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54-551: Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia, with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BC , making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian , Arab , Mongol , Timurid , and Shirvan kingdoms. In the 19th century, the city passed from Persian into Russian hands by

108-406: A fictional motor tanker after the city in his book The Tanker "Derbent" . Derbent has 3 state and 1 municipal theaters. Derbent resembles a huge museum and has magnificent mountains and shore nearby, and therefore possesses much touristic potential, further increased by UNESCO 's classification of the citadel, ancient city and fortress as a World Heritage Site in 2003; however, instability in

162-593: A king for thirty years. The Sasanian Balash reestablished the Albanian monarchy by making Vachagan, son of Yazdegerd and brother of the previous king Vache, the king of Albania. By the end of the 5th century, the ancient ruling dynasty of Albania was replaced by princes of the Parthian Mihranid family, who claimed descent from the Sasanians. They assumed the title of "Arranshah" (i.e. shah of Arran,

216-509: A population of 31,168 consisting of 7,919 Shia Muslims (25.4%), 7,567 Russians (24.3%), 6,879 Jews (22.1%), 5,138 Caucasian highlanders (16.5%), 2,604 Armenians (8.4%), and 1,061 Sunni Muslims (3.4%). According to the 2021 Census , the main ethnic groups in the city are: Jews began to settle in Derbent in ancient times. During the Khazars' reign, they played an important part in

270-558: A seat of the arts and commerce. According to Arab historians, Derbent, with a population exceeding 50,000, was the largest city of the 9th century in the Caucasus. In the 10th century, with the collapse of the Arab Caliphate, Derbent became the capital of an emirate. Emirate of Derbent often fought losing wars with the neighboring Christian state of Sarir , allowing Sarir to manipulate Derbent's politics on occasion. Despite that,

324-473: Is home to machine building, food, textile, fishing, and fishery supplies, construction materials, and wood industries. It is the center of Russian brandy production. The educational infrastructure includes a university as well as several technical schools. On the cultural front, there is a Lezgin drama theater (named after S. Stalsky). About two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the city is the vacation colony of Chayka (Seagull). The Soviet novelist Yury Krymov named

378-759: Is in the Central Caucasus Mountains, and likewise carries a Persian name, standing for "the Alan Pass/gate" – with the Alans being the modern Iranic Ossetians .) It is often identified with the Gates of Alexander , a legendary barrier supposedly built by Alexander the Great in the Caucasus . The Persian name for the city came into use at the end of the 5th or the beginning of

432-524: Is traditionally identified with Albana, the capital. The modern name is a Persian word ( دربند Darband ) meaning "gateway", which came into use in the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century AD, when the city was re-established by Kavadh I of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia, however, Derbent was probably already into the Sasanian sphere of influence as a result of the victory over

486-712: The Caucasian wall (fifty metres long), otherwise known as Alexander's Wall , blocking the narrow pass of the Iron Gate or Caspian Gates ( Portae Athanae or Portae Caspiae ). When intact, the wall had a height of 9 m (29 ft) and a thickness of about 3 m (10 ft) and, with its iron gates and numerous watch-towers, defended Persia 's frontier. Derbent has a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSk ). Winters are highly variable, with very cold nights interspersed with occasional bouts of sunshine and summerlike temperatures. Highest temperature

540-562: The Etruscan civilization expands in Italy. The 8th century BC is conventionally taken as the beginning of Classical Antiquity , with the first Olympiad set at 776 BC, and the epics of Homer dated to between 750 and 650 BC. Iron Age India enters the later Vedic period . Vedic ritual is annotated in many priestly schools in Brahmana commentaries, and the earliest Upanishads mark

594-743: The Ottoman Turks such as in 1583 after the Battle of Torches and the Treaty of Constantinople , till the course of the 19th century, when the Russians occupied the city and wider Iranian-ruled swaths of Dagestan. Being briefly taken by the Russians as a result of the Persian expedition of 1722–23 by Peter the Great , the 1735 Treaty of Ganja , formed by Imperial Russia and Safavid Iran ( de facto ruled by Nader Shah ), forced Russia to return Derbent and its bastion to Iran. In 1747, Derbent became

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648-680: The Russian Empire . (For background, see Russian conquest of the Caucasus#Caspian Coast .) In the 1886 census of Dagestan Oblast , as part of Russia's Caucasus Viceroyalty , people of Iranian descent (Russian: персы ) were still an absolute majority at 8,994 out of 15,265, or 58,9%. The modern city is built in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe ; near the western shores of the Caspian Sea , south of

702-685: The Third Perso-Turkic War , the Khazars invaded Albania, and their leader Ziebel declared himself lord of Albania, levying a tax on merchants and the fishermen of the Kura and Araxes rivers, which was "in accordance with the land survey of the kingdom of Persia". The Albanian kings retained their rule by paying tribute to the regional powers. Albania was later conquered by the Arabs during the Islamic conquest of Persia . The king of Albania

756-469: The Treaty of Gulistan of 1813. Derbent is derived from Persian " Darband " ( Persian : دربند , lit.   'Door/opening in a Barrier', from dar "door/gate" + band "barrier/dam", lit., "gate in the barrier"), referring to the eastern-most pass in the high Caucasus Mountains (whence the putative "barrier/dam") on the beaches of the Caspian Sea . (The other pass, the Darial Pass ,

810-641: The administrative center of Derbentsky District , even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the City of Derbent —an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts . As a municipal division , the City of Derbent is incorporated as Derbent Urban Okrug . According to the 1897 census, Derbent had 14,649 inhabitants, 9,767 of whom were Tatar (later known as Azerbaijani ) speakers (66.7%) and 1,004 were Russian speakers (6.9%). In 1916, Derbent had

864-399: The 33rd Shirvanshah, managed to keep the kingdom of Shirvan independent. Ibrahim I revived Shirvan's fortunes, and through his cunning politics managed to continue without paying tribute. Furthermore, Ibrahim also greatly increased the limits of his state. He conquered the city of Derbend in 1437. The Shirvanshahs integrated the city so closely with their political structure that a new branch of

918-604: The 6th century AD, when the city was re-established by Kavadh I of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia, but Derbent was probably already in the Sasanian sphere of influence as a result of the victory over the Parthians and the conquest of Caucasian Albania by Shapur I , the second shah of the Sassanid Persians. The geographical treatise Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr written in Middle Persian mentions

972-523: The Arab Muslims, who called it the Gate of Gates ( Bab al-Abwab ), following their invasion of Persia . They transformed it into an important administrative center and introduced Islam to the area. The impression of antiquity evoked by these fortifications led many Arab historians to connect them with Khosrow I and to include them among the seven wonders of the world. The Darband fortress was certainly

1026-643: The Armenian community, which numbered about 3,000 in the census of 1913. Excavations on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea, opposite to Derbent, revealed the Great Wall of Gorgan , the eastern counterpart to the wall and fortifications of Derbent. Similar Sassanian defensive fortifications there—massive forts, garrison towns, long walls—also run from the sea to the mountains. The Caliph Harun al-Rashid lived in Derbent and brought it into great repute as

1080-609: The Caucasus ridge was over the Darial Gorge . A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC; the site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and

1134-654: The Caucasus. The first Sasanian attempt to seal off the road along the Caspian seacoast at Darband by means of a mud-brick wall has been dated in the reign of Yazdegerd II (438–457 AD). Movses Kagankatvatsi left a graphic description of the sack of Derbent by the hordes of Tong Yabghu of the Western Turkic Khaganate in 627. His successor, As mentioned by the Encyclopedia Iranica , ancient Iranian language elements were absorbed into

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1188-735: The Great Eastern Sea". Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid Empire . During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus. During periods when the Sasanians were distracted by war with the Byzantines or protracted battles with the Hephthalites in the eastern provinces, the northern tribes succeeded in advancing into

1242-456: The Iranian name of Albania). The ruling dynasty was named after its founder Mihran, who was a distant relative of the Sasanians. The Mihranid dynasty survived under Muslim suzerainty until 821-2. In the late 6th – early 7th centuries AD the territory of Albania became an arena of wars between Sassanian Iran, Byzantium and Khazar kaganate, the latter two very often acting as allies. During

1296-490: The Parthians and the conquest of Caucasian Albania by Shapur I , the second shah of the Sassanid Persians. In the 5th century Derbent also functioned as a border fortress and the seat of a Sassanid marzban . The 20-meter-high (66 ft) walls with thirty north-looking towers are believed to belong to the time of Kavadh's son, Khosrau I , who also directed the construction of Derbent's fortress. Some say that

1350-709: The Rubas River, on the slopes of the Tabasaran Mountains (part of the Bigger Caucasus range). Derbent is well served by public transport, with its own harbor, a railway going south to Baku , and the Baku to Rostov-on-Don road. To the north of the town is the monument of the Kirk-lar, or forty heroes, who fell defending Dagestan against the Arabs in 728. To the south lies the seaward extremity of

1404-517: The Russian conquest, many Jews of rural Dagestan fled to Derbent, which became the spiritual center of the Mountain Jews . The Jewish population numbered 2,200 in 1897 (15% of total population) and 3,500 in 1903. In the middle of the 20th century, Jews constituted about a third of the population of Derbent. In 1989, there were 13,000 Jews in the city, but most emigrated after the dissolution of

1458-653: The Sasanian Empire. In the middle of the 4th century the king of Albania, Urnayr , arrived in Armenia and was baptized by Gregory the Illuminator , but Christianity spread in Albania slowly, and the Albanian king remained loyal to the Sasanians. After the partition of Armenia between Byzantium and Iran (387), Albania with Sasanian help was able to seize from Armenia the entire right bank of the river Kura up to

1512-571: The Sassanian equivalent of a wuzurg framandar (prime minister) however what his role was is not known, but, as in Sasanian Armenia , it is possible that he was subordinate to the marzban . P'artaw was established as the capital in 448. It was later named Perozabad when Peroz rebuilt the city. The city underwent another name change when Kavad I fortified the city and called it Perozkavad ("victorious Kavad"). At this time P'artaw

1566-604: The Shirvan dynasty emerged from Derbend, the Derbenid dynasty. The Derbenid dynasty, being a cadet dynasty of Shirvan, inherited the throne of Shirvan in the 15th century. In the early 16th century, the kingdom of Shirvan was conquered by Shah Ismail of the Safavid dynasty. As Shah Ismail incorporated all the Shirvan possessions, he also inherited Derbend. Derbent stayed under Iranian rule, while occasionally briefly taken by

1620-530: The Shirvanshahs, had attempted, and on numerous times, succeeded, to conquer Derbend since the 18th Shirvanshah king, Afridun I , was appointed as the governor of the city. Over the centuries the city changed hands often. The 21st Shirvanshah king, Akhsitan I , briefly reconquered the city. However, the city was lost once again to the northern Kipchaks . After the Timurid invasion, Ibrahim I of Shirvan ,

1674-584: The Soviet Union . In 2002, there were 2,000 Jews with an active synagogue and community center. The chief rabbi of Derbent, Obadiah Isakov, was badly injured in an assassination attempt on July 25, 2013, sparking concerns of further acts of antisemitism targeting the Jewish community. In 2016, the Jewish population was down to 1,345. In the 2024 Dagestan attacks , a synagogue in Derbent was set on fire by armed gunmen, possibly affiliated with ISIS . The city

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1728-408: The beginning of Vedanta philosophy. (Although Greece, Egypt, and other Eastern societies had mentioned solar and lunar eclipses, and had been counting their centuries on lunar and solar cycles, the mentioned solar eclipse lasted longer than previous records.) Albania (satrapy) Caucasian Albania ( Middle Persian : Arān, Ardān , Armenian : Ałuank ) was a kingdom in the Caucasus , which

1782-645: The capital of the Derbent Khanate of the same name. During the Persian Expedition of 1796 , Derbent was stormed by Russian forces under General Valerian Zubov , but the Russians were forced to retreat due to internal political issues, making it fall under Persian rule again. As a consequence of the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) and the resulting Treaty of Gulistan of 1813, Derbent and wider Dagestan were ceded by Qajar Iran to

1836-414: The cisterns, the old cemeteries, the caravanserai, the 18th-century Khan's mausoleum, as well as several mosques. As of 1865, the city had: 1 - Russian and 1 - Armenian church; 1 - Sunni and 16 - Shiite mosques, as well as 3 synagogues. Derbent is twinned with: 8th century BC The 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC . The 8th century BC

1890-463: The direction of the Sassanid emperor Khosrow (Chosroes) I . A large portion of the walls and several watchtowers still remain in reasonable shape. The walls, reaching to the sea, date from the 6th century, Sassanid dynasty period. The city has a well-preserved citadel (Narin-kala), enclosing an area of 4.5 hectares (11 acres), enclosed by strong walls. Historical attractions include the baths,

1944-473: The emirate outlived its rival and continued to flourish at the time of the Mongol invasion in 1239. In the 14th century, Derbent was occupied by Timur 's armies. The Shirvanshahs dynasty existed as independent or a vassal state, from 861 until 1538; longer than any other dynasty in the Islamic world . They were renowned for their cultural achievements and geopolitical pursuits. The rulers of Shirvan, called

1998-462: The everyday speech of the population of Dagestan and Derbent especially during the Sassanian era, and many remain current. In fact, a deliberate policy of “ Persianizing ” Derbent and the eastern Caucasus, in general, can be traced over many centuries, from Khosrow I to the Safavid shahs Ismail I , and ʿAbbās the Great . According to the account in the later "Darband-nāma", after construction of

2052-474: The fortifications Khosrow I “moved much folk here from Persia”, relocating about 3,000 families from the interior of Persia in the city of Derbent and neighboring villages. This account seems to be corroborated by the Spanish Arab Ḥamīd Moḥammad Ḡarnāṭī, who reported in 1130 that Derbent was populated by many ethnic groups, including a large Persian-speaking population. In 643, Derbent was captured by

2106-553: The invasion of the Čōl, at the boundary of the Georgian Guard.). -Wėrōy-pahr: "The Georgian Guard" The old name of the fortress at Darband;... In Arabic texts the city was known as " Bāb al-Abwāb " ( Arabic : بَاب ٱلْأَبْوَاب , lit.   'Gate of all Gates'), simply as " al-Bāb " ( Arabic : ٱلْبَاب , lit.   'The Gate') or as " Bāb al-Hadid " ( Arabic : بَاب ٱلْحَدِيد , lit.   'Gate of Iron'). A similar name meaning "Iron Gate"

2160-487: The level of the Caspian was formerly higher and that the lowering of the water level opened an invasion route that had to be fortified. The chronicler Movses Kaghankatvatsi wrote about "the wondrous walls, for whose construction the Persian kings exhausted our country, recruiting architects and collecting building materials with a view of constructing a great edifice stretching between the Caucasus Mountains and

2214-450: The life of the city. The Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela mentions Jews living in Derbent in the 12th century, and Christian traveler Wilhelm of Rubruquis writes about a Jewish community in the 13th century. The first mention of Jews in Derbent in modern times is by a German traveler, Adam Olearius, in the 17th century. Derbent's Jewry suffered during the wars in the 18th century. Nadir Shah of Persia forced many Jews to adopt Islam. After

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2268-605: The most prominent Sasanian defensive construction in the Caucasus and could have been erected only by an extremely powerful central government. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route , the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars . The Sassanids had also brought Armenians from Syunik to help protect the pass from invaders; as Arab rule weakened in

2322-554: The official religion of the Sassanian empire, but quickly reverted to Christianity. In the middle of the 5th century by the order of the Sasanian king Peroz I Vache built in Utik the city initially called Perozabad, and later Partaw and Barda , and made it the capital of Albania. The seat of the Albanian Catholicos was also transferred to Partaw, as well as the marzban . After the death of Vache, Albania remained without

2376-409: The old name of the fortress – Wērōy-pahr (The Georgian Guard): šahrestan [ī] kūmīs [ī] panj-burg až-i dahāg pad šabestān kard. māniš [ī] *pārsīgān ānōh būd. padxwadayīh [ī] yazdgird ī šabuhrān kard andar tāzišn ī čōl wērōy-pahr [ī] an ālag. (The city of Kūmīs of five towers Aži Dahag made it his own harem. The abode of the Parthians was there. In the reign of Yazdgird, the son of Šabuhr made it during

2430-530: The region at the end of the ninth century, the Armenians living there were able to establish a kingdom, which lasted until the early years of the thirteenth century. The Holy Saviour Armenian Church still rises up in the skyline, though it is used as the Museum of Carpet, Arts and Crafts today due to the decline in the Armenian population. There was also a second Armenian church and two Armenian schools which served

2484-478: The region has halted development. The current fortification and walls were built by the Persian Sassanian Empire as a defensive structure against hostile nomadic people in the north, and continuously repaired or improved by later Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan, and Iranian kingdoms until the early course of the 19th century, as long as its military function lasted. The fortress was built under

2538-468: The river Araxes , including Artsakh and Utik. The Sasanian king Yazdegerd II passed an edict requiring all the Christians in his empire to convert to Mazdaism , fearing that Christians might ally with Roman Empire, which had recently adopted Christianity. This led to rebellion of Albanians, along with Armenians and Iberians. However, the Albanian king Vache, a relative of Yazdegerd II, converted to

2592-541: Was a period of great change for several historically significant civilizations. In Egypt , the 23rd and 24th dynasties lead to rule from Kingdom of Kush in the 25th Dynasty . The Neo-Assyrian Empire reaches the peak of its power, conquering the Kingdom of Israel as well as nearby countries. Greece colonizes other regions of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea . Rome is founded in 753 BC , and

2646-440: Was a vassal of the Sasanian empire, although the monarchy did not exercise much control. The king was accountable to the marzban , who held the real authority in civil, religious, and military power. The capital of the province was P'artaw (no connection to Parthia), where they minted coins in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Albanian court was probably modeled on the Armenian court with borrowings from Parthian Iran. Albania also had

2700-518: Was conquered and annexed by the Sasanian king Shapur I ( r.  240–270 ). Albania retained its monarchy, although the king had no real power and most civil, religious, and military authority lay with the Sasanian marzban (" margrave ") of the territory. In 297 the Treaty of Nisibis stipulated the re-establishment of the Roman protectorate over Iberia, but Albania remained an integral part of

2754-399: Was highly prosperous and a powerful stronghold sometime in the 5th century. Kabala, the former capital, still maintained some importance, and it later became a see of a bishop. Excavations have revealed a fortress and walls, probably from the 5th or 6th centuries. Xalxal, a city situated in Uti but close to Iberia, became the winter residence of the Albanian kings. Diwatakan, also in Uti, became

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2808-423: Was recorded 38.8°C (101.8°F) on August 29, 1995 and August 13, 1974 and lowest temperature was recorded -19.0°C (-2.2°F) on February 14, 1988 and February 3, 1994, and the highest lowest temperature recorded was 28.9°C (84.0°F) on July 6, 1990, July 12, 2010 and June 7, 1984, lowest high was -6.1°C (21.0°F) on January 15, 1993 and December 7, 2005. Within the framework of administrative divisions , Derbent serves as

2862-409: Was under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire from 252 to 636. The name Albania is derived from the Ancient Greek name Ἀλβανία and Latin Albanía. Caucasian Albania should not be confused with European Albania. The two countries have nothing in common. The toponym was created from Greek sources who incorrectly translated the Armenian language. In 252/3 Albania, along with Iberia and Armenia ,

2916-413: Was used by Turkic peoples, in the form " Demirkapi ". Derbent's location on a narrow, three-kilometer strip of land in the North Caucasus between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains is strategic in the entire Caucasus region. Historically, this position allowed the rulers of Derbent to control land traffic between the Eurasian Steppe and the Middle East . The only other practicable crossing of

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