Shamakhi, in the hills under the main Caucasus range, is the old capital of the Shirvanshahs and a silk town.
In 1191 it was seized by Qizil Arslan and wrecked by an earthquake (1191, or 588 AH, 1192), and the court moved to Baku; it is back in the Shirvanshah's hands, and coins of Shahanshah were struck here, but whether the court returned is not known. The castle of Gulistan stands on a hill above the town.
Who holds it
- Name
- Akhsitan I or his successor (not pinned)
- Title
- Shirvanshah
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The Shirvanshah (Akhsitan I or a brother); coins of Shahanshah were struck here
How things stand that morning
Held by the Shirvanshah.
Charter
None: the towns of the atabegs have no charters; the governor (shihna or wali), the judge (qadi) and the market inspector (muhtasib) answer to the ruler.
Council
No sworn council; the notables (a'yan), the qadi and the heads of quarters speak for the town.
Communities
Muslim Persian-speaking townsmen; Christian and Jewish minorities (not pinned for 1200).
Fairs and markets
Weekly and daily markets (suq) and caravanserais; no fair dates recorded.
Militia
Townsmen's young men's associations (ahdath, 'ayyarun) exist in the towns of the region; nothing specific is recorded for 1199-1200.
Walls and castle
Walled town; the Gulistan castle above it.
Trade and crafts
Silk; the road from Arran to Baku and Derbent.
Where the sources disagree
- Earthquake dated 1191 by the Wikipedia page on the town and 588 AH (1192) by the TDV article 'Sirvansahlar'.
Evidence: Coins and a few notices.
Primary sources for Shirvan
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The History of Derbent and Shirvan, as preserved in Munejjim-bashi's Jami al-duwal, Anonymous (an 11th-century author of Derbent, excerpted by Munejjim-bashi, died 1702) (about 1075; preserved in an Ottoman compilation of the 1670s). The only local history of the Shirvanshahs and the emirs of Derbent, surviving as extracts in a 17th-century Ottoman compilation.
- History of the Armenians, Kirakos Gandzaketsi (1241 to 1265). Written at Getik and Gandzak in the Zakarid lands of Georgian Armenia. Read online
- The Georgian Chronicles: the Histories and Eulogies of the Sovereigns, and the Life of Queen Tamar, Anonymous, attributed to the chancellor Theodore of Chqondidi and to Basili, master of the court (about 1210 to 1225). Two court histories of Queen Tamar written within a generation. Read online
- Dictionary of Countries, Yaqut al-Hamawi (1224 to 1228, at Aleppo). An alphabetical gazetteer of every place Yaqut had read of or seen: he travelled as a bookseller's agent through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Khurasan and Khwarazm (about 1213 to 1220) and settled in Aleppo. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, 'Shamakhi'
- Wikipedia, 'Akhsitan I' (after Minorsky 1958 and Kouymjian 1969)
- Wikipedia, 'Shirvanshah' (after Minorsky 1958, Kouymjian 1969, Bosworth)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.