(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Fatima Hasanova
Now that the Caspian Sea level has slightly dropped, people are
speculating about the mythical Baku Atlantis - the Sabayil castle,
the foundation of which can be seen from the opposite side of the
Ferris Wheel, or Baku Eye. The Sabayil fortification has a history
dating back to 1230.
The Sabayil castle, shrouded in stories and secrets, was, of
course, fascinating at all times. After all, it was constructed 350
meters off the sea. As a result, it is also known as the
'Underwater City.'
Shirvanshah Fariburz III built Sabayil Castle in 1235 on a rocky
island in Bayil Bay, on the outskirts of contemporary Baku.
This fortress served as the Shirvanshahs family palace and was
utilized for defense. This was unavoidable at a period when enemy
attacks from the sea were always a possibility. Later, as
demonstrated by the presence of stones with holes in the outside
walls where ships were tethered, the castle was encircled by a
unique fleet; around the end of the 12th century, the Shirvanshahs
formed their own fleet to guard the stronghold against maritime
invasions.
The Mongols attempted to take it multiple times in the XIII
century, but because they lacked a navy, they attacked it from the
ground with siege weaponry. They were able to damage a portion of
the fortress walls, but the Sabayil castle refused to submit and
was never captured.
The castle was destroyed by a big earthquake in 1306, and it
fell into the Caspian Sea. As a result, the water level surged,
flooding the castle.
The Caspian Sea totally drowned the Sabayil fortress from the
XIV to the XVIII century. However, as the water level receded in
1723, the top of the tower was visible. The castle's top was
entirely demolished, but the walls and towers, which reached a
height of 2 meters, were spared.
The most intriguing discoveries were stone slabs with relief
inscriptions in Arabic writing and sculpted representations of
animals, birds, human faces, and fantastic creatures. The first
plates were recovered from the seafloor in the early 1940s, and
there are now around 700 of them.
So far, it has been managed to construct five consecutively
continuing plates on which the date - 632 AH, corresponding to 1234
-1235 AD - is inscribed. The name of the master, who constructed
the Sabayil, was disclosed by two little stones. The inscription
says, 'Master Zeindin son of Abu Rashid Shirvani's craftsmanship'.
'Bismillah' - 'In the name of Allah' - is plainly written on
certain stones.
Separate names were also read on the walls of the castle, such
as: 'Feriburz', 'Afridun', 'Yahya', 'Khudabanda' and 'Afrasiab'.
Who these people were, who, according to the master, deserved to be
mentioned on the walls of the castle, remains a mystery. The
drawings found on the walls are also mysterious: for example, the
image of a female Mongolian face, clearly not familiar to this
area.
There was also a painting of Tamar, the Georgian queen, which is
understandable given that Georgia and Azerbaijan at the time had
close-knit connections and a strong political union. Some sources
claim that this woman is the daughter of King David the Builder of
Georgia, who married Manuchehr and had a son named Akhsitan. She
resided in Azerbaijan after converting to Islam. After Manuchehr
passed away, she went back to Georgia and donned the habit of being
a nun.
Contemporary researchers are still hopeful that they may solve
the Caspian Atlantis mystery. For instance, Victor Kvachidze, the
expedition leader in charge of the underwater archaeological dig,
remarked, 'Retreating, the sea can carry away with it numerous
objects, currently silently resting at the bottom: money, ceramics,
stone tools, and perhaps jewelry.'
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