, 1910s Derbent's location on a narrow, three-kilometer strip of land in the
North Caucasus between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains is strategic in the entire
Caucasus region. Historically, this position allowed the rulers of Derbent to control land traffic between the
Eurasian Steppe and the
Middle East. The only other practicable crossing of the Caucasus ridge was over the
Darial Gorge.
Persian rule , a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. A traditionally and historically
Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC; the site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of
Caucasian Albania which
was a satrapy of the
Achaemenid Persian Empire, and is traditionally identified with Albana, the capital. The modern name is a
Persian word (
Darband) meaning "gateway", which came into use in the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century AD, when the city was re-established by
Kavadh I of the
Sassanid dynasty of Persia, however, Derbent was probably already into the Sasanian sphere of influence as a result of the victory over the Parthians and the conquest of Caucasian Albania by
Shapur I, the second shah of the
Sassanid Persians. Some say that the level of the Caspian was formerly higher and that the lowering of the water level opened an invasion route that had to be fortified. The chronicler
Movses Kaghankatvatsi wrote about "the wondrous walls, for whose construction the Persian kings exhausted our country, recruiting architects and collecting building materials with a view of constructing a great edifice stretching between the Caucasus Mountains and the Great Eastern Sea". Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the
Sassanid Empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the
Christian faith in the Caucasus. During periods when the Sasanians were distracted by war with the
Byzantines or protracted battles with the Hephthalites in the eastern provinces, the northern tribes succeeded in advancing into the Caucasus. The first Sasanian attempt to seal off the road along the Caspian seacoast at Darband by means of a mud-brick wall has been dated in the reign of
Yazdegerd II (438–457 AD). In fact, a deliberate policy of “
Persianizing” Derbent and the eastern Caucasus, in general, can be traced over many centuries, from Khosrow I to the
Safavid shahs
Ismail I, and
ʿAbbās the Great. relocating about 3,000 families from the interior of Persia in the city of Derbent and neighboring villages.
Arab conquest In 643, Derbent was captured by the Arab Muslims, who called it the Gate of Gates (
Bab al-Abwab), following
their invasion of Persia. They transformed it into an important administrative center and introduced
Islam to the area. The impression of antiquity evoked by these fortifications led many Arab historians to connect them with
Khosrow I and to include them among the seven wonders of the world. The Holy Saviour Armenian Church still rises up in the skyline, though it is used as the Museum of Carpet, Arts and Crafts today due to the decline in the Armenian population. There was also a second Armenian church and two Armenian schools which served the Armenian community, which numbered about 3,000 in the census of 1913. Excavations on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea, opposite to Derbent, revealed the
Great Wall of Gorgan, the eastern counterpart to the wall and fortifications of Derbent. Similar
Sassanian defensive fortifications there—massive forts, garrison towns, long walls—also run from the sea to the mountains. The Caliph
Harun al-Rashid lived in Derbent and brought it into great repute as a seat of the arts and commerce. According to Arab historians, Derbent, with a population exceeding 50,000, was the largest city of the 9th century in the Caucasus. In the 10th century, with the collapse of the Arab Caliphate, Derbent became the capital of an emirate.
Emirate of Derbent often fought losing wars with the neighboring Christian state of
Sarir, allowing Sarir to manipulate Derbent's politics on occasion. Despite that, the emirate outlived its rival and continued to flourish at the time of the
Mongol invasion in 1239. In the 14th century, Derbent was occupied by
Timur's armies.
Shirvanshah era The
Shirvanshahs dynasty existed as independent or a
vassal state, from 861 until 1538; longer than any other dynasty in the
Islamic world. They were renowned for their cultural achievements and geopolitical pursuits. The rulers of Shirvan, called the Shirvanshahs, had attempted, and on numerous times, succeeded, to conquer Derbend since the 18th Shirvanshah king,
Afridun I, was appointed as the governor of the city. Over the centuries the city changed hands often. The 21st Shirvanshah king,
Akhsitan I, briefly reconquered the city. However, the city was lost once again to the northern
Kipchaks. After the Timurid invasion,
Ibrahim I of Shirvan, the 33rd Shirvanshah, managed to keep the kingdom of Shirvan independent. Ibrahim I revived Shirvan's fortunes, and through his cunning politics managed to continue without paying tribute. Furthermore, Ibrahim also greatly increased the limits of his state. He conquered the city of Derbend in 1437. The Shirvanshahs integrated the city so closely with their political structure that a new branch of the Shirvan dynasty emerged from Derbend, the Derbenid dynasty. The Derbenid dynasty, being a cadet dynasty of Shirvan, inherited the throne of Shirvan in the 15th century. In the early 16th century, the kingdom of Shirvan was conquered by
Shah Ismail of the Safavid dynasty. As Shah Ismail incorporated all the Shirvan possessions, he also inherited Derbend.
Russian conquest Derbent stayed under
Iranian rule, while occasionally briefly taken by the
Ottoman Turks such as in 1583 after the
Battle of Torches and the
Treaty of Constantinople, till the course of the 19th century, when the Russians occupied the city and wider Iranian-ruled swaths of Dagestan. Being briefly taken by the Russians as a result of the
Persian expedition of 1722–23 by
Peter the Great, the 1735
Treaty of Ganja, formed by
Imperial Russia and
Safavid Iran (
de facto ruled by
Nader Shah), forced Russia to return Derbent and its bastion to Iran. In 1747, Derbent became the capital of the
Derbent Khanate of the same name. During the
Persian Expedition of 1796, Derbent was stormed by Russian forces under General
Valerian Zubov, but the Russians were forced to retreat due to internal political issues, making it fall under Persian rule again. As a consequence of the
Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) and the resulting
Treaty of Gulistan of 1813, Derbent and wider
Dagestan were ceded by
Qajar Iran to the
Russian Empire. (For background, see Russian conquest of the Caucasus#Caspian Coast.) In the 1886 census of
Dagestan Oblast, as part of Russia's
Caucasus Viceroyalty, people of
Iranian descent () were still an absolute majority at 8,994 out of 15,265, or 58,9%. ==Geography==