Khan's Palace - the palace complex of the Derbent fortress

The most interesting and richly ornamented palace complex in Derbent is the Khan's Palace in the Naryn-Kala citadel, built in 1768 by the most powerful feudal ruler of the Eastern Caucasus, Fatali Khan. It reached its greatest power in the 1770s–1780s, during which the entire citadel was transformed into the Khan's residence.

Akhverdyov writes that "the Khan's house with all its servants is located in the citadel, and no private individuals live there; all residents were evicted from it." The Khan's Palace consists of two parts and faces the city with its eastern facade, the walls of which serve as part of the citadel.

Butkov gives a very picturesque description of the Khan's Palace: "I was in the Khan's house. It is built in Naryn-Kala, two stories high, from rough stone at an elevation commanding the entire city. The chambers where the Khan and his sister lived form a quadrangle, similar to the Winter Palace. In the middle is a pool. On the side facing the city, there is a gallery, an extension of the fortress walls above the entire house; to the right, left, and opposite the gallery are chambers arranged in an external amphitheater, where the walls, as in the rooms, are decorated with paintings. These paintings depict: one, a battle of ancient Asians, where the presiding figure rides elephants; another, romantic meetings; and another, horsemen chasing and killing deer and others with sabers; the ceilings are decorated with flowers. From the entire amphitheater, on the sides of the doors to the rooms—except for one room belonging to the Khan's sister—the walls are not decorated with paintings but are simply plastered. The rooms contained many small mirrors and other decorations... The windows in the rooms are made of small multicolored glass pieces and show the most charming view of a rainbow, especially when the sun casts its rays on the glass. These windows with glass face only the city, while the inner ones have no glass but have curtains and shutters. The reason for this is that they do not have severe cold or damp air."

After Fatali Khan's death in 1789, his son Shikh-Ali Khan became the ruler of Derbent. In 1796, judging by Butkov's description, the Khan's Palace was fully preserved. Ten years later, in 1806, when Russian troops again took control of Derbent, the city and citadel presented a bleak sight. Shikh-Ali Khan's rule led to the decline of the once flourishing city of Derbent. One participant of the 1806 campaign reported: "The breaches in the walls were overgrown with moss, the upper part of the city and the Khan's Palace, the pride of Asia and rarity of Persia, year by year increased the ruins caused by time and war, while the Khan squandered wealth on beautiful concubines and the finest wines."

The Khan's Palace was in very poor condition: "Collapsed ceilings, broken fireplaces, remnants of poor paintings visible in one gallery do not satisfy the curiosity of the antiquities seeker; he turns to the right side, enters the facade rooms—and for a while forgets his troubles; here he finds remnants of Asian interior decoration and gladly examines the skillful selection of colors in the fresco paintings. In the middle of the palace is a wide octagonal pool, into which water was supplied by fountains."

After Derbent was annexed to Russia in 1806, a Russian garrison was stationed in the citadel. The Khan's Palace and other buildings in the citadel were rebuilt into barracks for soldiers.

After the Russian garrison was withdrawn in 1867, most of the citadel's buildings remained unused for over 100 years, turning into ruins and falling into a semi-ruined state. Only in the 1970s did repair and restoration work begin in the citadel.

Sources:

https://pro-derbent.ru/hanskij-dvorets-1768-g-dvortsovyj-kompleks-derbentskoj-kreposti

https://derbentmuseum.ru/monuments/dvorecz-hanskij/