Early history Makhachkala's historic predecessors were the towns of
Tarki and Anji (or Andzhi, or Anji-kala), dating their history, according to some sources, back to
Khazar times. Some chronicles suggest that it was the name of a citadel of Khazarian capital of
Semender, which was called Anji-kala. During the
first Muslim conquests of Dagestan, it was exposed to an influx of
Muslims. During the reign of
Umayyad Caliph Hisham b. Abdülmelik (724-743), the caliph's brother Maslama succeeded in establishing Islamic dominance in the region with his conquests. In the following years, one of the Umayyad commanders, Marwan b. Mohammed also organized successful raids in Dagestan. However, the Islamic domination in the region ended in 796 (180 AH) when the Khazars captured
Derbent. In the early days of the
Abbasids, the struggle against the Khazars continued. This struggle, which lasted for two centuries, ended with the victory of the Muslim Arabs. In 815, Sheikh Abu Ishaq and Sheikh Mohammed al-Kindi entered Dagestan with a volunteer army of about 2000 people and tried to spread Islam. In the second half of the 11th century, the
Seljuk Turks took a part of the region under their control. Dagestan was invaded by the
Mongols in 1222. The
Cumans (Kipchaks), who ruled in the north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus, played an important role in the
Turkification of the region. Later on, the
Ilkhanids, the
Golden Horde Khanate, the
Timurids, the
Shirvanshahs and the
Safavids dominated Dagestan respectively. Dagestan came under
Ottoman rule between 1578 and 1606. The Safavids started operations to spread
Shiism in Dagestan at the beginning of the 19th century but were met with fierce resistance from Dagestanis.
Shah Abbas II established a significant influence in Dagestan in 1639. It started to attract the attention of the Russians from the 17th century onwards. It remained the scene of a struggle for influence between Iranians, Russians and Ottomans from the beginning of the 17th century. A town status was granted to the fortress in 1857. The Russian name of the city was
Petrovskoye ()—after the Russian
Tsar Peter the Great, who waged war in the region in 1722 during his
Persian Campaign. However, among the local
Kumyks the city was still known as
Anzhi-Qala,
The Pearl Fortress (
Qala means fortress or a city with walls, while
Anzhi / Inzhi / Inji means pearl in
Kumyk). There is also still a hill called
Anji-arqa, meaning
the hill of Anji. In 1894, a railway line linked the city to
Vladikavkaz (in present-day
North Ossetia-Alania) and
Baku (in present-day
Azerbaijan). However, despite the development, a report from 1904 detailed the spread of
malaria and unsuitable drinking water in the city.
20th century In January 1919, during the
Russian Civil War, the British
No. 221 Squadron Royal Air Force based themselves at Petrovsk. In March they were joined by
No. 266 Squadron and both squadrons were involved in bombing operations against Bolshevik forces in
Astrakhan and elsewhere. In August 1919 both squadrons were withdrawn from Petrovsk. The city was invaded by the
Red Army in March 1920. The city was briefly renamed
Shamilkala during the disintegration of the Soviet Union in honor of the Dagestani freedom fighter
Imam Shamil. The area was used as a Soviet-era
naval testing station, leaving behind a curious sea fort off nearby
Kaspiysk (). On 12 April 1944, a decision was made to resettle the inhabitants of Kumyk villages of Tarki, Kyakhulay and Alburikent, which owned the surrounding areas, to the settlements of the deported Chechens. Most of the released land was distributed to the Makhachkala city council (6243 out of 8166 hectares), in addition to the collective farms of the mountainous regions and industrial enterprises of Makhachkala. After the return of the Kumyk population in 1957, the lands of the collective farms were not restored, personal property was also lost, many houses were occupied by people resettled from mountainous areas. The historical monuments of the ancient city were destroyed and used as construction materials for the infrastructure of Makhachkala.
21st century Makhachkala is close to areas of fighting and therefore it and the surrounding region has a heavy security service presence. On 25 November 2011, a protest took place in Makhachkala attended by up to 3,000 people demanding an end to illegal activities perpetrated by the security services. On December 15, 2011,
Gadzhimurat Kamalov, a Russian investigative journalist and founder of the independent
Chernovik newspaper was shot dead in an apparent assassination. A report of the International Crisis Group from 2013 describes the city as being "a city of almost one million and gained spectacular economic resources due to a construction boom, skyrocketing land prices, substantial federal funds for reconstruction, infrastructure, transport, housing, courts and administrative services. But even a short visit revealed acute problems, including dirty streets, dilapidated buildings, inadequate utilities, hectic construction, lack of planning and poorly organised public transport". On 14 August 2023, a fire at a gas station in Makhachkala led to a
series of explosions, causing at least 25 deaths and 66 injuries. On the evening of 29 October 2023,
antisemitic riots occurred at the
Makhachkala airport causing 500 police officers of the
MVD to temporarily close the airport until the morning of 30 October 2023. On 23 June 2024, unknown attackers carried out a terrorist attack in Makhachkala. Many people were killed and wounded. A priest was murdered, and a church and a synagogue burned. ==Economy==