Nardaran Castle ( azerb. Nardaran qalası ) is a castle in the village of Nardaran in Azerbaijan , built in 1301 by the architect Mahmoud son of Sa'd in the north of the Absheron Peninsula . The height of the tower is 12.5 m. It is located in the center of a square courtyard surrounded by stone walls 6 m high, which has corner towers with a barrier and loopholes. The date of construction (700 year of the hijra) and the name of the architect are reported by two inscriptions on its facade.
| Castle | |
| Nardaran Castle | |
|---|---|
| azerb. Nardaran qalası | |
 General view of the castle and the walls | |
| A country |  Azerbaijan |
| Location | Baku , Sabunchu district , Nardaran |
| Architect | Mahmoud son of Sa'd |
| Established | 1301 |
| Status | It is protected by the state as an “architectural monument of history and culture of world significance” [1] |
Content
- 1 Building a castle
- 2 Castle architecture
- 3 References
- 4 notes
- 5 Literature
Building a castle
The two inscriptions on the facade of the tower tell the date of the construction of the year 700 of the hijra (1301) and the name of the architect is Mahmud, son of Sa'd [2] (or Mahmoud, son of Seyid [3] ).
So, above the entrance to the central tower, at the height of the second floor, there are two inscriptions carved from stone. The first large inscription reads [2] :
| In the name of Allah ! gracious, merciful. She ordered to build this thali (military tower) ... mother ... at her own clean means and money with the goal of (seeing) the face of God in order to please him and deserve his reward. Date: beginning of Ramadan , seven hundred years. [approx. one] |
Slightly higher than the first, to the east of her second inscription of much smaller sizes says [2] :
| The work of Mahmoud son of Sa'd. [approx. 2] |
The last inscription gives the name of the master, who also built the old mosque and minaret in the village of Shikhovo in the XIV century [approx. 3] and a mosque in the Baku fortress called “ Molla-Ahmed-mosque ”, indicating the date of 1300 and with the name of the master [2] .
All three buildings speak of the extraordinary abilities of the master, who is well acquainted with the character of the fortifications and had an artistic flair, which is clearly visible from the Shikhovo minaret, distinguished by excellent proportions of individual parts, a clear, slender silhouette and a beautiful lattice carved ornament that adorned the balustrade of the minaret's balcony [2] .
Castle Architecture
12.5 m high, this castle is located in the center of a square courtyard surrounded by 6 m high stone walls. This stone wall has corner towers with a barrier and loopholes. In height, the tower consists of three tiers, covered with stone flat domed arches and interconnected by stone stairs. The tower is made of local stone [3] .
But the geographical location of the Nardaran Tower itself suggests that there could not have been advanced fortification. Such fortifications were built only where an attack could be expected, for Absheron such areas were its western borders and the sea coast. The Nardaran tower is located quite far both from the western borders of Absheron, and from its coast.
Postage stamp Azerbaijan, 2000
Links
Notes
- Comments
- ↑ Half of May 1301 .
- ↑ The decoding and translation of the inscriptions was carried out by A. Aleskerzade, a researcher at the Institute of History of the Azerbaijan Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences .
- ↑ This mosque was destroyed in 1936, restored again in 1999 .
- Sources
- ↑ Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Respublikası ərazisində Dövlət azərbaycan mühafizəsinə götürülmüş daşınmaz tarix Mədəniyyət və abidələrinin əhəmiyyət dərəcələrinə görə bölgüsünün təsdiq edilməsi haqqında Azərbaycan Respublikası Nazirlər Kabinetinin Qərarı (Azeri.) (Link unavailable). e-qanun.az. Date of treatment January 3, 2015. Archived on November 8, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Shcheblykin, 1943 , p. 21.
- ↑ 1 2 Mamed-zade, 1983 , p. thirty.
Literature
- Ashurbeyli S. B. History of the city of Baku. The period of the Middle Ages. - B .: Azerneshr, 1992 .-- 408 p. - ISBN 5-552-00479-5 .
- Brittany L.S. Baku. - Leningrad-Moscow: Art , 1970 .-- 245 p.
- Mamed-zade K. M. Construction art of Azerbaijan (from ancient times to the XIX century) / Scientific editor Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. SSR A.V. Salamzade . - Baku: Elm, 1983.
- Shcheblykin I.P. Monuments of Azerbaijani architecture of the Nizami era (materials) / Ed. I. Jafarzade. - B .: AzFAN Publishing House, 1943.