Fortress with Round Tower
Mardakyan, Azerbaijan
The fortress with the round tower is the smaller of two fortresses located in the small town of Mardakyan, to the northeast of the Aspheron Peninsula and was also constructed earlier, in 1232. It is part of a series of fortresses and castles along the peninsula coast that created a unified defensive system against assaults from the Caspian Sea.

The fortress consists of rectangular ramparts that enclose an inner courtyard of twenty-five per twenty-five meters and a round tower, of sixteen meters height, rising at the center. The tower has three floors connected with a spiral staircase. It was initially considered to be a freestanding tower, until the remains of its ramparts were unearthed during excavations.

It closely resembles the Fortress at Nardaran and the Djebahan Castle in Baku. Both Mardakyan fortresses are completely restored and preserved.

Sources:

Aslanapa, Oktay. 1979. Kirim ve Kuzey Azerbaycan'da Türk Eserleri. Istanbul: Baha Matbaasi, 57.

Gink, Kalory and Ilona Turanszky. 1979. Azerbaijan: Mosques, Turrets, Palaces. Budapest: Corvina Kiado, 38-40.

Fatullayev, S.S. and R.S. Babasov. 2005. "Memarliq". Maison d'Azerbaidjan Website. http://www.azmaison.fr/az/index_az.shtml?language=2;section=4;section2=4. [Accessed November 2, 2005]

Mamedov, Farid and Jaffar Giyasi. 1994. Azerbaijan: Fortresses, Castles. Baku: Iterturan, 195-201.

"Castles and Towers of Absheron". Bakupages Website. http://www.bakupages.com/pages/monuments/9633_en.php. [Accessed January 09, 2005]

"Mardakan". Website of the Mardakan Municipality. http://www.merdekan-belediyyesi.org/mardakan.htm. [Accessed November 3, 2005]
Location
Mardakyan, Azerbaijan
Events
1232
Style Periods
Variant Names
Mardakyan Fortress
Variant
Mardakan Fortress
Variant
Building Usages
military
military