The Kyrkhlyar ( az, forty) is an old and revered

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in the city of

Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is ...

, a city in the Russian

Republic of Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia sit ...

. The oldest active

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

cemetery in Russia.

Description

It is located less than a kilometer north of the gates of Kyrkhlyar-Kapy. The cemetery is enclosed by a two-meter-high two-tiered fence of well-hewn stones, apparently rebuilt several times. There is an entrance portal on the north side of the fence. The Kyrkhlyar is part of the northern city cemetery. The cemetery consists of two rectangles adjacent to each other with long sides with large and small compartments. There are 40 ancient chest-shaped tombstones, in the large compartment there are three rows, and the smaller compartment consists of one row. Tombstone sarcophagi up to 3.2 meters ''(10.4987 ft.)'' long, 80 centimeters ''(31.4961 in.)'' high, 70 centimeters ''(27.5591 in.)'' wide and 10-12 centimeters ''(3.94 in.-4.72 in.)'' thick. Inside the large compartment there is a small rectangular structure 185 centimeters ''(72.8346 in.)'' high. The structure ends with a dome and also has an arched niche for sacrifices.

History

According to medieval Arabic sources and the local historical chronicle "Derbent-name", this burial is associated with the first campaign of the Muslims in the

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

led by the

sahaba The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

(companion) Salman ibn Rabiah al-Bahili. During the further advance into the

Western Turkic Khaganate The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after t ...

, part of the Arab army was killed in the battle, and among them 40

companions of the Prophet The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

. These 40 companions are buried in the Kyrkhlyar cemetery, from which the name of the cemetery comes. In subsequent centuries, the cemetery was constantly expanded. As a burial place for

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s (

shahid ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

), it became a place of pilgrimage (

ziyarat In Islam, ''ziyara(h)'' ( ar, زِيَارَة ''ziyārah'', "visit") or ''ziyarat'' ( fa, , ''ziyārat'', "pilgrimage") is a form of pilgrimage to List of Ziyarat sites, sites associated with Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, his family members and ...

) for

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

Literature

A. Alikberov. Kyrkhlyar. Islam in the territory of the former Russian Empire. Encyclopedic Dictionary. "Eastern Literature" of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2006. Volume 1. p. 159. .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyrkhlyar Cultural heritage monuments in Derbent History of Derbent Cultural heritage monuments in Dagestan Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Dagestan Cemeteries in Russia