Derbent, also historically known as Darband,
Derbent is considered the oldest city in Russia, with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BC, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.[ Derbent - Russia’s oldest city: 5,000 and counting ] Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol Empire, Timurid Empire, and Shirvanshah kingdoms. In the early 19th century, the city came under control of the Russian Empire through the Treaty of Gulistan signed with Qajar Iran.[Timothy C. Dowling Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond p 728 ABC-CLIO, 2 dec. 2014 ]
Etymology
Derbent is derived from
Persian language "
Darband" (, from
dar "door/gate" +
band "barrier/dam", lit., "gate in the barrier"
), referring to the eastern-most pass in the high Caucasus Mountains (whence the putative "barrier/dam") on the beaches of the
Caspian Sea. (The other pass, the
Darial Pass, is in the Central Caucasus Mountains, and likewise carries a Persian name, standing for "the Alan Pass/gate" with the
Alans being the modern
Iranic Ossetians.)
It is often identified with the Gates of Alexander, a legendary barrier supposedly built by Alexander the Great in the Caucasus. The Persian name for the city came into use at the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century AD, when the city was re-established by Kavadh I of the Sasanian Empire dynasty of Persia, but Derbent was probably already in the Sasanian sphere of influence as a result of the victory over the Parthian Empire and the conquest of Caucasian Albania by Shapur I, the second shah of the Sasanian Empire Persians.
šahrestan ī kūmīs ī panj-burg až-i dahāg pad šabestān kard. māniš ī *pārsīgān ānōh būd. padxwadayīh ī yazdgird ī šabuhrān kard andar tāzišn ī čōl wērōy-pahr ī an ālag. (The city of Kūmīs of five towers Aži Dahag made it his own harem. The abode of the Parthians was there. In the reign of Yazdgird, the son of Šabuhr made it during the invasion of the Čōl, at the boundary of the Georgian Guard.).
-Wėrōy-pahr: "The Georgian Guard" The old name of the fortress at Darband;...
In Arabic texts the city was known as "
Bāb al-Abwāb" (),
simply as "
al-Bāb" () or as "
Bāb al-Hadid" ().
A similar name meaning "Iron Gate" was used by Turkic peoples, in the form "
Demirkapi".
History
Derbent's location on a narrow, three-kilometer strip of land in the
North Caucasus between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains is strategic in the entire
Caucasus region. Historically, this position allowed the rulers of Derbent to control land traffic between the
Eurasian Steppe and the
Middle East. The only other practicable crossing of the Caucasus ridge was over the
Darial Gorge.
Persian rule
A traditionally and historically
city,
[Michael Khodarkovsky. "Bitter Choices: Loyalty and Betrayal in the Russian Conquest of the North Caucasus" Cornell University Press, 12 mrt. 2015. . pp. 47–52.] the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC; the site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and is traditionally identified with Albana, the capital.
The modern name is a
Persian language word (دربند
Darband) meaning "gateway", which came into use in the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century AD, when the city was re-established by Kavadh I of the
Sasanian Empire dynasty of Persia,
however, Derbent was probably already into the Sasanian sphere of influence as a result of the victory over the Parthians and the conquest of Caucasian Albania by Shapur I, the second shah of the
Sasanian Empire Persians.
In the 5th century Derbent also functioned as a border fortress and the seat of a Sassanid
marzban.
The walls with thirty north-looking towers are believed to belong to the time of Kavadh's son, Khosrau I, who also directed the construction of Derbent's fortress.[Kevin Alan Brook. "The Jews of Khazatia" Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 27 sep. 2006. . p. 126.]
Some say that the level of the Caspian was formerly higher and that the lowering of the water level opened an invasion route that had to be fortified.[Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia: A Historical Atlas, 2001, page 89.] The chronicler Movses Kaghankatvatsi wrote about "the wondrous walls, for whose construction the Persian kings exhausted our country, recruiting architects and collecting building materials with a view of constructing a great edifice stretching between the Caucasus Mountains and the Great Eastern Sea". Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sasanian Empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christianity faith in the Caucasus.
During periods when the Sasanians were distracted by war with the Byzantines or protracted battles with the Hephthalites in the eastern provinces, the northern tribes succeeded in advancing into the Caucasus. The first Sasanian attempt to seal off the road along the Caspian seacoast at Darband by means of a mud-brick wall has been dated in the reign of Yazdegerd II (438–457 AD).
Movses Kagankatvatsi left a graphic description of the sack of Derbent by the hordes of Tong Yabghu of the Western Turkic Khaganate in 627. His successor,
As mentioned by the Encyclopedia Iranica, ancient Iranian language elements were absorbed into the everyday speech of the population of Dagestan and Derbent especially during the Sassanian era, and many remain current.[Saidov and Shikhsaidov, pp. 26–27.] relocating about 3,000 families from the interior of Persia in the city of Derbent and neighboring villages.[Bol’shakov and Mongaĭt, p. 26.]
Arab conquest
In 643, Derbent was captured by the Arab Muslims, who called it the Gate of Gates (
Bab al-Abwab),
following their invasion of Persia. They transformed it into an important administrative center and introduced
Islam to the area. The impression of antiquity evoked by these fortifications led many Arab historians to connect them with
Khosrow I and to include them among the seven wonders of the world.
The Darband fortress was certainly the most prominent Sasanian defensive construction in the Caucasus and could have been erected only by an extremely powerful central government.
Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the
Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the
Khazars in the course of the
Khazar-Arab Wars. The Sassanids had also brought Armenians from Syunik to help protect the pass from invaders; as Arab rule weakened in the region at the end of the ninth century, the Armenians living there were able to establish a community, which lasted until the early years of the thirteenth century.
[See Sedrak Barkhudaryan, “Դերբենդի հայ-աղվանական թագավորությունը” (“The Armenian-Caucasian Albanian Kingdom of Derbend”). Patma-Banasirakan Handes . № 3, 1969, pp. 125-147.][ Matthew of Edessa. Ժամանակնագրություն ( Chronicle). Translated by Hrach Bartikyan. Yerevan: Hayastan Publishing, 1973, pp. 151-152, 332, note 132a.] The Holy Saviour Armenian Church still rises up in the skyline, though it is used as the Museum of Carpet, Arts and Crafts today due to the decline in the Armenian population. There was also a second Armenian church and two Armenian schools which served the Armenian community, which numbered about 3,000 in the census of 1913.
Excavations on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea, opposite to Derbent, revealed the Great Wall of Gorgan, the eastern counterpart to the wall and fortifications of Derbent. Similar Sassanian defensive fortifications there—massive forts, garrison towns, long walls—also run from the sea to the mountains.
The Caliph Harun al-Rashid lived in Derbent and brought it into great repute as a seat of the arts and commerce. According to Arab historians, Derbent, with a population exceeding 50,000, was the largest city of the 9th century in the Caucasus. In the 10th century, with the collapse of the Arab Caliphate, Derbent became the capital of an emirate. Emirate of Derbent often fought losing wars with the neighboring Christian state of Sarir, allowing Sarir to manipulate Derbent's politics on occasion. Despite that, the emirate outlived its rival and continued to flourish at the time of the Mongol invasion in 1239. In the 14th century, Derbent was occupied by Timur's armies.
Shirvanshah era
The
dynasty existed as independent or a
vassal state, from 861 until 1538; longer than any other dynasty in the
Islamic world. They were renowned for their cultural achievements and geopolitical pursuits. The rulers of Shirvan, called the Shirvanshahs, had attempted, and on numerous times, succeeded, to conquer Derbend since the 18th Shirvanshah king,
Afridun I, was appointed as the governor of the city. Over the centuries the city changed hands often. The 21st Shirvanshah king,
Akhsitan I, briefly reconquered the city. However, the city was lost once again to the northern
Kipchaks.
After the Timurid invasion, Ibrahim I of Shirvan, the 33rd Shirvanshah, managed to keep the kingdom of Shirvan independent. Ibrahim I revived Shirvan's fortunes, and through his cunning politics managed to continue without paying tribute. Furthermore, Ibrahim also greatly increased the limits of his state. He conquered the city of Derbend in 1437. The Shirvanshahs integrated the city so closely with their political structure that a new branch of the Shirvan dynasty emerged from Derbend, the Derbenid dynasty. The Derbenid dynasty, being a cadet dynasty of Shirvan, inherited the throne of Shirvan in the 15th century.
In the early 16th century, the kingdom of Shirvan was conquered by Shah Ismail of the Safavid dynasty. As Shah Ismail incorporated all the Shirvan possessions, he also inherited Derbend.
Russian conquest
Derbent stayed under Iranian rule, while occasionally briefly taken by the
Ottoman Turks such as in 1583 after the Battle of Torches and the Treaty of Constantinople, till the course of the 19th century, when the Russians occupied the city and wider Iranian-ruled swaths of Dagestan.
Being briefly taken by the Russians as a result of the Persian expedition of 1722–23 by Peter the Great, the 1735 Treaty of Ganja, formed by Imperial Russia and Safavid Iran ( de facto ruled by Nader Shah), forced Russia to return Derbent and its bastion to Iran. In 1747, Derbent became the capital of the Derbent Khanate of the same name.
During the Persian Expedition of 1796, Derbent was stormed by Russian forces under General Valerian Zubov, but the Russians were forced to retreat due to internal political issues,
In the 1886 census of Dagestan Oblast, as part of Russia's Caucasus Viceroyalty, people of descent () were still an absolute majority at 8,994 out of 15,265, or 58,9%.
Geography
The modern city is built in the
North Caucasus of
Eastern Europe; near the western shores of the
Caspian Sea, south of the Rubas River, on the slopes of the Tabasaran Mountains (part of the Bigger Caucasus range). Derbent is well served by public transport, with its own harbor, a railway going south to
Baku, and the Baku to
Rostov-on-Don road.
To the north of the town is the monument of the Kirk-lar, or forty heroes, who fell defending Dagestan against the Arabs in 728. To the south lies the seaward extremity of the Caucasian wall (fifty metres long), otherwise known as Alexander's Wall, blocking the narrow pass of the Iron Gate or Caspian Gates ( Portae Athanae or Portae Caspiae). When intact, the wall had a height of and a thickness of about and, with its iron gates and numerous watch-towers, defended Persia's frontier.
Climate
Derbent has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification
BSk). Winters are highly variable, with very cold nights interspersed with occasional bouts of sunshine and summerlike temperatures. Highest temperature was recorded 38.8°C (101.8°F) on August 29, 1995 and August 13, 1974 and lowest temperature was recorded -19.0°C (-2.2°F) on February 14, 1988 and February 3, 1994, and the highest lowest temperature recorded was 28.9°C (84.0°F) on July 6, 1990, July 12, 2010 and June 7, 1984, lowest high was -6.1°C (21.0°F) on January 15, 1993 and December 7, 2005.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Derbent serves as the administrative center of Derbentsky District, even though it is not a part of it.
[Law #16] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the
City of Derbent—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.
As a municipal division, the City of Derbent is incorporated as
Derbent Urban Okrug.
[Law #6]
Demographics
According to the 1897 census, Derbent had 14,649 inhabitants, 9,767 of whom were Tatar (later known as
Azerbaijanis) speakers (66.7%) and 1,004 were
Russian language speakers (6.9%).
In 1916, Derbent had a population of 31,168 consisting of 7,919 Shia Muslims (25.4%), 7,567 Russians (24.3%), 6,879 Jews (22.1%), 5,138 Caucasian highlanders (16.5%), 2,604 Armenians (8.4%), and 1,061 Sunni Islam (3.4%).
According to the 2021 Census, the main ethnic groups in the city are:
Jewish community
Jews began to settle in Derbent in ancient times. During the Khazars' reign, they played an important part in the life of the city.
The Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela mentions Jews living in Derbent in the 12th century, and Christian traveler Wilhelm of Rubruquis writes about a Jewish community in the 13th century. The first mention of Jews in Derbent in modern times is by a German traveler, Adam Olearius, in the 17th century.
Derbent's Jewry suffered during the wars in the 18th century. Nadir Shah of Persia forced many Jews to adopt Islam. After the Russian conquest, many Jews of rural Dagestan fled to Derbent, which became the spiritual center of the Mountain Jews. The Jewish population numbered 2,200 in 1897 (15% of total population) and 3,500 in 1903. In the middle of the 20th century, Jews constituted about a third of the population of Derbent.
Economy and culture
The city is home to machine building, food, textile, fishing, and fishery supplies, construction materials, and wood industries. It is the center of Russian
brandy production. The educational infrastructure includes a university as well as several technical schools. On the cultural front, there is a Lezgin drama theater (named after S. Stalsky). About two kilometers () from the city is the vacation colony of Chayka (Seagull).
The Soviet novelist Yury Krymov named a fictional motor tanker after the city in his book The Tanker "Derbent".
Museums
-
Derbent State Museum-Reserve
-
Cabin of Peter the Great
-
Alexander Bestuzhev House
Theaters
Derbent has 3 state and 1 municipal theaters.
-
State Azerbaijan Drama Theater
-
State Lezgin Music and Drama Theater named after S. Stalsky
-
State Tabasaran Drama Theater
-
Judeo-Tat Theatre
Citadel of Derbend
Derbent resembles a huge museum and has magnificent mountains and shore nearby, and therefore possesses much touristic potential, further increased by
UNESCO's classification of the citadel, ancient city and fortress as a World Heritage Site in 2003; however, instability in the region has halted development.
The current fortification and walls were built by the Persian Sassanian Empire as a defensive structure against hostile nomadic people in the north, and continuously repaired or improved by later Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan, and Iranian kingdoms until the early course of the 19th century, as long as its military function lasted. The fortress was built under the direction of the Sassanid emperor Khosrow I.
A large portion of the walls and several watchtowers still remain in reasonable shape. The walls, reaching to the sea, date from the 6th century, Sasanian Empire period. The city has a well-preserved citadel (Narin-kala), enclosing an area of , enclosed by strong walls. Historical attractions include the baths, the cisterns, the old cemeteries, the caravanserai, the 18th-century Khan's mausoleum, as well as several mosques.
Religious monuments
As of 1865, the city had: 1 - Russian and 1 - Armenian church; 1 - Sunni and 16 - Shiite mosques, as well as 3 synagogues.
[P. Semenov. Derbent // Geographical and Statistical Dictionary of the Russian Empire. Volume II. - St. Petersburg, 1865. pp. 36-37.]
Mosques
-
Juma Mosque is the oldest mosque in Russia and the CIS. Built over a 6th-century Christian basilica; it has a 15th-century madrasa.
-
Bala-mosque is a mosque at the gates of Orta-kapa. In 1796 it was destroyed during the siege of the city by General Valerian Zubov. Restored in 1812.
[Huseynov G.-B. Ya., 2005, pp. 79—80.]
-
Kilis-mosque is a mosque. It is located in the 7th district. In 1823-1853 the mosque served as a church. Now it is called Tovba Mesjidi.
[Huseynov G.-B. Ya., 2005, pp. 346—349.]
-
Kyrhlyar-mosque is a mosque at the gates of Kyrhlyar-kapa. Built in 1626-1627 by order of Shah Abbas. Another name is Shah Abbas Mesjidi. Rebuilt several times.
[Huseynov G.-B. Ya., 2005, pp. 392—395.]
-
The Minaret-mosque is the only mosque in the city with a minaret. Construction dates back to the XIII-XIV centuries. Rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century. The minaret is 11.5 meters high.
[Huseynov G.-B. Ya., 2005, p. 440.]
-
Chertebe-mosque is a mosque in 1 mahal. Construction dates back to the 17th century. Rebuilt at the end of the 19th century. Completely demolished in the 1960s.
[Huseynov G.-B. Ya., 2005, p. 702.]
Churches
-
The Armenian Church of the Holy All-Savior is an architectural monument of the 19th century. Built in 1860. After the completion of the overhaul and restoration work, in May 1982, a museum of fine arts (a branch of the republican museum of fine arts) was opened in it. The museum became part of the State Museum-Reserve as a department of "Carpets and arts and crafts".
-
Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin is an Orthodox church. Built in 1899, opened in 1900.
[ How does the Orthodox live in Dagestan?]
-
Cathedral of St. George the Victorious of Derbent was the main Russian Orthodox Church in the city of Derbent. Demolished in 1938.
-
Crossed-dome temple of Derbent is a temple of the 4-7 centuries. It is located in the northwestern part of the citadel Naryn-Kala.
Synagogues
Cemeteries
-
Kyrkhlyar is an old and revered cemetery established in the 7th century. It is the oldest active Muslim cemetery in Russia.
Lighthouse
-
Derbent Lighthouse is the southernmost lighthouse in Russia. The lighthouse is included in the list of protected monuments of Russia and UNESCO.
Notable people
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Shahriyar of Derbent (7th century), Sasanian commander
-
Djumshud Ashurov (1913–1980), composer
-
Yuno Avshalumov (1934–1981), conductor, and teacher
-
Daniil Atnilov (1913–1968), poet
-
Mishi Bakhshiev (1910–1972), writer and poet
-
Manuvakh Dadashev (1913–1943), poet
-
Mikhail Dadashev (1936), writer
-
Musaib Dzhum-Dzhum (1905–1974), theatre director
-
Boris Gavrilov (1908–1990), writer and poet
-
Mikhail Gavrilov (1926–2014), writer and poet
-
Sergey Izgiyayev (1922–1972), poet, playwright, and translator
-
Mozol Izrailova (born 1955), actress
-
Suleyman Kerimov (born 1966), businessman, investor, and politician
-
Lev Manakhimov (1950–2021), theatre director
-
Bikel Matatova (1928–2013), actress
-
Ekhiil Matatov (1888–1943), a Soviet statesman
-
Yagutil Mishiev (1927–2024), writer
-
Mushail Mushailov (1941–2007), artist and teacher
-
Tamara Musakhanov (1924–2014), sculptor and ceramist
-
Bella Nisan (born ca.1957), ophthalmologist
-
Sevil Novruzova (born ca.1977), lawyer
-
Asaf Pinkhasov (1884–1920), educator, scholar, translator
-
Konstantin Saradzhev, (1877-1954), conductor and violinist
-
Zoya Semenduev (1929–2020), poet
-
Yuno Semyonov (1899–1961), writer, playwright and artistic director
-
Akhso Shalumova (1909–1985), actress
-
Israel Tsvaygenbaum (born 1961), artist
-
Igor Yusufov (born 1956), politician
Twin towns – sister cities
Derbent is
sister cities with:
Notes
Sources
-
Some text used with permission from www.travel-images.com. The original text can be found here [11].
-
M. S. Saidov, ed., Katalog arabskikh rukopiseĭ Instituta IYaL Dagestanskogo filiala AN SSSR (Catalogue of Arabic manuscripts in the H.L.L. Institute of the Dāḡestān branch of the A.N. of the U.S.S.R.) I, Moscow, 1977.
-
Idem and A. R. Shikhsaidov, “Derbend-name (k istorii izucheniya)” (Darband-nāma. On the history of research),” in Vostochnye istochniki po istorii Dagestana (Eastern sources on the history of Dāḡestān), Makhachkala, 1980, pp. 564.
External links
