Sabayil Castle

Sabayil Castle is a castle in Baku, Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

The castle is named after the surrounding area of Bayil. The structure is also known as the "Atlantis of the Caspian Sea". Research scientists have referred to it as “Sabayil castle”, “Bayil castle”, “Bandargala”, “Underground town”, “Caravanserai”, “Cloister”, “Monastery”, “Custom house” and “Defence castle”.

The castle was built on one of the Bayil hills near the Caspian Sea coast in 1232–33, during the life of Fariburz, son of Shirvanshah Garsasb, by architect Abdul-Majid Masud oglu. At the same time, in 1232, this architect also built the round castle in Mardakan, which was part of Abseron’s integrated defence system, defending the city and Bayil Castle from the north. Some archaeologists suggested the castle belonged to the Shirvanshahs.

During a major earthquake in the capital city of Baku in 1306, the building collapsed and the island submerged and remained under water for several centuries. It was not until the early 18th century, when the Caspian Sea receded, that the structure resurfaced. At this time, stones recovered from the site with inscriptions on them provided valuable information for historians.

According to Azerbaijani historian Sara Ashurbeyli, Sabayil is the castle mentioned by Abdurrashid Al-Bakuvi, a 15th-century geographer who alleged that the structure was destroyed during the 13th-century Mongol invasion.

Al-Bakuvi, a native of Baku, wrote in 1430 in his "Kitab-talkhis el-asar ve el-melik el-gahhar": "Baku has two castles; very strong, built of stone. One of them is very large and on the shore Maiden's Tower. This is the castle that the Mongols could not conquer. The other is further offshore. Its upper parts have been destroyed."

The building complex, which is 40 metres (130 ft) long and 180 metres (590 ft) wide, consists of 15 semi-circular castles, 16 to 28 metres (52 to 92 ft) apart and connected by a wall. One of the castles at the four corners – the northern one – stood alone, but the others were connected via small cells. The wall was between 1.2 and 1.5 metres (3.9 and 4.9 ft) thick. On the wall there were individual stone panels with frieze inscriptions 70 centimetres (28 in) long, 25 to 50 centimetres (10 to 20 in) wide and 12 to 15 centimetres (5 to 6 in) thick).

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Wikipedia