesud ibn Da’ud, an architect active during the 12th century; he was the father of architect who built the Mardakan Round Tower.^[9] However it is disputed as the inscription, unlike the Madakan Tower does not actually reveal him to have been the architect, although it is generally agreed that much of the modern tower dates back to the 12th century.^[7] Prof. Ahmadov believes that the tower was used as an astronomical observatory from the time of this reconstruction, due to the fact that 30 hewed stone protuberances on the tower's lower section and the 31 protuberances on the upper section, linked with a stone belt, correlate to the days of the month.^[7]