Архитектура древнего и раннесредневекового Азербайджана

Among drawings of people and animals on the rocks in Kobustan there are some we thought of as showing big and small settlements; their restorated appearance has been sketches. Since ancient times the narrow Pricaspian passage was used by the peoples of ancient Caspiana, later called the Caucasian Albania, Atropatena and many countries of the Ancient East as a karavan road notable for ethnic tribe transferences, development of cultural connections and creative interelations. This road according to Heradot (Book *—* * p . 104) was simultaneously used by the Northern nomads for their innumerous raids. Since high antiquity the peoples of Caucasian Albania were fortifying three narrow sections of this road which were later called Beshbarmak Fortificasions, Grand 30km long Ghilghilchai—Fortifications with a fort ress Chirakhkala and the longest (more than 40 km) Derbent Fortifications in the North often called Bab-al abvab, Damir-gapi or Dar-band. In the 8 th century M Kalankatujsky, the Albanian historian, wrote that "tsars of Persia were overdriving our country (Albania) with building a great structure between the sea and the mountains". From the South the abovementioned road was protected by several Apsheron fortresses apparently having one name; Bandar-i. Baku These four blocking fortifications were on the territory of Caucasian Albania, so the name „Gates of Albania" was given to the whole complex of structures defending the most sacred and the richest soils of the Albanian state. Geographical situation of the Apsheron peninsula, its isolation, lack of timber-abundance of high— quality stone had a great artistic and aesthetic influence on the architecture there. „Sacred eternal" fires burning in many Apsheron settlements attracted a lot of beliverers and pilgrims. A big settlement built around one group of natural fires, as evidenced by a number of data, was gradually developing into a fortress—like town Albanu—Albaku—Baku, the capital of sacred fires. A great many temples and altars were built in this ancient town We suppose we can consider the Temple of Apara Napata God dated according to Avesta to the 3d—2nd mil. B. C. to be one of those temples partially retained up to our days. At the beginning of the 1 st mil. B. C. in the vicinity of Apam Napata Temple there was raised an eight—storeyed towered temple, devoted to seven Gods, grandiose for those days: there were seven holy stories, wall recessed altars with seven—coloured fires burning in honour of Pantheon Gods Akhura Mazda or Mitra. Abd-ar-Rashid al Bakuvi in his paper on Geography (1403/4—1413/14 A. D.) wrote the following: ,,Baku is protected by two strong stone fortresses. The bigger fortress is on the sea, the other on a higher level" The travellers Khashdallah Kazvini (the 14th century) and Evlia Chelebi (the 17th century) described the two Baku fortresses with the tower of the litter destroyed by the stone—flinging machines. The third fortress Sabahil with a towered temple in the form of a small three— stage zikkurate with two terrace steps was built about 2 km to the South of Albaku—Baku fortress on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Three absolutely different fortress complexes were built within a small area on the Apsheron peninsula south shores Their towers, fortress walls and fortification show some architectural influence of three great ancient states; Midia, Khorezm and Babylon, though their appearance synthesized architecture not only of these three, states but also of Caucasian Albania Apparently the top priests in these states considered it necessary to have their cult complexes on the .sacred land of divine fires" This was the land of Gods named Ea (Apsu— ocean, sea), Anu—Ana (Sky), Ramman (the Lord of storms and winds, i e the land of Apsu—Ram—Ana— Apsheron. Iu Kobustan, 60 km to the South of Baku, about 3500 unique ancient paleographic drawings were found on about 1000 stone rocks and boulders. The drawing on stone 9 in Yasili Hill is of special interest as it shows three towered structures which might be temples judging by their symbols. Yasili Hill is a part of Dginghir—dag Mountain (Ka-Dinghira in the Shumeric lanquage) called Dginghir-baba (Grandfather) in the last century which was a sanctuary. Some investigators point out that Shumeric, old Turk—Mongolian and later Persian words „Dingir" and „Tengri" (Dginghir) meant „God". This made us believe Dginghir-baba to be the oldest high God-the great Mitra which agrees with the legend of Mitra born to a mountain and turned into a mountain after death, Dginghir-dag in Kobustan heres. This explains the pictures of three towered-temples on this very mountain as symbols of the universal divinity of its name „Dginghir-baba". Studies of decorative-and-cult symbolics in the three temples showed that the first main temple was devoted to the Great Mitra, the second to seven Gods under the aegis of the God of the Sky and the third to the Sun, the Moon and the Sky. Paleoaesthetics section reports of the studies in decoration, symbolics and purposes of works of architecture and applied art. Five hills were found on the left bank of the Akstafchai-river in Kazakh region by cultivated layers of which the development of settled agriculture could be traced back. It was a well known multilayer Baba-dervish monument, on the fourth hill of which dwelling houses, cult structures with altars of late Bronze and early iron Ages were found.