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Divankhana (Shirvanshahs Palace)
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  • Address:
    Gasr, lane 1, Baku, Sabail, AZ1000
  • Phone:
    (+994 12) 492-83-04, (+994 12) 492-38-93
  • Fax:
    (+994 12) 437-12-46
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Divankhana of Shirvanshah’s PalaceDivankhana complex (Court-house) is located in the upper yard of Shirvanshahs’ Palace. Divankhana is consisted of octahedral rotunda and finished with 12-sided cupola. It is connected with the porch through octahedral hall. Jointed lined-up arches of the porch sit on the 9 columns with unique capitals and bases. Lined-up arches of the porch surrounding the yard have the same pattern. On the outer side of the arches there are a stone shaped as dove, symbol of peace and 2 stone gutters for water discharge. This building was used for official reception and divan (court) purposes. We cannot ignore the fact that, Divankhana complex was built by Shirvanshah Farrukh Yasar as a mausoleum for himself. But the construction was not completed. Divankhana has 2 entries from upper yard and from the street. The western entry is notable for its tall and refined portal. The surface of the portal is decorated with fig and vine leaves, ornaments resembling the patterns of eastern carpets, as well as carved patterns. On the frame of the portal there are 2 hexahedral medallions and these medallions have six rhombs on the left inside them forming a flower-like geometrical figure. There are inscriptions on these rhombs: on two of them the words “There is no god but Allah” are written, on the other one the words “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”, and on the last one the words “Ali is close to Allah” are written. 12 rhombs are depicted in the hexagon on the right side. On six of them the words “Allah is one”, on the other six ones the word “Muhammad” are written. Like this portal, the inner passage to rotunda is also decorated with beautiful ornaments. Above these ornaments the 10th surah (chapter) of Holy Quran is inscribed. On the arch spindles of the rotunda there are hexagonal medallions and on the stones of these medallions, 3 protuberant and 3 engraved shapes of the name “Ali” are inscribed. There are not any ornaments on the door passages and the frames on the entry passage were not completed with inscriptions although they were made for this purpose. Most probably the construction of the building stopped because of the wars of 1500-1501. The central hall in the rotunda does not have any decorative ornaments. There are quadrangular stairs in the middle of the central hall linking to the basement. There are different opinions about their purpose. It is supposed that this place could be a vault. In front of the central hall, on the lower side there is a rectangular corridor. One end of the corridor is a grandiose portal, the other end has two entries from the southern gate. There is a small service room on the eastern part of the corridor. There are 5 wells of different depth in the yard of the Divankhana. They were very likely used to store the food stuffs. Divankhana is considered to be the masterpiece of relevant architectural monuments not only in Azerbaijan, but also in Near East for its beauty and elegance.
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