CC BY
92
Elmira < > LU < o < cc D
D.Sc. (Hist.), Professor at Baku State University (Baku, Azerbaijan).
THE GOLDEN AGE OF AZERBAIJAN’S TOWNS
Abstract
This article presents a portrait of Azerbaijan’s towns from the 9th to the first quarter of the 13th centuries. It looks at the role towns played in the formation and de-
velopment of the new economic relations and interregional integration processes emerging in the region, as well as in the flourishing of secular culture in the Caucasian countries.
I n t r o d u c t i o n
The 9th to the first quarter of the 13th century was an economic and intellectual heyday for the Caucasus.1 This was also a time when the Caucasus as a whole was a more or less integrated region. The Caucasus from Nikopsia (Tuapse) to Derbent and from Ossetia to Zangezur was a sin-
1 In contrast to the generally accepted concept of the Caucasus (the territories of the post-Soviet expanse—the Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasus), today the scientific literature justifiably offers a new structural breakdown of the Caucasian Region keeping in mind the historically developed parameters of the Caucasus: 1) the Central Caucasus, including three independent states—Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia; 2) the Northern Caucasus, comprised of the border autonomies of the Russian Federation; and 3) the Southern Caucasus, including the provinces (iller) of Turkey that border on Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia (the Southwestern Caucasus) and the northwestern provinces (ostanha) of Iran (the Southeastern Caucasus) (see: E. Ismailov, V. Papava, Tsentralnyi Kavkaz. Istoria, politika, ekonomika, Mysl, Moscow, 2007, p. 21).
The term “Zakavkazie” (Transcaucasus), which was used in czarist-Soviet times, was first used by the compilers of an economic study of the territory immediately after it was conquered by Russia. (Obozrenie Rossiiskikh vladenii za Kavkazom v statisticheskom, etnograficheskom, topograficheskom i finansovom otnosheniiakh, St. Petersburg, 1836.) Later, with a slight alteration in its Russian spelling (“Zakavkazye”), it went into use everywhere (see: E. Muradalieva, Goro-da Severnogo Azerbaidzhana vo vtoroi polovine XIX veka, Baku State University, Baku, 1991, p. 8).
The category “Transcaucasus” latently presumed that the territories south of the Greater Caucasus Range did not belong to the Caucasus proper, are located behind it, i.e., beyond it. In so doing, as the literature notes, this category was to a certain extent aimed at achieving the Russian Empire’s political goal in the Caucasus—separation of the local nationalities who lived in the northern and southern parts of the conquered Caucasus from each other. The category “Transcau-casus” was a product of the Russian foreign policy concept, which reflected the metropolis’ approach to political-administrative division of the conquered region. In so doing, the interests of the region’s nationalities, as well as the historically developed economic, cultural, and other relations in the region, were frequently sacrificed in favor of the interests of the Russian Empire (see: E. Ismailov and V. Papava, op. cit., pp. 17, 18).
Today, the Southern Caucasus is also designated as the Central Caucasus. The authors of the new structural breakdown of the Caucasian Region emphasize that the concept “Southern Caucasus,” just like the category “Transcaucasus” that preceded it, has a “Russian” geopolitical meaning, since it designates part of the Caucasian Region that has gained its independence from Russia. It is no accident that the term “Southern Caucasus” came into use and gained a foothold at the time the Soviet Union collapsed, reflecting an important aspect of the new geopolitical situation in the Caucasus—the formation of three independent states (see: E. Ismailov, V. Papava, op. cit., p. 19).
gle political and economic body.2 After liberation from the Arab Caliphate, the people of the Caucasus began engaging in peaceful and creative labor. States appeared—Shirvan (861), the Ganja Emirate (the dynasty of the Shaddadids—971), the Emirate of Tiflis (the dynasty of the Jafarids— beginning of the 9th century), the Kingdom of Ani (960-1045), the Kingdom of Abkhazia (beginning of the 9th century), the Kakhetian princedom (end of the 8th century), the Derbent Emirate (dynasty of the Khashimids—mid-10th century), and the states of the Sajids (879), the Salarids (941), and the Ravvadids (981). At that time, the region took active part in international trade along the routes of the Great Silk Road.
The towns of that time are an exceptional phenomenon in the history of the Caucasus. They were large, with populations of several hundred thousand people, whereby there were very few towns of this size in the world at that time. Each of them had approximately 30-40 well-developed handicraft trades. Towns had sewage and plumbing systems made of clay pipes, which showed that their living standards were sufficiently advanced. Several medieval towns were the residences of the vicegerents of the great empires.
Active trade relations promoted the high socioeconomic and political prosperity of the towns. The main Eurasian transit trade routes spread out, like an octopus, across the Caucasian region, passing through its thriving towns. It was the towns that helped to integrate the countries of the Caucasus as never before.
Such towns as Barda, Ganja, Sheki, Shamakhy, Beylagan, Derbent, Baku, Tabriz, and others were large handicraft and trade centers, and they played a fundamental part in the intensive economic integration of the Caucasian states.
Socioeconomic Shifts in Urban Life
When talking about Azerbaijan, Arabian geographer of the 10th century al-Istahri wrote in his work Book of Roads and Countries: “There is such plenty here that unless you see it with your own eyes you will not believe it.”3 Ibn Haukal, another Arabian traveler and al-Istahri’s contemporary, noted that the lands of Azerbaijan “are covered with wheat fields. There are rivers, orchards, and population settlements, not one inferior to the other. On the contrary, each place abounds in the bountiful blessings of Allah. Fruit is very cheap and food is essentially free.”4 Extensive grain fields stretched along the banks of the Kura and Araks, as well as of the Sefidrud River, in Shirvan and Sheki. The same authors tell of the abundance of almost every type of grain (wheat, barley, rice, millet, and others), different kinds of technical plants (cotton, flax), and melons and gourds. Both banks of the Kura were covered with wheat and cotton fields. In some places, two harvests a year were gathered. The residents of the environs of Tabriz, Ganja, Baku, Sheki, Shamkir, Gabala, and Shabran also engaged in farming, mainly wheat growing. In the environs of Baku and Derbent, saffron and flax were grown. Azerbaijan’s saffron was exported to other countries. Valuable kinds of rice were grown in Lenkoran and Sheki. The Barda region was rich in cochineal, a raw material for obtaining very valuable crimson dye.
As a rule, the land was ploughed using a pair of oxen or buffalo. So at that time, expressions such as “dzhut” (pair), “idti na dzhut” (go in pairs), and “dzhutchu” (plowman) were common. In
2 See: R. Metreveli, The Caucasian Civilization in the Globalization Context, CA&CC Press, Stockholm, 2009, pp. 36-37.
3 Sources on the History of Azerbaijan, ed. by S. Aliiarly, 2nd edition, Chirag, Baku, 2007, p. 126 (in Azeri).
4 The History of Azerbaijan. From Ancient Times to the 1870s, ed. by S. Aliiarly, 2nd edition, Chirag, Baku, 2009,
p. 225.
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some places, wooden ploughs were used, to which two, three, and sometimes four pairs of oxen were harnessed. According to al-Mukaddasi, in the Ardebil district, the land was plowed by eight oxen, which were driven by four plowmen. When the traveler asked whether they plowed that way because the earth was so hard, the plowmen replied: “No, we do it to catch the snow,”5 thus explaining the reason for the deep-cut furrows they made. This episode is interesting in that the farmers who preserved the ancient farming traditions considered deep furrows to be the best way to combat drought.
The plough they used was called a kotan, a word common in the vocabulary of all the nationalities of the Caucasus in different pronunciations, “gutani,” “gutan,” “gotan,” etc. This large plough made it possible to dig deep furrows in the soil, as well as work the hard earth, thus increasing the area of farm land. The very existence of a tool such as a “large plough” shows the significant economic progress in the region.
One of the developed branches of the economy was horticulture. After visiting many different countries, Arabian travelers wrote that no other place in the world had such varied, magnificent, and luscious fruit. The outskirts of the towns boasted innumerable orchards, where apples, pears, grapes, pomegranates, apricots, peaches, figs, quinces, cherries, plums, cornelian cherries, nuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, and mulberry grew. In Gabala, Sheki, and in the area between the River Ganykh (Alazan) and the Greater Caucasus Range there were many different nut orchards. Nowhere else could the rare type of pomegranate that grew along the River Araks be found. Tabriz, Maraga, Khoi, Salmas, and Urmia were simply awash in orchards. In Tabriz, more than 900 qanats were built for irrigating the orchards. Ibn Haukal noted the multitude of vineyards between Derbent and Samandar. The sources of that time noted the use of water power, in particular, special mention was made of mills that operated on energy derived from hydropower.
It is worth noting that grain growing and horticulture were practiced not only by the rural population, but also by the residents of towns and their suburbs. Towns at that time were primarily an economic category, centers of handicrafts and trade. However, townsfolk also dabbled in farming. A large part of the urban population was engaged in cattle breeding. Town-dwellers kept cattle, but the sources mention more about how they were engaged in grain growing and horticulture. These agricultural occupations were a kind of appendage to the urban economy at that time. Here another special feature came into play—the towns depended heavily on an artificial irrigation system, water supply and its use. Economically, the towns could not manage without these sources. Irrigation not only provided water for the civilian population, but also fed the economy, both handicrafts and agriculture.
The birth and development of new towns was primarily related to the intensified social division of labor. The revival of production forces created favorable conditions for the emergence and development of new branches of handicrafts. Moreover, the Caucasus was rich in valuable natural resources, which also promoted the development of many rare handicrafts. According to Arabian traveler Abu Dulaf, the mountains around the town of Shiz (in the south of Azerbaijan) boasted ore mines where gold, mercury, lead, and silver were excavated. In Shiz, three types of gold were produced. Dulaf described the technique used to extract gold: the local masters watered the area where the soil contained gold and continued doing so until all the soil had been washed away and only granules of gold remained in the place watered. Then they would gather them using mercury. According to Abu Dulaf, in Shiz, gold nuggets were also found. The arsenopyrite produced in Shiz was considered a valuable raw material for manufacturing jewelry. In the town of Arran, four farsakhs6 from the town of Shiz, white, silver, and red gold was also produced. There were also lead mines. The traveler carried out chemical experiments there. He prepared “lead acid” and used it to obtain silver from the ores that were excavated in the area.7 There were also copper mines in the environs of Tabriz.
The History of Azerbaijan. From Ancient Times to the 1870s, p. 226.
One farsakh is approximately 6-8 km.
See: Sources on the History of Azerbaijan, pp. 132, 133.
A handicraft called minasazy, whereby craftsmen drew patterns and different designs on precious stones, was also very popular. In some cases, items bore the names of ustads—well-known craftsmen. This type of handicraft, particularly vitrified glass, a skill that did not become known in Western Europe until the 13th century, prevailed over a fairly extensive area. This is confirmed by underwater archeological findings on the western coast of the Caspian (the littoral zone of Azerbaijan). Large amounts of pottery were found, the remnants of items borne by ships to different countries. Small ships were often caught in the violent storms that were so characteristic of the Caspian, particularly of its western coast from Derbent to Baku. So shipwrecks were a common phenomenon. The most diverse items found on the sea bed were samples of high artistic crafts.
The portrait of the towns of that time would not be complete without mentioning that the surface of buildings made of gypsum and fired brick was often covered with terracotta.
Azerbaijan was the home of cochineal, a rare raw material from which bright crimson dye was produced. It was also used in carpet weaving. This same dye formed an important link in the history of the country’s handicraft production until the 19th century. In the Arabian sources, this dye was called “gyrmyz.”8 Al-Istahri reported that “gyrmyz was exported from Barda to India and other places.”9 This author wrote that opposite the site where the River Kura ran into the Caspian, there was a large island with large reserves of cochineal. Dyers from Barda would go there to collect it. Another author, Ibn Haukal, confirmed al-Istahri’s information on the export of cochineal to India: “There is cochineal in Varsan, Barda, the environs of Bab al-Abvab, and on the island in the center of the Caspian. It is transported via the Caspian to Jurjan, and is sent from there to India. Cochineal is available throughout Arran—from the borders of Bab al-Abvab to Tiflis, along the banks of the Aras and to Jurzan (Georgia).”10 Arabian geographer al-Mukaddasi said that cochineal was a miracle of the climate and described the technique for obtaining dye from the insects. It is clear from the traveler’s reports that cochineal was gathered in copper pots, boiled, and crimson dye obtained from it. Al-Mukaddasi wrote: “There is also cochineal here. It is a scale insect. Women come here, gather the insects in a copper pot, and then put the pot in a tandoor (clay oven) used for baking bread.”11
The fact that international caravan routes passed through the Caucasus linking the Volga Region and Eastern Europe with the Near and Middle East and with India, on the one hand, and the famous trade centers of Central Asia, China, India, and Iraq with the Mediterranean and Black Sea coast, on the other, created extremely favorable conditions for the development of handicrafts and trade. And in this seemingly boundless economic expanse of the Great Silk Road, all the necessary prerequisites were created for the growth of towns, sedentary farming, and its integral component, silkworm breeding. And to this day in the history of the Eurasian civilization there is no analogy to this supply route. All of this promoted the emergence of numerous trade centers along the Caspian coast and the banks of the Kura and Araks at the junctions of the caravan routes and transformed several population settlements into towns.
According to the Arabian authors of the 9th-10th centuries, the Central Caucasus was crossed by a multitude of caravan routes, the main junction of which was Barda. The following fixed routes existed: Barda-Derbent, Barda-Tiflis, Barda-Dvin, Barda-Ardebil, Barda-Zenjan, Ardebil-Amid, Ardebil-Maraga, and Maraga-Dvin.12 These caravan routes not only linked the Caucasian countries with each other, but also with the countries of Asia and Europe: Syria, Iraq, Asia Minor, and Transox-iana, as well as with the Khazars, Slavs, and Scandinavians. As a fundamental work on the history of
8 See: Ibid., p. 126.
9 Ibid., p. 231.
10 Ibidem.
11 Ibidem.
12 See: E. Sikharulidze, “Marshrutnye puti Zakavkazia v IX-X vekakh po arabskim istochnikam”, in: Voprosy is-torii Blizhnego Vostoka, Tbilisi, 1963, p. 176.
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Georgia notes, it was in the 9th century that the importance of these routes began to grow, particularly of the Eastern Transcaucasus,13 that is Azerbaijan.
The Towns of Arran
The books on historical geography of that time gave expressive descriptions of town life. Al-Mukaddasi wrote about Azerbaijan: “All the towns of this country are magnificent, rich in products and mines. There is an abundance of fruit and all kinds of meat, and they are very cheap.”14
One of the largest towns of West Asia, according to the sources, was Barda-Partav, the ancient capital of Albania. During the long supremacy of the Arabs, Barda was the center of a large vicegeren-cy created by the Caliphate in the Caucasus.15 The residence of the vicegerent was situated there. This fact played a positive role in turning Barda into a political center, as well as into one of the largest handicraft and trade hubs. In his work Book of Roads and Countries, written in 930-933, Al-Istahri indicated: “Barda is a large town, one farsakh wide and long, with a healthy climate, prosperous, and enjoying abundant harvests. After Iran and Khorasan, Rei and Isfahan, this large, flourishing, and beautiful city knows no equals in terms of location and the bountiful yield of its fields. A lot of silk is exported from Barda. Silkworms feed on the leaves of mulberry trees that are there for the taking. A lot of silk is sent from here to Iran and Khuzistan.. ,”16
Interesting information on Barda was also supplied by ibn Haukal, who wrote the book Roads and Countries approximately 20 years after al-Istahri. The book was written after the great tragedy that occurred in Barda in 944—seizure of the town by the Russ.17 He writes: “As for the town of Barda, it is ‘Ummu-r-Ran’ (‘the mother of Arran’) and the best region in these countries.”18 In his opinion, the town was very large, which was due to the purity of the local air, the fertility of the soil, the large amount of arable land, and the multitudinous fruit, trees, and rivers. Barda produced different kinds of silk items and sent a lot of silk to Iran and Khuzistan; the town has a beautiful Juma mosque. During the rule of the Arabs, according to the author, this was where the state treasury was situated, and there were bazaars on the outskirts of the town. Al-Mukaddasi also called Barda “the main town,” “large town,” “the Baghdad of this region.”
In Barda, handicraft production reached a high level of specialization. This is evidenced by the fact that the town was broken down into quarters and mini-quarters where handicraft workers who specialized in a particular skill were concentrated. There were rows of gunsmiths, coppersmiths, blacksmiths, jewelers, and so on. Each gradation reflected the social division of labor. Along with the handicrafts mentioned, dying and pottery became extremely well developed; primary processing of technical raw material was carried out in the town—of silk cocoons, wool, leather—and all kinds of different fabrics were made. A wide assortment of silk and cotton fabrics were exported to the towns of West Asia.
Barda was the junction where the roads from Tiflis, Derbent, Debil (Dvin), and other towns met. All the trade was concentrated in this town. Farm produce and handicrafts were brought from all over the place to the Sunday markets of Barda. They also offered goods from neighboring states, as well as
13 See: Ocherki istorii Gruzii, Vol. II, Tbilisi, 1988, p. 230.
14 The History of Azerbaijan, p. 232.
15 See: N.M. Velikhanova, Arabskii khalifat i Azerbaidzhan (according to the works of ibn Khordadbekh and other representatives of Arabian geographical literature), Abstract of Doctor’s Dissertation, Baku, 1994, p. 78.
16 Sources on the History of Azerbaijan, pp. 126, 127.
17 The Russ who traded with Azerbaijan along the Volga-Don-Caspian route and through the territory of Azerbaijan with the Caliphate, including with Baghdad, began to carry out predatory raids into the Caspian lands. In the Arabian sources, the armed units of Kievan Rus that carried out raids on the Caspian coast were all called “Russ.” Most of the armed forces of the Kievan state consisted of Norman knights—Varangians with Scandinavian roots.
18 N.M. Velikhanova, op. cit., p. 82.
from the countries of the Middle and Far East. The bazaars and covered markets of Barda were full of foreigners and their merchandise. “People from every country under the sun came here.,”19 wrote al-Istahri.
Merchants came to Barda from Iran, Iraq, and Syria, from distant India, and from Khazaria, where in exchange for silk, clothing, carpets, bedspreads, fish, cattle (mules), and cochineal (gyrmyz), they brought the products of their countries and items made by their own craftsmen. Caravans came from Barda to Tiflis, and continued on from there to more distant lands.
But after the raids of the Russ in 944, Barda was no longer able to restore its former grandeur. In the clutches of the Russ for more than six months, the town was subjected to terrible destruction, and its handicrafts and trade went into decline. The famous Barda bazaar lost its former significance. The minting of coins ceased. This destructive episode in the town’s history is described in a poem by the great Nizami Ganjavi called Iskender-name. The poet writes: “Barda is so beautiful. It has always abounded in wealth and every amenity.” Then bitterly the poet concludes: “Now the throne of this palace has been downtrodden, its brocade and silk have been swept away by the wind., those pomegranates and narcissus have turned to dust.”20 Subsequently, the town essentially disappeared from the map of the Caucasus. Only its name remained, which automatically went to the population settlement that arose next to the ruins. The name remains to this day, but not the town.
Later, Ganja emerged, “which eclipsed,” as V.V. Bartold indicates, “Barda and became a very large town.”21 In the meantime, Ganja, as the new creation of the land of Arran between the rivers Kura and Araks, began to act as the heir to the ancient capital of Atropatene—the town of Gazaka or Janza. Just as Gazaka was once the capital and keeper of Atropatene’s treasury, now the new town inherited this name.
Ganja, which was situated at the center of the old trade routes, could indeed have become a place where products were brought from neighboring regions meant for further dispatch to other countries. It is no accident that the Arabian geographers note that Ganja was rich in products. “Ganja is full of treasures,” wrote Hamdullah Qazvini, repeating the data of his predecessors.22
“Ganja” as a geographical name was widespread in the East, particularly in the Iranian domains, as well as in the Caucasus (in Azerbaijan and Georgia).
In Azerbaijan, as mentioned above, the old capital of South Azerbaijan, Atropatene, was called Ganja-Gazaka.23 The town of Tabriz was often called Ganja (Azerbaijani Gandzak, Gandzak-Sha-khastan).
A town in the north of Azerbaijan (a region of Albania) was called Ganja, which to distinguish it from the others was often called Albanian or Arranian Ganja.24
Ganja did not grow from a fortress or fortified settlement where the population took refuge during enemy attacks, but from an ancient village. This village, which was situated in a fertile area, at the crossroads of trade routes going through Karabakh to the south of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Iran, as well as to the west, to Georgia and to the northeast to the Derbent Gates, eventually became an urban center due to the development of its production forces and commerce.
In the 9th and first half of the 10th century, Ganja was still an “insignificant [town], but flourishing and rich in arable land.” Ganja still occupied a secondary place. But at the same time, since it was on one of the main branches of the Barda-Tiflis trade route, Ganja took active part in this trade. Ganja still sent a small amount of its products, both agricultural and handicraft, to the Barda
19 Sources on the History of Azerbaijan, p. 128.
20 N. Ganjevi, Iskender-name, Elm, Baku,1989, pp. 188, 189.
21 V.V. Bartold, Mesto prikaspiiskikh oblastei v istorii musul’manskogo mira, Baku, 1925, p. 34.
22 M.M. Altman, Istoricheskii ocherk goroda Gandzhi, Azerbaijan S.S.R. Academy of Sciences Publishers, Baku, 1949, p. 10.
23 See: V.V. Bartold, Istoriko-geograficheskii obzor Irana, St. Petersburg, 1903, p. 143.
24 There are three villages around Salian (Azerbaijan) that are called Ganja: (1) Piratman Ganjeli; (2) Mugan Gan-jeli; and (3) Ganjeli.
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market. But it did not keep its semi-farming image for long. Ganja began to attract more and more residents, primarily those engaged in trade and handicrafts, and quickly grew economically and culturally.
From the mid-10th century, when Barda went into decline, Ganja began to take precedence. Since that time, Ganja became a well-furbished and important town. According to the sources, handicrafts had already begun to occupy a particular place in the town’s economic life. It began to move away from agriculture. The craftsmen began producing their wares for the market, for consumers they did not know. After it became a handicraft and trade center, Ganja also began climbing the political ladder. The town became the center of the Ganja Emirate, which was ruled by the Shaddadid dynasty (971-1088). V.V. Bartold notes that every ruler-sovereign of the independent dynasty tried to give its capital and court as much splendor as possible.25
There is very little information about thy Shaddadid dynasty. The Georgian chronicles Kartlis tskhovreba, data from Armenian sources of Stepanos of Taron (10th-11th centuries), Samuil of Ani (12th century), and Vardan (13th century), as well as coins minted in Ganja and the Kufi inscription on the famous Ganja gates (embossed in 1063 during the rule of Shavir by blacksmith Ibrahim) are the only sources of scant information.
In the 12th century, Ganja was the capital of the vicegerents of the Seljuk Empire (1038-1157) and later one of the capitals of the state of the Atabegs (1136-1225). In terms of the number of residents, it surpassed many towns of the Orient at that time. It was also the capital of the province of Arran and this is where the throne of the Seljuk sultan, Giias ad-Din Muhammad Tapar, was situated, which served as a symbol of power for various sovereigns for more than one hundred years.26
Ganja was the “last border outpost of the Muslim world” on the border with Georgia, and so all the rulers placed top priority on its fortification.
All types of handicrafts were well developed in Ganja, but the sources particularly single out the breeding of silkworms, the processing of silk, and the manufacture of magnificent silk fabrics that were superior in quality to the fabrics of other places. Zakariya al-Qazvini gave an interesting description of the processing of raw silk: “In the town itself is a canal, to which two paths descend: one of them leads to a place called Bab al-Makbara, and the other to a place called Bab al-Barda. Residents take water from Bab al-Makbara and wash silk in it, after which its price is higher than that of the silk washed in the water taken from Bab al-Barda. If water is taken from Bab al-Makbara and transferred to Bab al-Barda, nothing comes of it, but if you do it the other way around, you get magnificent silk.”27
When the Mongols reached Ganja during their first invasion at the end of 1221, “they found out that Ganja has a lot of residents,” writes Ibn al-Asir, “who are very courageous and, moreover, have many weapons, and they decided not to capture it, but instead sent a messenger to the residents demanding money and clothing. They were given all they asked for and they retreated from the town.”28
There was an iron and a copper mine close to Ganja that promoted the development of smithing, metal-processing handicrafts, the manufacture of kitchen utensils, and minting. The Ganja craftsmen knew intricate techniques for finishing earthenware products. They drew patterns on them with a paintbrush, cut out these patterns, and filled the apertures with transparent glaze. The craftsmen covered the items with a very thin layer of white clay, then applied a transparent colored glaze to its smooth surface. Items were also made from colored glass. In order to obtain the glaze, the craftsmen used local materials—iron ore, cobalt, manganese, lead, and copper. Kaolin and clay for pottery production was available in many places in the west of Azerbaijan.
25 See: V.V. Bartold, Turkestan v epokhu mongol’skogo nashestvia, Part 2, St. Petersburg, 1900, p. 9.
26 See: Z. M. Buniatov, Gosudarstvo Atabegov Azerbaidzhana, Elm, Baku, 1978, p. 189.
27 Ibid., pp. 189, 190.
28 Sources on the History of Azerbaijan, p. 155.
The residents of Ganja spent the summer months in places situated close to Mount Khirak (present-day Hajikend), “abounding in fragrant grasses, water, and orchards. The air there in the summer is superb. Every family has a house there where they (the people of Ganja) stay until the heat abates. The nobility of Ganja have excellent houses there.”29
But a terrible calamity awaited the town. At the very peak of its prosperity, Ganja was shaken by an earthquake that wrought irreparable damage on the town (1139). All the sources that describe the events of the 12th century mention this horrendous disaster. Nizami also wrote about it. The sources note that a large number of the town’s residents were killed, more than 300,000 people. Contemporary researchers note that the population of Ganja amounted to around 500,000 people before the earthquake. At that time, there were very few towns of this size on the map of the world. The earthquake was so strong that not far from Ganja, part of Mount Kiapaz collapsed, causing a huge rockslide that blocked off the road.
Thirteenth century author Kirakos Gandzaketsi (of Ganja) provides information about the formation of beautiful Lake Goygol: “Mount Alkhanak (Kiapaz) collapsed from the earthquake, it dammed up a hollow through which a stream flowed and a lake formed. Highly-valued species of fish can be found in it.”30 And in the territory of the present-day Kelbajar district, the earthquake caused the mineral spring of Istisu, which is still famous to this day, to burst from the bowels of the earth. Subsequently, after it was rebuilt, the town expanded and occupied new plots of land.
Among the other events concerning Ganja, historians note that Queen Tamara’s first husband, the son of Russian prince Andrei Bogoliubsky, Georgi, who was exiled from Georgia, showed up near Ganja. Wishing to return to Georgia to restore his power, he asked Azeri atabeg Abubakr (1191-1210) for help. The latter supported Georgi and gave him a plot of land within the boundaries of Arran, where Georgi settled. He gathered together contingents from the residents of Arran and Ganja and set off with them for Georgia. But this time, too, Georgi’s attempt to return to Georgia ended in failure.
Beylagan, a well-known large town in the country of Arran (Zakhariya al-Qazvini), was situated at the junction of trade and military-strategic routes leading from Ganja to the southern districts of Azerbaijan. The medieval history of this town, as researchers note, could in many ways serve as a model for studying the history not only of the medieval towns of Azerbaijan, but also of the towns of the Orient in general.31
At the beginning of the 12th century, at the peak of the internecine wars in the Seljuk Empire, the power of their vicegerents in Beylagan was so weak that the town was out of control and had almost become an autonomous provincial town.32
Beylagan reached the peak of its prosperity under the Eldeniz atabegs. During the rule of atabeg Abubakr and particularly Uzbek, Beylagan “was entirely built up—a multitude of palaces were built there. In the olden days, there was no water in this town and so the residents suffered; several creeks run there from the Araks. They say that this town acquired its splendor from the favorable presence of Abubakr and Uzbek. They built a multitude of buildings and the nobility settled there. The town has an abundance of amenities and a large number of bazaars.”33
By the beginning of the 13 th century, as many as 40,000 people were living in Beylagan, and more than 30 types of handicrafts had been developed.34 One of the mints of the Eldeniz was located in Beylagan.
29 Z.M. Buniatov, op. cit., p. 191.
30 Quoted from: M.M. Altman, op. cit., p. 61.
31 See: G. M. Akhmedov, Srednevekovyi gorod Baylakan, Abstract of Doctor’s Dissertation, Baku, 1972, p. 5.
32 See: V.F. Minorskiy, Istoria Shirvana i Derbenta, Nauka, Moscow, 1963, p. 157.
33 N.D. Miklukho-Maklai, “Anonim XIII v.,” in: Bulletin of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences Institute of Oriental Studies, Vol. IX, 1954, pp. 201, 202.
34 See: G.M. Akhmedov, op. cit., p. 84.
THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION
The sources name silk fabrics, grain, cotton, rice, pomegranates, and grapes among Beylagan’s commodities. Goods were sold in the town that were brought in from Derbent, Shirvan, and Shabran, along with oil and salt from Baku.
During the Mongol invasions into Arran, Beylagan was destroyed and the entire irrigation system was put out of operation, which meant death to everything living in the arid districts of Beylagan.
During the rule of the Seljuks and Atabegs, one of the largest centers was the town of Nakh-chivan. Under atabeg Shasaddin Eldeniz, it became one of the state’s capitals. It was an important military-strategic settlement of Azerbaijan on the banks of the Araks. Along with meeting domestic demand, the fabrics, wide variety of crockery and utensils, chukha (long overshirt worn by men in the Caucasus), items of gold, silver and copper made by the local craftsmen were used domestically and also exported to foreign countries. The fortress of Alinja built not far from the town reinforced Nakhchivan’s security. In addition to the residence of the Atabegs and the state administration building, a multitude of caravanserais, madrasah, mosques, and palaces were built in the town.
Among the well-known architectural monuments of Nakhchivan are the famous mausoleums of the head of the local sheiks Yusuf ibn Kasir (Kusair) (1162) and Momine-khatun, the wife of atabeg Shamsaddin (1186), built by outstanding architect of the Middle Ages Ajami ibn Abu Bakr an-Nakh-chivani.
Ardebil and Tabriz were particularly well-known among the classical towns. Ibn Haukal presents a portrait of Ardebil, the capital of the state of the Sajids (879-941) and of the state of the Salarids (941-981). “Ardebil is now the most esteemed vilayet and largest town of Azerbaijan. Ardebil is where the military camp and sovereign’s palace are located. The state covers an area of 30 far-sakhs.
“The buildings are mainly made of clay and fired brick. There are strong fortress walls around the town. The town’s air is fresh and goods are cheap. Close to Ardebil is Mount Savalan. It is a huge mountain, it rises to the west and seems to hover over the town. There is snow on the top of Savalan all year round. There is always an abundance of bread. You can buy 50 pitas for one dirham.35 Honey, melted butter, hazelnuts and other nuts, raisins, and other merchandise are very cheap, almost free, you could say.” And the author goes on to sum up that “Ardebil has acquired the fame of a town of plenty, having all the heart could desire. In terms of cheapness and high standard of living, it excels over all the other towns.”36 The sources noted the existence of “good bathhouses” in the town.
Tabriz was the capital of the state of the Atabegs (1136-1225). The international caravan routes from Derbent to the shores of the Persian Gulf and from the Orient to Europe met in Tabriz. So this town was an important international trade center. The town was full of foreign merchants. Caravans sent goods from here to the countries of Asia and Europe. The carpets, satin, taffeta, wide range of silk fabrics, clothing, and other commodities made by Tabriz craftsmen enjoyed great demand in the world markets. One of the Eldeniz’ main mints was located in Tabriz.
When he visited Tabriz at the beginning of the 13th century, Yakut al-Hamavi wrote: “Tabriz is the most famous town in Azerbaijan. It is a town with a large population and with strong walls made from brick and limestone. A multitude of streams run inside the town; it is surrounded by orchards, fruit is very cheap here. The houses in Tabriz are built from dyed red brick and limestone and look very beautiful. In Tabriz, fabric is woven for outer clothing. These fabrics are exported to all the countries of the East and West.”37
Approximately 1/20 of a dinar. Dirhams were minted from silver, while dinars were made from gold.
The History of Azerbaijan, p. 233.
Sources on the History of Azerbaijan, pp. 185, 186.
The Towns of Shirvan
The Shirvan region,38 where the old dynasty of the Shirvanshakh rulers reigned for a millennium (from the 6th to the 16th centuries), consisted of fertile valleys with magnificent pastureland, meadows, and forests. Its proximity to the River Kura and the sea provided the residents with highly-valued species of fish.
In the 11th-12th centuries, the towns of Shirvan—Shamakhy, Shabaran, Baku, and Derbent— became well-known handicraft and trade centers in the East. There were as many as 100,000 residents in Shamakhy,39 the main occupation of which was silkworm breeding. Raw silk and silk fabrics were sent to other towns of the Caucasus and to several countries of the Middle East. In the 13 th century, silk from Shirvan was exported in large amounts to Italy and France. The sources mention the development of carpet weaving in the towns of Shirvan. The earliest carpet of the 13th-14th centuries of the Guba-Shirvan group survived to our day.40
The towns of Shirvan were famous for their production of specific commodities. For example, Baku was known for its oil and salt, Shamakhy for raw silk and silk fabrics, Derbent for saffron and flax clothing, and Shabaran for ceramics.
Shabaran, one of Shirvan’s oldest towns, was situated to the north of Shamakhy. This town was a kasaba, meaning the administrative center of the Khursan territory, one of the three districts Shirvan was comprised of in the 10th century.41 At the end of the 10th century, shirvanshakh Muhammad ibn Ahmad built a wall around the town of Shabaran. In the 11th century, the family tomb of the Shirvan-shakhs was located here. By the 15th century, the town ceased to exist. During archeological digs, wells, a bathhouse built of fired brick, brick conduits, galleries, other structures, and also a large number of household items were found—numerous remnants of ordinary and glazed ceramic dishes, a firing kiln, and a treasure trove of Shirvanshakh coins of the 13 th century showing the developed economic life of the medieval town.42
When mentioning Baku,43 most of the sources talk about the large amount of oil produced in the environs of the town, which was exported to the countries of the Middle East. In the first quarter of the 11th century, Al-Biruni said very succinctly: “Baku is a center of white oil trade.” Travelers have always waxed eloquent on the topic of oil. Arabian traveler Abu Hamid al-Andalusi al-Gariati, who traveled up and down the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea in 1131, describes the oil-bearing lands of Apsheron and a village, which it is difficult not to recognize as Surakhany with its eternal fires: “And bitumen and oil come from this black earth, black and white,44 and this land is not far from Bakukh, in the region of Shirvan. Bitumen is transported from here to other places.”45 An anony-
38 Medieval authors called the region on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, to the east of the Kura, which constituted part of ancient Caucasian Albania or early medieval Arran, Shirvan or Sharvan. Authors of the Classical times do not mention Shirvan. This name became known under the Sassanids (3rd-7th centuries).
39 See: S. Ashurbeili, Gosudarstvo Shirvanshakhov (VI-XVI vv.), Elm, Baku, 1983, p. 173.
40 See: L. Kerimov, Azerbaidzhanskiy kover, Baku, Leningrad, 1961, p. 17, Fig. 8.
41 See: S. Ashurbeili, op. cit., p. 183.
42 See: Ibidem.
43 The town developed from a small settlement that appeared in the distant past (more than 2 thousand years ago).
Oil and salt production and saffron growing, which were exported to different countries of the Orient served as an important boost to the development of Baku as a town. Oil production demanded the development of several handicrafts associated with the oil industry, in particular, making vessels from clay and seal skin for transporting the oil. This enabled the
small settlement to grow into the town of Baku, the name of which was associated in the Middle Ages with oil and fires
(see: S. Ashurbeili, Istoria goroda Baku. Period srednevekovia, Azerneshr, Baku, 1992, pp. 39, 40).
44 This is a reference to Surakhany oil (Surakhany is 15 km from Baku), which in natural form possessed the chemical properties of present-day kerosene and so was called “white oil.” This is fuel of exceptional quality and enjoyed great demand in the markets.
45 Puteshestvie Abu Hamida al-Gariata v vostochnuiu i tsentral’nui Evropu (H31-H53), Nauka, Moscow, 1971, pp. 55-56.
THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION
mous geographical essay in Persian written in the 1220s about Baku says: “.it is a town in the region of Shirvan on the sea coast. All night its land burns like fire; you can place a pot of water on the ground and it will boil. Its commodities are black and white oil and salt.”46
West European travelers also wrote passionately about Baku oil. The first reports dates to the 13th century. The first European was the famous Venetian Marco Polo, who noted the fact of oil production near Baku.47
The oil business was targeted toward external transit trade. Oil at that time was used for lighting, medical purposes, and as a military commodity—a strategic raw material. In the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries, oil was used for military purposes. There were special vessels that were filled with oil and used for destroying various installations on war ships. Oil was widely used for medicinal purposes to treat various skin diseases, whereby both people and animals were treated. So the demand for oil was high, which boosted Baku’s growth.
There was the following practice: half of the revenue from oil and salt trade went to the residents of the town of Derbent by way of waqf, that is, tax-free contributions to the treasury. Whereby this revenue was not used to support all the population of Derbent, but was used only for its defenders, those engaged in guarding and maintaining the town. This fact again confirms Derbent’s key role in defending the northern boundaries of Azerbaijan.
Located in a narrow passage between the mountain ridges of the Greater Caucasus Range and the Caspian, Derbent occupied an advantageous military-strategic position. Throughout history, the town has had more than 20 names reflecting the geographic and strategic features of its position. The Greek-Roman sources of the classical period called the town the Caspian or Albanian gates, Caucasian medieval authors called it the Chola Gates, the Arabs, Bab al-Abvab (gate of gates) or Bab al-hadid (Iron Gates), and the Azeris, Demirgapy. In history, it is difficult to find another town that has experienced so many invasions and destruction and lived through so many upswings and declines, heydays and desolation.
As a major trade town, Derbent was mentioned in all the medieval routes. In the 10th century, famous Derbent linen items gave way to silk ones.48 Later, Venetian traveler Marco Polo described Derbent-Demirgapy as follows: “There is a lot of silk here, silks and fabrics interwoven with gold threads are prevalent here. You will not see such beautiful fabrics anywhere else.”49
Metal processing in Derbent in the 11th century-beginning of the 12th century was marked not only by quantitative, but also qualitative shifts: work utensils were much superior to weapons.50
Derbent was a large trade town. Through the Derbent port, Azerbaijan maintained broad ties with the Muslim countries, in particular with Khazaria. Its main town of Samandar, which existed until the mid-10th century, is also mentioned in all routes that link the Central Caucasus with the Northern Caucasus, Rus, Volga Bulgaria, and the Lower Volga Region.
To the north and south, the Derbent port was enclosed by walls built of stone and lead. According to Ibn Haukal, “there was a chain across the port’s winding entrance, like in Tyre and Beirut.”51 The chain had a lock on it, and the port superintendent kept the key. Without his permission, not one ship or one sailing vessel could enter the port or leave it.
The Derbent bazaar was renowned throughout the Near and Middle East. There was also an upswing in slave trade there. Merchants from different countries of the Orient thronged here in order
46 Svedenia “Dikovinok mira” o Gruzii i Kavkaze, Tbilisi, 1978, p. 8.
47 See: O. Efendiev, Zapadnoevropeiskie puteshestvenniki XIII-XVII vekov o Bakinskoi nefti, First International Conference on the History of Azerbaijan’s Oil Industry, Houston, 1996, p. 1.
48 See: Istoriia Dagestana s drevneishikh vremen do XX veka, Vol. I, Nauka, Moscow, 2004, p. 212.
49 Book of Marco Polo, Transl. from the old French text by I.P. Minaev, State Publishers of Geographical Literature, Moscow, 1955, p. 53.
50 See: A.A. Kudriavtsev, Feodal’niy Derbent, Nauka, Moscow, 1993, p. 95.
51 S. Ashurbeili, Gosudarstvo Shirvanshakhov, p. 178.
to purchase slaves brought from “neighboring infidel countries.” The Juma mosque towered in the center of the market square. This mosque with its spring is still a place of worship today.
The medieval sources contain information about Derbent’s everyday life. Al-Mukaddasi’s information indicates that from as early as the 10th century a drainage system was built in the town to dispose of sewage. The suburbs consisted entirely of cultivated land and vineyards. Ibn Haukal noted that “saffron is grown [here] in large quantities” and “this town is richer in cultivated land than Ardebil.” Al-Istahri noted the same thing, “Derbent is bigger than Ardebil.”52
When talking about the standard of living in the towns of Azerbaijan, the water distribution system deserves mentioned. The fortress of Gulistan was built on a mountain not far from Shamakhy. High cliffs and powerful stone walls protected the approaches to it. An aqueduct of earthenware pipes supplied spring water to the inside of the fortress. An underground passage led to the neighboring mountain pass, where a stream ran. The palace of the Shirvanshakhs was located in the citadel. The Kale-y-Bugurd fortress on the Akhsu river was just as strong. Drinking water was supplied to the fortress through a long ceramic aqueduct.
Archeological digs revealed traces of a network of water pipes in other towns too—Ganja, Barda, and Beylagan. They were also discovered near bathhouses within the town limits.
According to an Arabian author, the merchants of Russ engaged in trade with countries located on the south and west coast of the Caspian Sea. They came down along the Tanais (the Don), crossed over to the Volga on skid roads, and descended to Khamlija, the capital of the Khazar, where they paid duty and sailed further on their own ships to the Caspian Sea. Merchants of Azerbaijan gathered in Trapezund and from there went to trade in Byzantium. A caravan route went from Trapezund and Asia Minor through the valley of the Araks to Azerbaijan and Iran. Baku, Shamakhy, Derbent, Ganja and Barda were located on the main branches of the international trade routes. The main route went through Mugan along the right-hand bank of the Kura to Tiflis and from there to the Black Sea and Byzantium.
The trade route along the coast of the Caspian sea to the ports of Baku, Derbent, and on through the Khazar domains to the north was of great importance. Another important route went from Barda to Ardebil and Iran and from Barda to Dvin and on to Syria and Mesopotamia.53
In summary, the following should be noted about Azerbaijan’s large towns: “the main branch of the Caucasian route of the Great Silk Road passed through them. Merchants from Rus, Khazaria, Asia Minor and Central Asia, China, India, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and other countries of the Orient came to the towns and, after selling their wares—furs, swords, Chinese silk, fine Indian hand-made wool fabrics, pearls, glassware, and other goods—returned home with caravans of oil, salt, raw silk, and agricultural products.
C o n c l u s i o n
On the whole, the towns and urban economy of the 9th-first quarter of the 13 th centuries are an exclusive phenomenon in the history of Azerbaijan. At this time, there were approximately 50 towns in the country, in each of which more than 30 handicraft trades were well developed. The towns played an instrumental role in progressive historical development. The urban economy and farming that enjoyed a well-developed irrigation system were the foundation of the country’s economy. The flourishing and emergence of new towns was explained by fact that international trade moved to the basin of the Kura River.
Moreover, it was precisely the towns that predetermined the development and blossoming of secular culture. The burgeoning towns made it possible to create the region’s cultural environment
52 The History of Azerbaijan, p. 234.
53 See: S. Ashurbeili, Istoria goroda Baku, pp. 73-74.
and cultural life. In this cultural environment, outstanding poets Gatran Tabrizi, Mekhseti Ganjevi, and Khagani Shirvani emerged. The great Nizami was a poet of the first magnitude among the poets of the Orient. And the Orient in the 12th century was the center of world culture. Khamse by Nizami Ganjevi went down in the treasure-trove of world culture. The Book of Dede Korkut, which was documented in writing in the 12th century, is today the main source on the history of Azerbaijan, an encyclopedia of its distant past and medieval life. Just as it is impossible to study the distant past of today’s Greeks without The Iliad and The Odyssey, the history of the Europeans without The Legends of the Nibelungs and The Song of Roland, so is it impossible to study the origin of the Turkic nationalities and their ancient history as a whole without The Book of Dede Korkut.
Sitara MUSTAFAEVA
Member of the History of Slavic Countries Chair, Department of History, Baku State University
(Baku, Azerbaijan).
SOVIET RUSSIA AND THE FORMATION OF BORDERS BETWEEN THE CAUCASIAN STATES (BASED ON A CASE STUDY OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA)
Abstract
T
his article looks at issues associated with the establishment of the Azerbai-jan-Armenia border in 1920-1922.
Based on extensive facts, it tries to shed light on the reasons for the territorial disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
I n t r o d u c t i o n
The borders of today’s sovereign Caucasian states were mainly formed between 1918 and 1921. The question of what territory belonged to each of the newly formed states was extremely urgent from the very moment Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia declared their independence in May 1918. The territorial disputes of that period arose from the lack of correspondence between the administrative-territorial structure of the territory and the ethnic composition of the population in the prerevolutionary period. The provinces of the South Caucasian region had quite a number of districts with an ethnically mixed population. Attempts to demarcate the region in keeping with national characteristics gave rise to territorial conflicts.
