Palace of the Shirvanshahs is situated on a rocky hill in the western part of the Inner City of Baku. It is the biggest monument of the Shirvan-Absheron of Azerbaijan architecture. The Palace is complex which contains the main building of the palace, the shah’s mosque with a minaret, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi’s mausoleum, Divanhane, the burial-vaults, a portal in the east – Murad’s gate, a reservoir and the remnants of the bath-house. It is not strange at all why the complex is protected by UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Palace of the Shirvanshahs was built by Shirvan Shah Dynasty in the 12th century. Although it was founded than, the most of the structures of the Palace were built in the 15th century. The complex is divided into five courtyards at three different levels.
Here are few words of each part of the complex…
The main building is a two stories building. Both floors contain 25 rooms of various size and shape. The big portal leads directly from the courtyard to the second floor, into a high octahedral lodging covered with a cupola.
Divankhana is a small stone pavilion. It was built in 15th century. It is consisted out of an octahedral hall covered with a stone cupola. The portal of the main entrance is decorated with Arabic inscription.
The Mausoleum is attached to the wall of the oldest structure of the complex, the Old Mosque. It has rectangular shape and on the top with a hexahedral cupola. There is an inscription on the entrance that indicates the purpose of the building: “Khalilullah I, the greatest Soltan, Great Shirvanshah, the namesake of the divine prophet, the defender of the religion ordered to construct this light burial-vault for his mother and son in 839″.
The Palace Mosque is situated in the lower part of the complex. There are two chapels for prayers in the mosque: a hall of a large size for men and a hall of a small size for women and minaret are at the northeastern corner. The royal tomb of the Shirvan Shahs resembles the Palace Mosque in size and form but it is oriented east-west, facing the portal connecting it to the upper level.
The Royal Bathhouse (hammam) is situated on the lowest terrace. The archaeological excavations exposed a big bath-house consisting of 26 rooms. The hammam consists two sections (for men and for women), with small square rooms organized around octagonal halls. The Royal Bathhouse was burrowed into the ground to preserve the heat.
The Shirvanshahs’ Palace complex was declared a museum-reserve in 1964. It is under the state protection and restoration works are going on the present moment.
Images by Bruno Girin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunogirin/)
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