Shahbulag Castle ( az, Şahbulaq qalası, literally "Spring of the

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

") is an 18th-century fortress near Aghdam in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

built by the Karabakh Khan Panah Ali.

Name and Etymology

The castle was named Shahbulag ("Shah's spring") after a nearby spring bearing the same name located around the lower part of the Xaçınçay (Khachen) River. Before the construction of the castle, the area around it was known as Tarnagyut, which, according to Armenian archaeologist Hamlet Petrosyan, is a corruption of Tigranakert, the ruined ancient city which lies nearby the castle.

History

After the death of Iranian ruler

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

, 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 ...

territory was split into several

khanate A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire. Mong ...

s, one of which was the

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate was a semi-independent Turkic peoples, Turkic Khanates of the Caucasus, Caucasian khanate on the territories of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan established in about 1748 under Safavid dynasty, Iranian suzerainty in Karaba ...

founded by Panah Ali Khan Javanshir. The first capital of the khanate was the

Bayat Castle Bayat Castle ( az, Bayat qalası) is in Kəbirli, Tartar, Kebirli village of Tartar Rayon of the Republic of Azerbaijan. History After the death of Iranian ruler Nader Shah (1736-1747), several khanates were established on the territory that con ...

built in 1748. The capital was soon moved to the newly constructed Shahbulag Castle located in lowland

Karabakh Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura (Caspia ...

. Eventually, Panah Ali Khan moved the capital to its final location,

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

, a natural fortress located on a hardly penetratable mountain rock. Once construction of Shusha castle was completed, Panah Ali Khan relocated there with all of his court, nobles, and meliks. Nevertheless, the khans of Karabakh kept about 3,000 strong horse cavalry in Shahbulag Castle at all times for defense purposes. The designs of Shahbulag,

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

and Askeran castles resemble each other.

Castle

The castle was called Shahbulag ("Shah's spring") honouring the nearby spring. The complex which included mosques, houses, baths and a market was built in 1751–52. During the construction,

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and finished (e.g., trimmed, cut, drilled, ground, or other) to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements. A ...

were used. Only the castle itself and the mosque on its northwestern end survived. The castle has a rectangular architectural design, and its external walls are reinforced with circular and semicylinder towers. The walls and towers contain

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

s and

merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...

s typical for defence structures. The castle walls are high, and the towers are high. The entrance to the castle is in the middle section of the eastern wall. During the reign of the khan, it was protected by two-story tower-like premises. The top floor was intended for the khan, with a stone staircase leading to it from the castle yard. The castle was built from half-hewn whole stones.

Mosque

The mosque built during the construction of Shahbulag castle is on the northwestern part of the castle. It includes a small stone prayer hall with a square dome on one side and a veranda with a facade of that faces east. The veranda beams are based on quadrangular 8-edge pillars. The architecture of Shahbulag is thought to have influenced later architectural designs of buildings in the entire Karabakh region, and especially that of Shusha.

Current state

Today, Shahbulag castle remains an important historic and cultural remnant of the Karabakh Khanate period. The castle was renovated in early 1980s by

Azerbaijan SSR Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

. During the

First Nagorno-Karabakh war The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

, the castle and its surroundings were captured by Armenian forces following the

Battle of Aghdam The Battle of Aghdam (June – July 1993) took place on 23 July 1993 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, during which Armenian forces captured the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam, which they considered a main staging area of Azerbaijani forces for ...

. When the castle was under Armenian control, a small museum was operated there, storing artifacts found during excavations at the adjacent archaeological site of Tigranakert. The castle and the

Agdam District Aghdam District ( az, Ağdam rayonu) is one of the 66 administrative divisions of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojaly, Kalbajar, Tartar, ...

were returned to Azerbaijan on 20 November 2020 per the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement is an armistice agreement that ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. It was signed on 9November by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the Pre ...

following the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

. The artifacts from Tigranakert kept at Shahbulag were removed before the area was returned to Azerbaijani control.

Gallery

File:Տիգրանակերտ11.JPG File:Տիգրանակերտ15.JPG File:Տիգրանակերտ13.JPG File:Տիգրանակերտ14.JPG File:Tigranakert of Artsakh 02.jpg File:Tigranakert of Artsakh 01.jpg

References

{{Castles and fortresses in Azerbaijan Houses completed in 1752 Monuments and memorials in Azerbaijan Palaces in Azerbaijan Tourist attractions in Azerbaijan Royal residences in Azerbaijan Islamic architecture Architecture in Azerbaijan Castles and fortresses in Azerbaijan