Ruins of Great Sasanian Empire Wall in Balakan district of Azerbaijan

Dr. Javanshir Gadimov

There are historical monuments that you see, pass in front of it but don't even realize their importance or how spectacular it was and played important role in history. In this article, I want to tell you one example of such a historical monument: The Great Sasanian Empire Wall, sometimes it is called Great Caucasian Wall or Fortification. 

Ruins of Great Sasanian Empire Wall in Balakan district of Azerbaijan

As the name suggests, the Great Sasanian Empire Wall was built by Sasanian Empires in the 4th century. Wall was built by emperors Kavad and Khosrow. Historians say that this great wall once was 120 km long. Fortifications of Derbent is a well-known historical monument and its walls and ruins are now 40 km long. So if you compare the Derbent wall with  Gread Sasanian Wall, the second one was even greater. 

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Great Sasanian Empire Wall was built to defend the northern borders of the empire from attacks from Highlanders, and Hun, Bulgarian, and Caspian Turks living in the region. According to historian Dr. Akif Memmedli, once a 120 km long wall, had 1.5 meters in width and 6 to 8 meters in height.

Now the ruins of the wall are located mostly in Katekh village of Balakan district, partly in Mukhax village of Zagatala district of Azerbaijan. I saw and took pictures of the ruins of the wall in Katekh village of Balakan. It's along the main road passing from  Zagatala, Balakan, and going to Georgia. The ruins of the wall I saw are scattered to 4-5 km alongside the road. There must be other parts of the wall away from the road too. 

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Russian general destroyed the wall

The post in front of the wall by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture says the wall is from the 3rd and 4th centuries.

Dr. Memmedli, in his article published in Geostrategiya, tells us that most of the wall that survived until the 19th century was destroyed by Russian Empire General Schwartz in 1847.  General Schwartz lost a battle in the region. While he was fighting locals and Imam Shamil’s fighters, they used the wall as a fortification. Because of that Russian general later ordered and destroyed most of the wall that was still standing until the 19th century.

Most people who pass the  Zagatala – Balakan road don't even know what are those ruins and even that they are at least 1600 years old. The wall is also mentioned in Iranian historical sources as Great Wall. It must be one of the oldest historical monuments in the region dating back to the antique period, the Roman Empire times.

Read more: 19th-century Zagatala Fortress built by Russian Empire in Azerbaijan

Roman Empire’s  arch-rival Sasanian Empire

Before I finish, let me tell you shortly about The Sasanian Empire and its importance in history. We can call The Sasanian or Sassanid Empire a neighbor and arch-rival of the Roman Empire and later  Byzantine Empire. According to historians, it is Neo-Persian Empire and it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 CE. And it is the longest-lived Persian Empire. 

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Other photos from the Great Sasanian Empire Wall

Special thanks to Attorney Javid Gadimov, my travel companion, driver, and most importantly my brother. Without him, I could not travel to these places and write these articles.