Derbent (Dagestan) |
Azerb.com
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![]() Derbent is the southernmost city in the Russian Federation, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan, with a population of over 90.000, the Azeris are the main ethnic group, followed by Lezgin and Tabasaran. (To avoid confusion, please note that there is another town called Derbent, located in the southern part of Uzbekistan, Surkhondaryo province).
Derbent has a unique strategical location in the Caucasus: the city is situated on a thin strip of land (3km) between the Caspian sea and the Caucasus mountains, controlling land traffic between south-eastern Europe and the Middle east.
The first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century B.C. Until the 4th century A.D. century it was part of Caucasian Albania, when it became part of the Sassanid empire as a strong military outpost and harbour. During the 5th and 6th centuries Derbent becomes also an important centre for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.
In the 14th century it was occupied by the hordes of the Tatar warlord Timur. In 1437 it falls under the control of the Shirvan Khan. During the 16th century Derbent is the arena for wars between Turkey and Persia ruled by the Azeri Sefevid dynasty. By the early 17th century the Sefevid Shah Abbas inflicted a serious defeat on the Turks and recoverd Derbent. By the 1735 Ganja treaty Derbent falls within the Persian state. In 1747 Derbent became the capital of the khanate of the same name. Finally in 1796 it was occupied by Russian forces involved in the 2nd Persian campaign. As a consequence of the Gulistan treaty of 1813 - between Russian and Persia - Derbent became part of the Russian empire.
The education infrastructure is quite good, there is a university as well as several technical schools. On the cultural front, don't miss the Lezgin drama theatre (known as the S.Stalsky theatre). There a nice vacation colony about 2km from the city ('Chayka' - Seagull). Derbent being in practice a huge museum and with magnificent mountains and shore nearby, a great potential for development of the tourism industry exists, further increased by UNESCO's classification of the Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress as 'world heritage' in 2003, however instability in the region hasn't allowed further development (Russian visa procedures are also not very helpful). If you plan to travel to Derbent probably you will require a Russian visa. There are trains to Baku and a consulate of Azerbaijan is expected to open in the near future. (230 km northeast of Baku) |
![]() Largest caucasian republic in the Russian Federation, with an area of 50.300 sq. km and a population of 2.1 million. The republic has borders with Azerbaijan, Georgia but also with the Russian republics of Chechnya and Russia. With a long and troubled history Dagestan became an autonomous republic in 1920 and today is one of the world's most complex ethnic patchworks: it has 32 different ethnic groups, the main being: Avars, Russians, Darghins, Kumyks, Lezgins, Laks, Azeris, Tabassarans, Chechens, Nogais, Rutuls, Aguls, Tsakhurs and Tats.
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see also maps, people, language, images of Dagestan, images of Russia, Russian visas |
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