Bayat Castle () is in the Kebirli village of the Tartar District of Azerbaijan.

History

After the death of Iranian ruler

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

(1736-1747), several khanates were established on the territory that constitutes the present-day

Republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russi ...

. One of these was the

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate (also spelled Qarabagh; ; ) was a Khanates of the Caucasus, khanate under History of Iran, Iranian and later Russian Empire, Russian suzerainty, which controlled the historical region of Karabakh, now divided between modern ...

founded by Panah Ali Khan Javanshir. The first capital of the khanate was the Bayat Castle built in 1748 in Kebirli mahali (province). The castle was named after the Turkic Bayat clan. It included all strategic defense structures such as walls warfare trenches and had a market, bath house and a mosque. It was built with hard burned bricks. When the construction of the castle was finalized Panah Ali Khan moved all of his court to the castle. The capital was therefore soon moved to the newly constructed Shahbulag Castle located in lowland

Karabakh Karabakh ( ; ) is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It is divided into three regions: Highland Kara ...

in 1752. Eventually, with an intent to secure the entity from external threats, especially from Iran, Panah Ali Khan moved the capital to its final location,

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

, a more reliable natural fortress located on a hardly penetratable mountain rock.

Current state

Bayat castle is among the most valuable historic and cultural monuments of Azerbaijan. It is one of the monuments that partially survived after more than two centuries

References

{{Castles and fortresses in Azerbaijan Houses completed in 1748 Palaces in Azerbaijan Tourist attractions in Azerbaijan Royal residences in Azerbaijan Islamic architecture in Azerbaijan Castles in Azerbaijan Bayat tribe

History

Current state

See also

References