Naryn-Kala

Derbent is located in the most strategically vulnerable place of the Caspian Pass, where the Greater Caucasus Mountains are closest to the sea, leaving a single narrow 3 km strip of plain. Derbent Fortress is part of a large defensive system that protected the peoples of Transcaucasia and Western Asia from invasions by nomads from the north. The system included city walls, a citadel, embankments, and the Dagh-Bary mountain wall.[1]

From the west, the Derbent walls adjoin the Naryn-Kala citadel, which was built after the 10th century, since before that a signal fire was kindled at this place when the enemy approached.[2]

The fortress known today was built in the 6th century on the Dzhalgan ridge[3] by order of the Persian ruler Khosrov I Anushirvan (531-579) ("Immortal in Soul") from the Sasanian dynasty.[1]

Since 735, Derbent and Naryn-Kala became the military-administrative center of the Arab Caliphate in Dagestan, as well as the largest trading port and the center of the spread of Islam in this land.[3]

As a result of the Caspian campaign, the city of Derbent became part of the Russian Empire. From the dugout, which is now a local landmark, Emperor Peter the Great moved to the Khan's palace, to whom the beys of Derbent presented the city keys on a silver platter covered with Persian brocade (stored in the Kunstkamera of Saint Petersburg) with words.[4]

In some sources, the Derbent fortress was called the "wall of Alexander the Great"[5] because of the belief in the legend that it was built by the great conqueror.[4][6] But Alexander the Great was never at the Derbent gates.[7]

During the Persian expedition of 1796, the fortress was retaken by Russian troops under the leadership of General-in-chief Valerian Zubov, who placed the general headquarters in the citadel.[8]

Archaeological excavations are still underway on the territory of Naryn-Kala. Today, Naryn-Kala is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and is one of the important sights.[9][10]

^ a b Cite error: The named reference shikhabudin was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Cite error: The named reference essays was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ a b Cite error: The named reference places was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ a b Vasily Potto. From ancient times to Yermolov. Caucasian war. In 5 volumes. Tsentrpoligraf, 2006. Vol. 1. p. 528 p. 3000 copies. ISBN 5952421059. ^ Mohammed Muslimovich Kurbanov. The soul and memory of the people: the genre system of Tabasaran folklore and its historical evolution. Dagestan book. publishing house, 1996. p. 232 ^ Boris Nikolaevich Rzhonsnitsky, Boris Yakovlevich Rosen. E. Kh. Lenz. Thought, 1987. pp. 95-152 ^ Barmankulov M.K. Turkic universe. Bilim, 1996. pp. 62-248 ^ Alexey Shishov. Order of Saint George. All about the most honorable award of the Russian Empire. — M. Yauza, Eksmo, 2013. pp. 227-745. ISBN 9785457595934 ^ Cite error: The named reference era was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Nikolay Protsenko. Very respectable hero of the day. Expert South. 2014. No. 1-2. pp. 50-52.