Khumarinskoye gorodishche (Russian: Хумаринское городище) or Khumar is a ruined medieval fortress on the top of Mount Kalezh above the Kuban Gorge in the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...

, near Khumara village, Karachaevsky district,

Karachay–Cherkessia The Karachay-Cherkess Republic (russian: Карача́ево-Черке́сская Респу́блика, ''Karachayevo-Cherkesskaya Respublika''; krc, Къарачай-Черкес Республика, ''Qaraçay-Çerkes Respublika''; Cir ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The site was investigated in 1960 and 1962 by V.A. Kuznetsov after the slabs with runic inscriptions were found, but without excavations. In 1963 and 1964 archaeological expedition of Karachaevo-Cherkessky research institute, led by E.P. Alekseeva, conducted excavations in the site. She found out that under medieval strata lay those of 8-6 centuries BC. A. Gadlo and Kh. Bidjiev discovered in 1974 remains of defense system - towers, walls. The fortress, situated downstream from

Karachaevsk Karachayevsk (russian: Карача́евск; krc, Къарачай шахар, ''Qaraçay şaxar'') is a town in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, located on the Kuban River in the Caucasus Mountains. Population: History It was founded i ...

and formerly accessed only by ladder, occupies some forty hectares on top of a large plateau. The high walls, with twelve bastions, were pierced by a single 5-metre-wide gate. The fortifications are supposed to have been constructed either by the

Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

or by the Bulgars in connection with the Khazar-Arab Wars. The site is rich in pseudo-runic inscriptions, an evidence of early medieval Turkic occupation by tribes of the

Saltovo-Mayaki Saltovo-Mayaki or Saltovo-Majaki is the name given by archaeologists to the early medieval culture of the Pontic steppe region roughly between the Don and the Dnieper Rivers, flourishing roughly between the years of 700 and 950. History Saltovo- ...

cultural group. Most of the inscriptions were heavily damaged by locals and are illegible. Among the more controversial finds from the site was a folding, modular

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

unearthed in the area. Scholars at the archaeological museum in Rostov-on-Don asserted that the altar was part of a Khazar Jewish shrine built in imitation of the Biblical ''

mishkan According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

''.Brook 113. In the 9th and 10th centuries, it was the site of a populous town, mentioned in Byzantine and Georgian sources as Skhimar (Russian: Схимар). It is believed that St.

Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his ear ...

was held there during his exile to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. Within four kilometers from the fortress stands the

Shoana Church The Shoana church (russian: Шоанинский храм, os, Суаны Уастырджы) is a Christian church that belongs to the historical Alanian Diocese. The church was built at the end of the tenth century, and is located on the terri ...

(ca. 925), first described by

Abraham Firkovich Abraham (Avraham) ben Samuel Firkovich (Hebrew אברהם בן שמואל - ''Avraham ben Shmuel''; Karayce: Аврагъам Фиркович - ''Avragham Firkovich'') (Sept. 27, 1786–June 7, 1874) was a famous Karaite writer and archaeologi ...

in 1848. The town was destroyed by

Tamerlane Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

during his invasion of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...

in 1396.

Notes

References

* Brook, Kevin Alan. ''The Jews of Khazaria'', 2d ed. Rowman & Littlefield, Inc., 2006. * Ya'ari, Ehud. "Skeletons in the Closet." ''The Jerusalem Report''. Vol 6, No. 9, September 7, 1995. pp. 26–30.

External links

Official website of KarachaevskViews of the ruins

{{coords, 43, 52, 4.87, N, 41, 55, 26.35, E, display=title Khazar towns Forts in Russia Archaeological sites in Russia Buildings and structures in Karachay-Cherkessia History of Kuban Former populated places in the Caucasus Saltovo-Mayaki culture