Galacha () or Shamil-Gala () is a round tower located near the village of

İlisu İlisu is a village and municipality in the Qakh District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,370. It was the capital of the Elisu Sultanate The Sultanate of Elisu, also known as Elisou or Ilisu, was a sultanate in the 18th and 19th centu ...

in the Gakh region of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, 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 tower was built in the beginning of the 19th century during the Russian troops advancing into the mountains. According to the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the historical and cultural monument, it is considered an architectural monument of local importance.

History of construction

By the beginning of the 19th century, the Ilisu sultans were dissatisfied with the power of the Jar people and sought to interrupt their vassalage of the Jar. In this regard, the ruler of the Ilisu Sultanate, Ahmed Khan, wanted to bring Russian troops into his possession and build a fortress. During this period, on the territory of the sultanate were built a tower, called by the local population Galacha, as well as two large Russian fortresses. As a result, the Russians supported the Sultan, thereby strengthening his power, which was gainful as opposed to the Jar community.

Architecture and layout

The tower is located on Mount Ezlidag, on a mountain ridge, from which both the village of Ilisu and the whole region are overlooked. Good visibility of the vast area suggests that the tower served as an observation post. The convenient location on the ground made the tower covered by nature itself, which, in turn, made it practically impregnable. On plan, the tower is round with a diameter of 9.2 m. It consists of two tiers and has rifle and cannon embrasures designed for shooting with a strong downward slope, which made it possible to fire on the steep mountain slopes on the approaches to the tower. During the construction of the tower, the great experience of military engineers of the Russian army was used. The outer perimeter of the tower in the first tier is divided into 24 parts. One of these parts is occupied by an entrance opening of 1.55 m wide. From the eastern side, a steep road of 2–3 m wide leads into this opening at a constant slope. The embrasures are located at a height of 1.30 m from the ground and are directed perpendicular to the planes of the facades. Parts of the walls with embrasures have a large slope inside the fortress, due to which loopholes are formed at the level of the bypass platform of the second tier, designed for standing fire.

References

Literature

* {{cite book , author =V.Muradov , title = Неисследованные памятники архитектуры сел. Илису Кахского района Азербайджанского ССР / The unexplored architectural monuments of the Ilisu villages of the Kakh region of the Azerbaijan SSR , place =

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, publisher = , year = 1980 , url = , ref = {{harvid, Muradov, 1980 Ilisu Buildings and structures in Azerbaijan Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Towers in Azerbaijan

History of construction

Architecture and layout

See also

References

Literature