is an ancient city of Azerbaijan founded in the V century BC. In XI-XVI centuries it was a capital of the kingdom of Shirvan and a residence of Shirvanshahs. Shemakha was one of the most beautiful cities in the East. From the middle of XVIII century it was the center of Shemakhan Khanate. Shamakha, for so long the capital and trade centre of north-western Azerbaijan, is now a surprisingly small town with little to show for its historical prowess. The distinctive double hill around which the old town was dramatically set is still there, but the remains of the impenetrable Gulustan Castle have finally been defeated by time and are quietly crumbling into memories along with the scars of endless invaders and earthquakes. The low-rise homes are pleasant enough when viewed from Yeddi Gumbaz mausoleum across the valley, but the grand central mosque is the only architectural attraction in the town itself.
Shemakha district is interesting not only for its rich nature but for an ancient history as well. Despite the numerous earthquakes in Shemakha there are many historical monuments still preserved: the Juma mosque with two minarets (743rd year), the mausoleum Shahihandan (XV century), the tomb of Shirvan Khans – mausoleum Yeddi Gumbez (Seven Domes) (XVIII-XIX centuries), the mausoleum “Diri-Baba” built in 1402, the ruins of the Gulistan citadel (XI-XIII centuries). The list of sights of the Shemakha can be continued.
The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence. For centuries, Shamaxa (Shemakhi) was one of (northern) Azerbaijan’s most prominent cities, an important cultural and trading center and the royal seat of the Shirvanshahs (9th to 18th centuries).
In its history eleven major earthquakes have rocked Shamakhi, but through multiple reconstructions it maintained its role as the economic and administrative capital of Shirvan and one of the key towns on the Silk Road. The only building to have survived eight of the eleven earthquakes is the landmark Juma Mosque, built in the 10th century.
Apart from that, earthquakes, fire and invasions have left virtually nothing visible to remind the visitor of Shemakha’s past importance. In the Soviet era the surrounding hills produced famous wines and cognacs but that industry was decimated by Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign and has never fully recovered. These days the town is best seen as a staging point for reaching Pirqulu rather than as a destination in itself.
Natural conditions of Shemakha lands attracted people since ancient times. The unique nature, mild climate and mineral springs provide this district with special beauty. The climate here is temperate. Oak, beech and hornbeam forests in the highlands, green fields and bushes, caressing eyes green meadows give these places unforgettable beauty. More than 50 species of medical herbs grow here. The rich nature in forests provides with favorable conditions for birds and animals living there, for example deer, boars, bears, wild cats. This area attracts a lot of tourists and vacationers all the year round.
The biggest astrophysical observatory in Azerbaijan and in Caucasus is also located in the village of Pirguli. Obseratory named by Nasreddin Tusi is equipped with modern facilities and with one of the largest in the CIS telescope with a mirror of 2 m by diameter.
Today Shemakha is also a recognized center of wine-making and weaving. This district is famous for fine wines produced both at the wineries and by some private farms. Table and dessert wines from Shemakha were awarded numerous medals and diplomas at international exhibitions. Tourists could meet with masters weaving famous carpets “Shirvan”, “Gobustan”, “Shemakha”, Israfil”, “Ardzhiman” in the village Jangi located in the plain part of Shemakha. Families of shepherds also knit colored wool socks decorated with national ornaments. In a word Shemakha deserves close attention.
The city’s estimated population as of 2014 was around 35,600. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers.
History
Shamakhi was first mentioned as Kamachia by the ancient Greco-Roman Egyptian geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus in the 1st to 2nd century.
Shamakhi was an important town during the Middle Ages and served as a capital of the Shirvanshah state in 8-15 century and the capital of the independent Shirvan Khanate, which was also known as the khanate of Shemakha. The Catholic friar, missionary and explorer William of Ruysbroeck passed through it on his return journey from the Mongol Great Khan’s court.
In the middle of the 16th century it was the seat of an English commercial factory, under the traveler Anthony Jenkinson, who was afterward the envoy extraordinary of the Persian Shah to Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible of Russia.
In the 1720s, the population of Shemakhi was about 60,000, most of whom were Azerbaijanis and strangers. In 1742 Shamakhi was taken and destroyed by Nadir Shah of Persia, who punished the inhabitants for their disobedience and Sunnite creed by building a new town under the same name about 16 miles (26 km) to the west, at the foot of the main chain of the Caucasus Mountains. The new Shemakha was at different times a residence of the Shirvan Khanate, but it was finally abandoned, and the old town rebuilt. The Russians first entered Shirvan in 1723, but soon retired leaving it to Ottomans who possessed it in 1723-35. Shirvan Khanate was finally annexed by Russia in 1805.
The British Penny Cyclopaedia published in 1833 stated that “The bulk of the population of Shirvan consists of the Tahtar, or, to speak more correctly, Turkish race. Besides the Muslims, who form the mass of the population, there are some Christians, some Jews, and a few Gipsies.
Until the devastating earthquake of 1859, Shamakhi was the capital of the Shamakhi Governorate of the Russian Empire. From 1859, when the capital of the province was transferred to Baku, the importance of the city declined.
Earthquakes
The 1191 earthquake was so destructive that the capital of Shirvan was transferred to Baku.
The 1667 earthquake is considered to have been the worst with a death toll of 80,000; one-third of the city collapsed, according to the Persian merchants’ reports.
The December 2, 1859 earthquake caused the shifting of the same-named government center to Baku.
In 1902, a devastating earthquake destroyed the 10-century Juma Mosque.
Historical & Cultural Sights
Apart from some historic tomb towers across the valley from the ring road, Shamakhi’s only real sight is the big, sturdy active Juma Mosque located a kilometer from the center. The original mosque on this site was supposedly the second oldest in the trans-Caucasus. Excavations of its 10th-century incarnation can be seen in the grounds where a little nodding-donkey pump has nothing to do with oil – it draws water for the congregation’s ritual ablutions.
Juma Mosque is a very large, attractive if simple cuboid stone structure. It was built in 1902 on the foundations of a 10th-century predecessor, itself founded on the site of an ancient pagan sun worshipers’ temple. The ‘new’ mosque was burnt in April 1918 along with many people who had hidden inside dunning inter-ethnic conflict. A local man who lost two grandparents in the blaze, told that a group of Armenians fired on the mosque with cannons, but that the 2m-thick stone walls held out. The mosque ruin was left as a shell until the late 1970s, restoration in the 1990s was undermined by floods in 2000. Some excavations of the older mosque complex can be seen in the forecourt.
The powerful, bare stone interior columns exude a feeling of great antiquity and the imam, dressed in fine white gown and mufti hat, is generally very happy for visitors to look around. Shoes should be removed, bags left with the guard and women are expected to cover their hair.
The pumping mechanism that scars the excavation site is not a bizarre oil strike, but produces the water for worshippers to perform their pre-prayer ablutions. Two blocks from the mosque is a museum dedicated to Shamakhi’s favorite son, the poet Sabir.
Barely 2 km across the valley from Shamakha and with an excellent view back onto the city are the famous Yeddi Gumbaz (seven tombs in Azeri), Usseinov et al suggest that seven purely meant ‘many’. In fact only three of these desecrated octagonal royal tombs remain reasonably complete. They are the 18th-/early 19th-century mausoleum of the khans of Shamakha. The last khan, Mustafa, had fled to his palace at Fitdag/Sulut to avoid the advancing Russians, but was finally buried here along with his ancestors. Some of the surrounding gravestones are much more ancient – as much as a millennium old.
