You may have come across a landmass resembling an island in the Caspian Sea (near the current Baku Crystal Hall). This is the "Bayil Palace." In some sources, this monument is also referred to as the "Sabayil Castle." During a powerful earthquake that occurred in Baku in 1306, the structure was destroyed and remained submerged under water for several centuries.
The mystery of the Bayil Palace has captured the attention of scientists, travelers, researchers, and archaeologists who visited Baku over the centuries. This monument, dating back nearly seven centuries, further proves that Azerbaijan is a country with a rich cultural heritage. In the 19th century, Azerbaijani historian Abbasqulu Agha Bakikhanov, Russian scholar, orientalist, and traveler I.N. Berezin, S.Q. Gmelin, B.A. Dorn, V.V. Bartold, A.K. Markov, and others provided speculative information about the Bayil Palace. Scholars have referred to it as the "Sabayil Castle," "Bayil Palace," "Bəndərqala," "Underground City," "Caravanserai," "Khanqah," "Monastery," "Customs House," "Defense Fortress," and more. It was only in the early 18th century that the castle emerged from the sea.
The structure, 40 meters in length and 180 meters in width, is connected by 15 semicircular towers, with distances between them ranging from 16 to 28 meters. One of the towers in the quadrangle, located to the north, is monolithic, while the other towers are linked by small chambers. The thickness of the walls ranges from 1.2 meters to 1.5 meters. The walls are adorned with frieze inscriptions (70 cm in height, 25-50 cm in width, 12-15 cm in thickness) made of individual stone plaques.
Between 1939 and 1969, research led to the discovery of 699 stone plaques over various periods. These plaques are currently kept in the courtyard of the Shirvanshahs' Palace in the Inner City. The plaques are decorated with Arabic and Persian inscriptions, along with depictions of birds and mythical creatures. The chains of ornaments on the plaques, as well as images of humans and animals, reflect an ability to observe. However, about 30% of the stones extracted from the sea have been damaged by wave action over the centuries, resulting in some inscriptions and images being erased.
Based on inscriptions, it has been determined that the palace was built in 1232-1233 by Shirvanshah Fariburz, son of Garshasbin (Gərşəsbin), near the shore of the Caspian Sea on one of the Bayil hills. The name of the architect, Abdul-Majid Masud oglu, has been found in ancient writings. This architect, at the same time in 1232, also built the round fortress of Mardakan, which was part of the unified defense system of Absheron and defended the city and Bayil Palace from the north.
The structure of the stones used in the construction of the Bayil Palace confirms the high level of architectural art in Azerbaijan nearly eight centuries ago. The stones, which feature the names of Shirvanshahs, are engraved with symmetrical depictions of humans, animals, birds, and mythical creatures, each representing the symbols of the rulers.