Shahbulag Castle

320px|thumb Shahbulag Castle (Şahbulaq qalası), translated as "Spring of the Shah", is located in Agdam Rayon of Azerbaijan, about 10 km away from the city of Agdam.

History
After the death of Persian ruler Nadir Shah, Azerbaijan split into several khanates one of which was the Karabakh Khanate founded by Azerbaijani ruler Panah Ali Khan Javanshir. The first capital of the khanate was the Bayat Castle built in 1748. The capital was soon moved to the newly constructed Shahbulag Castle located in lowland Karabakh. Eventually, Panah Ali Khan moved the capital to its final location, Shusha, a natural fortress located on a hardly penetratable mountain rock. Once construction of Shusha castle was completed, Panah Ali Khan relocated all of his court, nobles, meliks. Nevertheless, Karabakh khans kept about 3,000 strong horse cavalry in Shabulag Castle at all times for defense purposes. Designs of Shahbulag, Shusha and Askeran castles resemble.

The castle
The castle was called Shahbulag ("Shah's spring") honoring the nearby spring. The complex which included mosques, houses, baths and a market was built in 1751-1752. During the construction, limestone and dimension stone were used. Only the castle itself and the mosque on its northwestern end survived. The castle has a rectangular architectural design and its external walls are reinforced with circular and semicylinder towers. The walls and towers contain embrasures and merlons typical for defense structures. The castle walls are 7 metres and towers are 8.5 metres high. The entrance to the castle is located in the middle section of the eastern wall. During the reign of the khan, it was protected by two story tower like premises. The top floor was intended for the khan with a stone staircase leading to it from the castle yard. The castle was built from half-hewn whole stones.

Shahbulag Mosque
The mosque built during the construction of Shahbulag castle is located on the northwestern part of the castle. It includes a small stone prayer hall with a square dome (5.1 m by 5.1 m) and a veranda with facade directed towards the East (5.1 m by 2.5 m). The veranda beams are based on quadrangular 8-edge pillars. Shahbulag architecture is thought to have influenced later architectural designs of buildings in all Karabakh region and especially that of Shusha.

Current state
Shahbulag castle is among the most valuable historic and cultural monuments of Azerbaijan. It was abandoned following occupation of Agdam in July 1993. The current state of the structure is unknown.

Gallery
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