Map of the State of Shirvanshahs in Azerbaijan

by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh

Created: December 05, 2024

Map of Shirvanshahs' State at its zenith, Caucasian Azerbaijan, Aqqounly Empire, John E. Woods, 1999

The map shows the extension of the State of Shirvanshahs (Old form: Šarvānšāhs, Azerbaijani: Şirvanşahlar, r. 861-1538) in Caucasian Azerbaijan of the Aqqounlu Empire over present-day Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Tradition says that Sasanian King Ardashīr I (Pahlavi:ʾrthštr Ardašīr, r. 224–242), granted the title of Shirvanshah to a local ruler of Shirvan.

The capital of Shirvanshahs was Shamakhi (Middle Persian/Pahlavi: Šammāḵa, Azerbaijani: Şamaxı) and later Baku (Pahlavi: Atāsh-i Bagawān ?; Old Persian: bāga means god, "place of God's fires"), present-day Azerbaijan. 

The Palace of Shirvanshahs survived till modern days and it is a popular destination for tourists visiting Baku.

Baku's Shirvanshah Palace is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage.

References:

- John E. Woods,  "Aqqounlu Clan, Confederation, Empire", 1999, University of Utah Press, 352.

- Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, UNESCO, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/958/

- W. Madelung, "Āzarbāijān and Eastern Transcaucasia", In: The Cambridge History of Iran, Ed: R.N. Frye, 2008, Vol 4, 226-228.

- M.Boyce, "Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices", London, 1979, p.273