Shahbulag Castle: An Eighteenth-Century Fortress of the Karabakh Khanate
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.8
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Azerbaijan
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Shahbulag Castle is an eighteenth-century fortress and former settlement in Azerbaijan, founded by Panah Ali Khan as a secure seat for the Karabakh Khanate. Panah Ali Khan, the khanate’s founder and first ruler, established the site near the Shahbulag spring in 1752 as a replacement for Bayat Fortress.
Foundation of the Khanate Capital
The area was known as Tarnakut or Tarnakiut before it acquired the name Shahbulag. Azerbaijani historians Mirza Adigezal-bek and Mirza Jamal Javanshir place the completion of construction in 1751–1752, while the Armenian historian Mirza Yusuf Nersesov dates Panah Khan’s arrival and the building of the fortress to 1755. These accounts agree that Panah Ali Khan created a new fortified settlement in the area during the early years of the Karabakh Khanate.
Panah Ali Khan chose the location in response to opposition from the Javanshir and Otuziki populations and hostile local meliks. The settlement contained the khan’s refuge and became the khanate’s capital after Bayat was abandoned. Its residents included tribal families, nobles, artisans, the khan’s relatives, and his servants. After three or four years of Panah Ali Khan’s independent rule there, his growing authority and following were known across the surrounding districts.
Move to Shusha
The capital later moved to Shusha, a naturally fortified settlement on a rocky mountain site, and the khan’s court followed. Shahbulag continued to serve a military purpose, retaining a force of about 3,000 cavalry. Residents were subsequently relocated to Shusha, which became the final capital of the Karabakh Khanate.
Earlier Traditions and Modern History
Historical traditions differ over the identity of the fortress-building project near Shahbulag. The Armenian writer Raffi described Panah Khan as attempting to build Askeran near the remains of Tarnakyurt or Tigranakert. The accounts of Mirza Adigezal-bek, Mirza Jamal Javanshir, and Mirza Yusuf Nersesov instead identify the fortress as Shahbulag and distinguish it from Askeran.
Armenian archaeologists identify the location with an ancient Armenian city that existed from the first century BC to the fourteenth century AD and is associated with Tigranakert of Artsakh. Hamlet Petrosyan, director of excavations, stated that stones from a fifth- or sixth-century Tigranakert basilica were incorporated into the first courses of Shahbulag’s fortifications.
The Azerbaijani Soviet government renovated the castle in the early 1980s. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenian forces captured Shahbulag and its surrounding area after the Battle of Agdam, and the castle was renovated again after its capture. Control returned to Azerbaijan on 20 November 2020 under the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement.
Remains
The surviving Shahbulag complex is built from limestone and dressed building stone. The settlement originally included a fortress, houses, mosques, bathhouses, a market, a square, and other urban buildings. The principal surviving structures are the rectangular fortress and a mosque set within its northwestern section.
Fortress
The fortress has a rectangular plan, with outer walls strengthened by round and semicylindrical towers. Defensive parapets and projecting galleries or balconies formed part of its defensive arrangement. The walls rise to 7 metres, while the towers reach 8.5 metres. An entrance occupies the middle of the eastern wall.
During the khanate, two-storey tower-like buildings protected the eastern entrance. The upper storey was assigned to the khan and could be reached from the fortress courtyard by a stone staircase. The fortress was built with whole and partly dressed stones, and its design is described as resembling the later fortresses of Shusha and Askeran. Its architecture is believed to have influenced later buildings across Karabakh, particularly in Shusha.
Northwestern Mosque
The mosque stands in the northwestern part of the fortress. Its small stone prayer hall is covered by a square dome, with each side measuring 5.1 metres. An eastern-facing porch at ground level measures 5.1 by 2.5 metres, and its beams rest on four-sided columns with eight edges.
Archaeological Museum
A small museum inside the castle holds artefacts recovered during excavations at the adjacent Tigranakert archaeological site. The collection connects the standing fortress with the archaeological remains investigated in its immediate surroundings.
