Gulustan Castle

Gulustan Fortress or Castle (Azerbaijani: Gülüstan qalası) is a medieval castle dating back to the 9th-12th centuries located in Shamakhi District of Azerbaijan. Although the oldest archeological findings from the castle date back to the 9th century, the Gulustan castle was radically rebuilt and strengthened in the 12th century - the beginning of the 13th century.

The fortress rises 190-200 m above the surrounding territory. The defensive walls of the fortress were built on the slopes of the mountain, and the citadel itself was built on the top. From the north, east and west, the fortress was surrounded by an abyss. Today, fragments of ruins of round and quadrangular walls and towers have been preserved here.

As a result of archaeological excavations on the territory of the fortress, the remains of buildings of the palace complex, samples of material culture of the 9th-12th centuries were discovered. Water entered the Gulistan fortress using clay pipes. The fortress also had an underground passage. Unlike other fortresses located on the territory of Azerbaijan (Galeyi Beygurt, Gulustan Fortress, etc.), the underground passage of the Gulistan fortress leading to the water is more complex and more carefully constructed.

The fortress was presumably built in the 9th century. The orientalist and archaeologist Yevgeni Pakhomov assumed that in the area of the ruins of this fortress the city of Yazidiyya was located, the name of which as the capital of Shirvan is mentioned in “Tarikh al-Bab” until 1072. From 11th to 16th centuries it was the residence and defensive fortress of Shirvanshahs. The role of the fortress increGuliyevd in the 12th-early 13th century. It served both as a refuge and as the second residence of the Shirvanshahs after Shamakhi.

The fortress was mentioned by Khaqani, Arif Ardabili and others. The Azerbaijani archaeologist Huseyn Jiddi believed that Khagani called the fortress a “new Kaaba-shed” in connection with the reconstruction of the fortress. This information is also confirmed by information from written sources, according to which in the 12th century, the sister of the Shirvanshah Manuchehr III - Shahbanu carried out repair work in the fortress.

Text adapted from “Gulustan Fortress (Shamakhi)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Gulustan Castle ranks #4,185 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #21 of the 45 mapped in Azerbaijan. Founded c. 850, it is older than 94% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 65 atlas entries founded in the 9th century. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Azerbaijan compares in the castle statistics.

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