Derbent (from the Persian Derbend — "closed (bound) gates," Azerbaijani Dərbənd — "narrow gates") is located where the mountains of the Greater Caucasus come closest to the Caspian Sea, leaving only a narrow three-kilometer strip of plain; by closing it off, the city formed the so-called Caspian or Derbent Pass. The role of Derbent and the Derbent Pass in the formation of the Great Silk Road was significant, as it was situated in one of the most strategically important and topographically convenient locations of the famous Trans-Caspian route, connecting Eastern Europe and the Near East. Derbent is one of the oldest "living" cities in the world and the southernmost city of the Russian Federation. Archaeological excavations have determined its age to be over 5,000 years. The first settlements appeared here in the Early Bronze Age — in the 4th millennium BCE. The first mention of the Caspian Gates, one of the ancient names of Derbent, dates back to the 6th century BCE, cited by the ancient Greek geographer Hecataeus of Miletus. Chares of Mytilene, who described events of the 8th–7th centuries BCE, writes about a fortress that existed here from the 4th century BCE. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus was among the first to provide information about the Caspian Pass in the 5th century BCE. The strategic importance of the Caspian Pass attracted many nomadic steppe tribes — Scythians, Sarmatians, Mongols, Alans, and others. Here lay one of the most important sections of the Great Silk Road, as a crossroads of civilizations connecting East and West, North and South, via several maritime and overland routes. One of the Great Silk Road routes passed through Derbent. The Seleucid Empire also showed great interest in the city; its first expedition was organized under Seleucus I in 290–281 BCE. In 66–65 BCE, military campaigns by Lucullus and Pompey took place in the Caucasus, with one of their main objectives being the capture of Derbent. Throughout its history, the fortress on the Caspian was alternately controlled by Albanians, Persians, Arabs, and Russians. The keys to the city of Derbent were presented to the Russian Emperor Peter I during the Persian campaign, also known as Peter I's Lezgin campaign in Persia. It was only in 1813 that Derbent was finally annexed to the Russian Empire. According to several authors, an important fact in Derbent's history, as part of Caucasian Albania, was the adoption of Christianity in 313 CE, making it the northern outpost of this state and the main Christian stronghold against Zoroastrianism and other forms of paganism. From the 5th century CE, the city began to actively develop, along with fortification construction aimed at protecting the Near East from a new wave of various nomadic steppe tribes. Between 439 and 457 CE, fortifications were built by Yazdegerd I on the foundations of the former fortress laid by the local population of Albanian origin. Between 488 and 531 CE, the mudbrick walls were replaced with stone masonry by Khosrow I Anushirvan, who, according to legend, built these fortress walls extending over 60 kilometers (some fragments of these walls have survived to this day). The fortress began to take on the appearance that has been preserved to the present time. From the fortress, located at the foot of the mountain range, two walls descended to the sea, blocking the Caspian Pass, designed to protect the city and the trade route. A new stage in the development of Derbent is associated with the Arab invasion in the 7th century CE; however, they were able to firmly establish control only under Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik in 733–734 CE. With the Arab conquest of Derbent, the city became the main stronghold of the Caliphate in the Caucasus, an important military, political, and ideological center. Derbent became the largest medieval port city, a crucial center of international transit trade between East and West, North and South, with developed crafts (pottery, glassmaking, metalworking, jewelry, stone carving and construction, weaving, carpet making, paper production, silk, soap) and agriculture (farming, gardening, cultivation of saffron, madder, cotton, flax, etc.). Trade caravans and ships arrived here from Khorasan, Khwarezm, India, China, Rus, Volga Bulgaria, and others. A monumental witness to the era of the great migration of peoples, one of the main strongholds of the Great Silk Road, and an outstanding monument of defensive architecture, the Derbent fortress complex served defensive functions for 1,500 years. It includes the Naryn-Kala fortress, to which lead two long city walls that completely blocked the pass and extended far into the sea, forming a port. In 2003, UNESCO recognized the old part of Derbent as a World Heritage Site.

Jermaine