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Palace of the Shirvanshahs

Places in Baku · Palace museum

Palace of the Shirvanshahs

Sabail, Baku, Azerbaijan

Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped for display

The Palace of the Shirvanshahs is a fifteenth-century royal complex built when the rulers of Shirvan established their residence in Baku. Its limestone architecture is part of the Old City's UNESCO-listed ensemble.

The complex includes the palace, the Divankhana, a mosque, mausoleums and bathhouse remains. Follow the sequence of courtyards and compare the restrained walls with the detailed stone carving.

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The Palace of the Shirvanshahs takes us back to the fifteenth century, when the rulers of Shirvan made Baku their residence. Rather than a single grand building, it is a whole complex: the palace, a mosque, mausoleums, bathhouse remains and the small courtyard structure known as the Divankhana.

The limestone walls can seem quite restrained at first. Then the carved details begin to stand out. The portal of the Divankhana is a good example of that contrast. Following the courtyards helps make sense of how the separate buildings fit together. This royal complex is part of the same UNESCO-listed ensemble as the Old City and the Maiden Tower.

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