Ancient Derbent over the years, it has grown in territory, wealth, languages, religions and, of course, legends... Some legends are based on real events, and some are completely fictional. Historical events become legends, because after a while it is difficult to believe in the reality of events, and they become overgrown with unreal fiction. And fictions continue to live when people want to believe in the possibility of an unreal event. Dealing with this is extremely interesting.

Derbent until the 20th century was one of the main trade centers of the North Caucasus. Legends traveled along with trade caravans, becoming the legends of Dagestan or even the Caucasus.

1 Derbent and Alexander the Great

The most numerous and confusing are the legends about who built the fortress walls of the citadel and the mountain wall. One of the versions says that the city of Derbent was built by order Iskander Zulkarnain (Alexander the Great). Zulkarnayn means - two-horned, apparently because of the helmet with horns that Alexander wore.

Iskander - Alexander the Great also, it turns out, built serfs walls of Derbent... The mention of this legend is often found in the medieval notes of travelers and merchants.

The point is not that the Caucasus was included in the zone of interests of the Roman Empire in the struggle against the Parthenians. The legend is based on the references of ancient authors about it, for example, information Pompey Trogue, which speaks of the conquest of peoples near the Caucasus Mountains. Well, and then, comparing the grandeur of the Derbent defensive complex and the significance of the figure of Iskander Zulkarnayn, we immediately come to the conclusion that no one else was able to build such a city.

Many other important sources that described the great deeds of Iskander - Alexander the Great - are silent about this. Alexander the Great in the Caucasus was, but only on the way from Persia to India. And then, apparently, along the south of the Caucasian mountains. According to legend, along the way, he built cities, and called everything Alexandria... But where these cities are located, no one knows.

In fact, historians know for certain who built ancient Derbent. 1500 years ago, the Sassanid shahinshah (king of kings) Yazdigird II - erected powerful mud defensive structures. The city was then Iranian and was called Shahristan.

2 Taking Derbent Maslamoy

Around 7-8 centuries, during the active promotion of influence Arab Caliphate to the Caucasus, army Ibn Abdul-Malik oils faced an insurmountable obstacle - an impregnable citadel on the top of a mountain with high fortified walls all the way to the sea. After a long unsuccessful siege, the commander Maslama still could not achieve success.

History has retained the names of only ruthless, ferocious, clever and cunning generals. In the face of execution, some inhabitant of Derbent, wishing to save himself and his family, became a traitor... In return for his safety and safety of life to family members, he told that he knew how to take the fortress of Derbent. Maslama, as befits a clever commander, promised not only to save his life, but also to enrich the traitor.

The traitor indicated where the pipes pass underground through which drinking water enters the fortress. According to legend, Maslama ordered to slaughter thousands of rams at night and drain their blood into these pipes. All drinking water in the city was poisoned. And the city fell!

The legend is mostly based on real events; Arab sources also indicate that a traitor helped the conquerors.

Maslama himself ( 685-738 biennium) spent his entire life in military campaigns against the Khazar Kaganate and the Byzantine Empire, conquered the Caucasus and Constantinople. Died in Syria in 738. With the conquest of Derbent by Maslama, Derbent became the center of military power in the Caucasus. And also the center from where Islam in the Caucasus began to gain strength.

3 Legend of the commander Tamerlane

The events of the other ruler of Derbent developed in a completely different way. Ibrahim Khan with another conqueror Tamerlane(Timur, nickname Timur the Lame).

In the 14th century, Tamerlane reached Derbent in a campaign of conquest. Warlord Tamerlane patronized the sciences and arts, supported architects, jewelers and artisans and took their prominent representatives to his capital Samarkand and Maverannahr... But this did not prevent him from building pyramids from the severed heads of representatives of rebellious peoples.

Having conquered Persia, Azerbaijan, the south of the Caucasus, well equipped with battering guns, he approached Derbent.

Ibrahim Khan understood well that even behind the high fortress walls he would not be able to save himself and his subjects from the formidable conqueror and decided to advance towards Timur, not with weapons, but with generous gifts.

The number "nine" is a magic number among the inhabitants of the vastness of the Great Steppe. Khan Ibrahim knew about this and he presented his gifts in the amount of nine pieces. Ibrahim Khan personally brought nine best horses, nine most beautiful sabers, nine most beautiful concubines, nine pieces of precious jewelry to the conqueror Timur. And also slaves, but there were only eight of them. Terrible Tamerlane indignant: " Where is the ninth slave?» « The ninth slave is me", - answered the ruler of Derbent.

The conqueror Timur was flattered by such an original answer, spared the city and its inhabitants, and made Ibrahim his commander and ruler Shirvan(south of the Caucasus and Azerbaijan).

The legend mainly talks about real events. Ibrahim Khan helped in the war against Tokhtamysh... Derbent did not resist. It is noteworthy that the empire gathered by Tamerlane disintegrated rather quickly, and the dynasty of rulers of the descendants of Ibrahim Khan ruled even more 150 years.

4 The Legend of the "Shameful Gate"

It looks like an ordinary gate, in some ways even beautiful. Going out through them, you find yourself on a beautiful meadow overlooking the mountain through a steep gorge, and, if you're lucky, you will watch the sunset. But the gates bear this most not valiant name. Rumor has it that through them the rulers left the city with their relatives when they could not defend the city.

The gates were probably built purely for practical, economic reasons. But the people remembered them like that. In the long history of Derbent, of course, there were events in which the rulers behaved inappropriately, but it was a shame to go outside the gates.

5 The woman ruler of Derbent

Not only formidable men became the rulers of Derbent, it was that the representatives, as it is now customary to say “ the weaker sex"Ended up at the head of the city.

In the second half of the 18th century Fatali Khan, ruler Cuba and Derbent, arranged a competition in which the most agile, courageous and strong horsemen competed in archery. Dzhigit, on horseback, at full gallop, had to hit the target - an apple. No one succeeded, and then a masked man came forward, who was against the rules, but was still allowed to participate, since it was not possible to determine the winner.

The masked man deftly hit the apple! And when he took off the mask, it turned out that it was a girl. Her name was Umu-Kusyum, and her nickname was Tuti-Bike... According to the laws of the time, this was complete nonsense, but the judges considered it a sign and declared her the winner.

Fatali Khan liked Tuti-Bike, and, he married her and made her the ruler of the city.

This is a legend. But in reality, the events in the history of the reign of the Derbent khans were slightly different.

Tuti-Bike- this is the sister of the kaytagsky utsmiya Emir-Gamza... The rulers decided to become friends and decided to enter into mutual marriages. Having married Tuti-Bik, Fatali Khan was supposed to marry his sister to Emir-Hamza, but he changed his mind. And the enmity began.

Emir-Hamza several times besieged the walls of Derbent when there was no Fatali Khan in the city. And then the city, under the leadership of Tuti-Bike, repulsed the attacks of the troops led by her brother, Emir-Gamza. Tuti-Bike took part in the defense in a man's suit. The city survived.

Even now, the city continues to remember Tuti-Bik. A mausoleum built over her grave has been preserved in one of the old cemeteries before.

6 The Legend of the Forty Shaheeds

Behind the northern fortress wall, at the cemetery, which you enter through the Kyrkhlyar gate, is one of the most important religious and ancient sights of the city - burial Kyrkhlyar... The gate, by the way, is so named after this burial.

This is one of the Muslim shrines located within the city. According to legend, they are buried here 40 martyrs who came to the Caucasus to preach Islam. It is not known for certain how many, how and when they arrived in Dagestan. The main source of information is the poem "Derbend-name". It even lists the names of these warriors. But this work is more literary than historical.

Arab warriors-martyrs were the first to preach a new religion in Dagestan, but they were met with hostility and died. Their bodies were not buried, they remained lying in the field. But after several days they remained incorrupt. And in the city, on the contrary, epidemics began. Then the residents realized that they had made a mistake. Buried the warriors and converted to Islam.

According to legend, the walls were strengthened to repel the raids from the north of the hordes Khazar Kaganate... Before that, in order to calmly carry out his plans, he went to the trick. Khosrov proposed to the Khazar Kagan become related and announced that he would marry his daughter. The kagan was delighted, as this revealed to him way to persia and he agreed. Khosrov met the daughter of the kagan as a princess, surrounded her with care and attention.

While the truce lasted Khosrov I Anushirvan finished construction, and then sent the kagan's daughter back, refusing to marry her. The angry kagan came with an army to Derbent, but he could not do anything.

The motive for the construction of high defensive structures was apparently just that, but the love line is probably a popular conjecture.

10 Derbent and Peter I

Peter I visited Derbent in 1722 year, and popular rumor keeps several interesting stories about this visit.

According to legend, at the moment when Peter I drove into the fortress, an earthquake happened in the city. In addition to the fear of the elements in the surrounding retinue, the fear of angering the great sovereign crept into the souls. But Peter himself corrected the situation. He was not taken aback, but on the contrary, hit the wall with his foot and the earthquake stopped. The people fell to their knees in surprise. Someone thought that the king caused the walls to tremble, someone that he stopped it, but everyone was impressed.

Live in the citadel of Naryn-Kala Petru I didn't really like it, and in some of the rooms he cut down additional windows for a better view of the sea. Well, then the locals began to say that the famous " cut through the window"Was said here. Although the statement meant " window to Europe", and here on the sea, to the east. But these are little things that can be missed.

Apparently Peter did not really like living in the fortress, and he moved to the shore, closer to the sea. Here he lived in a dugout. Later, worries were placed around the dugout, and in 1848 a pavilion was erected. Then it was abandoned and forgotten, but already in 2015 year on this place was erected "House of Peter". Where is the historical artifact - remains of a dugout- you can watch the glass showcase.

A visit to the city by Peter is a historical fact, the dugout is also a real geographical place, and the rest of the stories are folklore.

The legends, traditions, fairy tales, tales, folklore and myths do not end there either. There is also a legend about a supposedly secret underground passage from the citadel to the seashore. To escape if you fail to defend the fortress. I heard this legend all my childhood. Apparently in the children's circle, she only went. Although, many fortresses have such passages. Why not be near the Derbent fortress. However, the question is, why go to the seashore, in an open place? It would be much more convenient in the gorge behind the western wall.

Another legend that I first heard quite recently is that Derbent is mentioned in the Quran... This version was voiced by the former President of the Republic of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov. The reference goes to the text in the Qur'an, which speaks of the wall that was built to protect against the fierce peoples of Gog and Magog, or as it is written about them in the Qur'an - Yajuja and Majuja. But there is no direct mention of the toponym Derbent. Hence the choice, if you like this version, then you believe in it, if not, then you deny it.

The Kubachians in Derbent-name tell about themselves: Our ancestors, including about one and a half hundred frang masters, were taken from Rome by Iskanderem Zulkarnen (Alexander the Great) with him on a campaign to make weapons. They themselves separated from the army or were left for some reason unknown, but, finding themselves near the sea, they were installed by the then ruler of the Derbent coast in the Kemakh area (near Derbent, where they are engaged in the manufacture of shells. But the climate of Kemakh, as well as darsha (village near Majalis), where they were resettled a year later, turned out to be disastrous for them.Therefore, they retired to the mountains and chose the real place of our aul, where at all times, as now, all were craftsmen and no one was engaged in either agriculture or cattle breeding. Having settled here, our ancestors took wives from neighboring societies, lost their original language and became famous as the best craftsmen in Dagestan, who supplied almost the entire region first with shells, chain mail, bows and arrows, and then with weapons and pistols.

Tarkovsky shamkhal and French gunsmiths.

Of all the existing legends about the origin of the Kubachins, the most widespread before the revolution was the legend that the Kubachins were French by origin. Here is a legend known from the last century in various versions.
Shamkhal Tarkovsky once turned to the French king with a request to send 40 gunsmiths to him. The king fulfilled the request of the shamkhalai. The masters first lived near the shamkhal, and then settled in Derbent. But the French were not a living people; they quarreled with the inhabitants of Derbent, and therefore they were forced to leave the city. When they left the city, the Derbent people forever locked the gates behind them. From Derbent, the Kubachins went to the Dargins and settled among the Dargins, calling themselves Karbuk.

The hand thrown to the mother.

They say that Kubachi means "kolchuzhniki" in translation. The Kala Koreans also wanted to get this name, but could not surpass their neighbors in the manufacture of chain mail.
Kubachi were formed from seven settlements; Datsi, Mazhi, Deshal, Mugli, Anchi-bachi, Shikhbala, Bakai. The ruins of these settlements have been preserved around modern Kubachi.
The people of Kubach themselves call themselves ugbuk. In translation, ugbuk means "gunsmith".
Five defensive towers were located around Kubachi. The main one is Chabkana-qi. The remains of the towers have survived to this day. One of them has been turned into a residential building. Legends say that in the old days forty batyrts (heroes) lived in the towers. Batyrts changed and after the young man went to batyrty, the parents did not
had the right to meet with him until his shift passed. It is reported that one mother wished to see her son before returning, went to the fortress tower and began to call him by name. The guards heard this, cut off her son's hand and threw it to the mother from the tower, shouting: "Look at what you can see at your son's."

Radish, on the graves of the heroes.

One Kubachi legend says that forty batyrts were killed during a clash with the Kala-Koreans. The reason for the clash was a dispute over the ownership of pasture on the slope of Mount Limtslyabay.
On the advice of the elders, the killed were buried that same night and at the same time they beat drums and played zurna in order to hide the aul mountain from the neighbors.
For the same purpose, a radish was planted on the graves of the heroes. That is why now you call this place "Kala-ku."

The story of a vendetta.

In Western European literature, you can find many short stories and stories dedicated to the Corsican vendetta - the ancestral custom of blood revenge. In the mountains of Dagestan, stories about vendetta will be typed into whole novels. The custom of blood feud among the Dagestanis was: to fight as long as there is a bullet in the gun, a dagger on his belt and blood in his veins. Adat taught that the relative of the victim or the murdered must turn his revenge not only on the murderer, but also on his relatives. The avenger and his relatives, in turn, took revenge on the avenging ones, and the carnage assumed grandiose proportions, the enmity became endless ...
An example of such a long-term blood feud is given in his work "Adats and their proceedings" A. V. Komarov. It was published a hundred years ago in the first issue of the "Collections of information about the highlanders of the Caucasus" published in Tiflis,
Three hundred years ago, says Komarov, one of the residents of the village of Kadar stole a chicken from his neighbor and paid for it with a ram. Finding that Yusuf - that was the name of his neighbor - took too large a percentage, the cadaret Omar decided to equalize the score and stole two rams in return. In turn, Yusuf considered it necessary to observe justice and recapture the cow from Omar, which then cost him a couple of good bulls. Having lost this personification of the wealth of the mountain peoples, Yusuf watched the Omarov stallion, and his owner, not finding an equal reward for this loss, killed his neighbor and, fleeing revenge, fled from his native village.
The relatives of Yusuf, guided by the local adat, destroyed first of all the house of Omar, then killed the first relative of Omar.
In turn, the relatives of the murdered man dealt with the relatives of Yusuf.
In response, two of Omar's relatives were killed.
The blood feud escalated, and its ends dragged on for three hundred years.
For three hundred years, the blood of people shed because of one long-forgotten chicken!

Only the mother stopped the blood feud.

In the mountains of Dagestan, in many auls in the old days, there was such a custom: if the mother adopts a bloodline, the blood flow stops.
This custom is also reflected in fairy tales.
The intervention of a woman often put a stop to the most violent blood revenge. To do this, the woman had only to step forward, remove the kerchief from her head and throw it in front of the fighting bloodlines.
The Bashlin residents have a saying: whoever does not listen to the mother's advice will not achieve his goal.

How a patient was treated in the mountains.

In pre-revolutionary Dagestan, there was essentially no treatment for the sick and wounded. The patient walked until he fell for a time, whatever the Almighty Allah would like.
The old women knew their medicine. For the most part, there were various herbs, tinctures, including rubbing. Malaria was treated with a medicine made up of honey and vinegar. If eyes hurt, leeches were placed on the veins. And if a person's side hurts, take a black cat, tie its paws and put the cat's belly to the patient's side. The more the cat screams, the better - it means that the disease from the patient passes into the cat's stomach.
If a person loses consciousness, it is best to attach a frog to his head.

The dog that saved Kala Koreish.

There is a legend in Kubachi that a girl, a mare and a dog are buried in one of the graves in Kala-Koreish. Old Dargin songs also mention the horse that was placed in the graves of women. This is an echo of legends about Caucasian Amazons. And where does the dog come from in the legend?
It is said that this dog saved the Kala Koreans as the geese saved Rome. Once the dogs, sensing the sudden intrusion of the Kubachins, raised such a barking that the Kala-Koreans even forgot about God and interrupted the prayer. It was Friday and all the men were at the mosque.

Pagan rite of the ancient Kubachin people. Forgotten Gods, echoes of the ancient beliefs of the highlanders of Dagestan.

One of the ancient rituals of the Kubachi aul resembles ancient funeral customs in Tibet. The Arab geographer Abu-Hamida Andalusi testifies to such a rite in the XII century.
“There is a large mountain near Derbent, on the top of which there are two villages. There lives in them a people called Zirehgeran, that is, the makers of shells ... They have no religion, and they do not pay jiz. When a person dies with them, and if he is a man, then he is handed over to men who are underground, who dismembered the bones of the deceased, cleaned of the meat and collect his meat and give it to the black crows to eat. They stand with bows to prevent other birds from eating any meat. And if the deceased is a woman, then they pass her on to other men above the ground, who pull her bones and give her meat to the kites. And they stand with arrows to prevent other birds from approaching her meat. "
Caucasian ethnographer A.V. Komarov, speaking in 1881 at the I archaeological congress in Tiflis, said that he had heard in southern Dagestan a belief that recommended that some of the dead should not be buried, but put in an open place until the spirits flew and take them.

Dagestanis is a generally accepted term for nationalities originally living in the territory now called the Republic of Dagestan. (40.2 thousand hours). As of 1998, 2.095 million people live here. There are about 30 peoples and ethnographic groups in Dagestan. In addition to Russians, Azerbaijanis and Chechens, who make up a large proportion of the population of the republic, these are Avars, Dargins, Kumti, Lezgins, Laks, Tabasaran, Nogais, Rutuls, Aguls, Tats, etc.

The Dagestani language is a branch of the Iberian-Caucasian languages. Consists of groups or separate languages: 1) Avar – Adnocez group - Avar, Andian, Botlikh, Godoberin, Karaty, Akhvakh, Bagvalin, Tindian, Chamalin; Cesian languages ​​- Cesian (or Dido), Khvarshi, Ginukh, Bezhitin (or Capuchin), Hunzib; 2) Dargin language; 3) Lak language; 4) Lezghin group - Lezghin, Tabasaran, Agul, Rutul, Tsakhur, Kryz, Budukh, Khinalug, Archinsky, Udi.

Writing in Avar, Agul, Dargin, Lak, Lezgin, Tabasaran languages ​​- based on the Russian alphabet.

All the works presented in this section are published according to the book "Dagestan folk tales" - M., Detgiz, 1951. Preparation of the text by N. Kalieva.

SEA HORSE

There was a man in ancient times, and he had three sons. Every day they came early in the morning to their father to find out if he was healthy, if he wanted something.

Once they came to him and saw him in great sorrow.

What's the matter with you, father? - asked the sons. - Did the bad news sadden you or what kind of misfortune happened? Why are you so sad?

There was no bad news, and trouble did not happen to me either, ”my father replied. - I was haunted by a dream that I saw that night ... I dreamed that the sun rose over the sea, and after it a snow-white horse swam to the seashore. In an instant he ran three times around the earth and again sank into the sea, and after him my heart fell to the bottom of the sea. From the hour I saw this dream, our house and the whole world have become displeasing to me.

Calm down, father! - said the sons. - We will go after this miracle - and we will find it or we will not return.

They jumped on their horses and rode off.

At noon of the third day, the brothers found themselves at the crossroads of three roads and saw a stone on which the following words were carved: “Whoever goes to the right will live. Whoever goes to the left will also be alive. Whoever goes straight will either find happiness, or he will be lost. "

The older brother drove along the right road, the middle one turned left, and the younger one drove the horse straight ahead.

Why are you driving this dangerous road? the brothers shouted. - Come with us!

No, - he answered. - Whatever happens ... If I die, tell your father how you parted.

And galloped off without looking back along the straight path.

He rode, rode ... He rode during the day, rode at night, crossed one of our mountains and two strangers, passed three valleys and five gorges, and lost track of the paths; finally reached the dense forest.

He wandered in this forest for a day, wandered for a week, wandered for a month, wandered for a year, but he could not find a trace of a human being, nor a habitation, nor a way out of the forest.

Hunger and thirst tormented him, his clothes were worn out and hung in tatters, his horse fell, and his battle sword was covered with rust.

And so, when the young man had already begun to despair and lost hope, he saw the trace of a human foot on the ground. Only that leg was extraordinary: it was three arshins long and an arshin wide. The young man was not afraid, he followed the trail.

The forest parted in front of him, and he went out into a large clearing, in the middle of which stood a palace, high up to the sky.

The young man entered the palace and saw the giantess, the old woman Kart, who was dozing by the hearth. In an instant, he rushed to her and touched her chest with his lips - as a sign that he wanted to be her son.

Well, you are cunning! said old Kart. - Now you, according to our custom, have become my named son, and I - your mother ... If you had not done this, you would have had a hard time. Where are you from and what do you want? - continued the old woman.

The young man told her everything.

Old Woman Kart pondered.

I have seven giant sons, ”she said. - Every day they go to the forest to hunt. Let's go today, and it’s time for them to come back. If they see you, they will kill you. Hide in this chest. And about how to find you a sea horse, I will ask them. My youngest son is such a smart guy, he knows about everything in the world!

As soon as the young man had time to climb into the chest, the hounds barked in the courtyard. It was seven giants who returned from hunting. Each carried a plane tree torn out by the roots on his shoulder, each had a dead deer tied to the plane tree.

They entered all seven into the palace and, leading their noses, said:

It smells like a human spirit here! Human spirit!

You're out of your mind, vagabonds! the old woman Kart shouted at them. - Where does the human spirit come from here? You yourself, probably, picked it up while staggering through the woods.

It was just the meat that was boiling on the hearth in a huge cauldron that was cooked, and the giantess brought it to the table, and next to it she put a jug that could hold a whole lake of mash.

When the sons were full and drunk, the mother asked:

Is it true that there is a snow-white horse in the world that comes out of the sea in the morning and runs around the earth three times in the blink of an eye?

The six older giants said nothing, but the youngest said:

There really is such a horse. This is the horse of the Sea Shah, who lives at the bottom of the sea. Every day when the sun rises, this horse swims to land, in one moment runs around the world three times, bathes on the way in a milk lake, walks on the white sand and goes under water again ... There, on the seashore, where he frolics, there is a plane tree. It is so high that its peak reaches the very sky, and at its very top hang a golden saddle and a silver bridle. Whoever catches a sea horse and puts this harness on him will be his master ...

Enough, son! You are tired, it's time to rest, - interrupted the mother, and the giants obediently went to rest.

When they fell asleep, the old woman Kart released the young man from the chest, gave him clothes, weapons, a good horse, and showed him the way to the sea.

He rode for a long time, he rode during the day, he rode at night. Finally I arrived at the seashore, dug a hole in the sand and hid in it.

Until sunrise, he did not sleep a wink. When it began to dawn and the sun rose from behind the quiet sea, the young man saw how a snow-white horse swam after him from the depths of the sea.

Instantly that horse ran around the earth three times, bathed in a milk lake and began to roll on the white sand.

Then the young man soared like a bird and wrapped himself around his neck.

The sea horse jumped three times to the very clouds and hit the shore three times so that the earth trembled under his hooves, but the young man did not spread his arms, but pressed closer and closer to his neck.

You have won! Now I am yours forever, - said the horse in a human voice. - Saddle me, put on the bridle, and I will take you wherever you want.

The young man took off the golden saddle and the silver bridle from the plane tree, put it on the horse and said:

Take me to my father!

The horse galloped, but the dark night caught them on the way, and they stopped for the night.

Suddenly in the middle of the night it became as bright as day. The young man asked:

What is it that glows?

They drove into the light and in the middle of a small clearing saw something that shone like the sun. Having approached closer, the young man shouted:

Why, this is a golden feather! Take it or not, what do you think?

If you don't take it, you'll regret it. If you take it, you will repent, ”the sea horse answered him.

It's better to take and repent than not to take and regret, - decided the young man.

He picked up the pen, thrust it over the side of the hat, and they went on.

Soon a large city, ruled by Krivoy Shah, stood in their way. Strong walls surrounded the city, and all gates were locked at night.

Finding a spring near the city wall, the horse got drunk and asked:

Let me go to the grass. And when you need me - just click, and even though I will be behind seven mountains - I will instantly appear to you.

The young man let him go, hid the feather in his pocket, put the saddle under his head, covered himself with a cloak and fell asleep like a man who had not slept for sixty days.

And the inhabitants of that city, seeing that the night suddenly became bright as day, and then darkened again, rushed to their Crooked Shah and reported to him about this miracle.

The crooked shah was even more frightened than his subjects, ordered more sentries to be posted on the city wall and did not sleep a wink of fear all night.

As soon as dawn began, the Crooked Shah sent out a hundred horsemen for reconnaissance, armed as for battle. They saw the young man, woke him up with a jab and push, and took him to the palace.

Who are you? Where is your country and why did you come to us? - Asked him Crooked Shah.

I am a poor traveler. Where I come from - I myself have forgotten, - answered the young man.

You were found sleeping by the city wall. Don't you know that it was shining at midnight today like the sun, and then suddenly it went out?

I know! And the young man took out a gold feather from his pocket.

The shah's hands shook with greed.

You will get me the bird that dropped that feather, or I will chop off your head! - he cried and ordered to hide the golden feather in his treasury.

The young man left the palace very upset. He came to the field, began to call the sea horse.

Out of nowhere, a snow-white horse appeared in front of him.

Why are you so sad? he asked the owner.

The crooked shah ordered me to get the bird that dropped the golden feather, ”the young man complained,“ but I don’t know where to look for it.

Don't be sad, said the sea horse. - It would be just as easy ahead of us! .. Do you remember the milk lake where I swam?

Yes, - answered the young man.

The Sea Shah has three daughters, the horse went on. - Every day they turn into pigeons and come to swim in that lake. The feather that you and I found was dropped from her wing by the youngest daughter ... You will have to hide in the bushes on the shore of the lake. When the daughters of the Shah of the Sea come to bathe and throw off their plumage, take the one that was on the youngest and hide it in your bosom. The girl will beg you to return the loss to her, but don't give it back, and then she will follow you everywhere ...

The young man sat on a horse, and the horse carried him in one leap to the lake.

The young man hid in the bushes and waited. Noon had just come, three doves flew in and sat on the shore.

When they threw off their plumage, turned into beautiful girls and plunged into the water, the young man jumped out of the ambush and grabbed the plumage of the youngest daughter, and she cried and began to ask him to return what was taken. But the young man did not listen to her and hid the feathers in his bosom, as the horse told him. The two older sisters, turning into birds, circled over the younger.

Sisters, - she cried with tears, - if we really had to part, then bring me at least my chest of clothes!

Before the young man had time to take three steps, the doves returned with a chest, threw it on the sand and soared to the blue sky.

The girl got dressed. The young man jumped on his horse, put her in the saddle behind him, and the path spread out in front of them like a carpet.

Where are you taking me? - asked the beauty.

We have to take you as a wife to Crooked Shah, - answered the young man.

I don’t want to be his wife! - she said.

What to do! - answered the sad young man.

And while they were talking like that, a good horse brought them to the gates of the very city where Crooked Shah ruled.

Crooked Shah, as soon as he saw the beauty, without delay decided to marry her.

You are good for me as grandfathers, - said the sea princess. - If you were young, I might have thought ...

It is impossible for me to become young! - shouted the Shah. - How to be?

Have you dig a well outside the city sixty arshins deep, - said the girl, - fill it with milk of pure red cows, bathe in that milk, and you will become a youth ...

What an invention! After all, in all my kingdom there are not so many red cows! - Crooked Shah got angry.

On! - said the beauty and threw him a small red handkerchief. - Send someone to the highest mountain in your kingdom. Let him stand there and wave this handkerchief.

As soon as the one sent to the top of the highest mountain rose and waved a red kerchief, as from the mountains and forests, from green meadows, from a thousand different countries, red cows began to run to the city. The daughter of the Sea Shah milked them, while the servants dug a well sixty arshins deep and poured all the milk into the well.

Well, swim! - said the beauty.

But Crooked Shah got scared and did not want to jump into the well.

Bring here the oldest old man and woman in this kingdom! - ordered the beauty.

They brought an old man and an old woman, who together were three hundred years old. The beauty bathed them in the well, and the old man became a mighty youth in front of everyone's eyes, and the old woman became a beautiful girl.

Seeing this, the Crooked Shah rushed headlong into the well and, like lead, went to the bottom. There, they say, he still lies.

And the young man said goodbye to the inhabitants of that city, who were very glad that their shah had drowned, mounted a sea horse and rode on with his beauty.

I don’t know how long they had to wander, but one day they stopped for the night in a small village. They were hungry. The young man went to buy something for dinner, and suddenly the poor seller from whom he was buying chureks rushed to hug him, laughing and crying.

It turns out that it was the older brother who drove to the right. The young man was very happy that he had met him, bought him clothes, weapons, a horse, and the three of them drove on.

They drove without haste, not counting days, and they stopped in some city to rest and refresh themselves. There they met their middle brother, who took the left road. He fell into need even more than his older brother.

The younger brother was very pleased. Now, already four of them, they drove straight to their father's house.

But the closer they got to their homes, the more the older ones envied the luck of the younger brother, and among themselves they spoke like this:

How are we going to live in the world now? With what will we show ourselves to our father? No no! We must somehow get rid of this boy, and then the horse and the daughter of the Sea Shah will get to us.

There is a deep abyss along the way, said the elder brother. - Come on, as we begin to approach her, put this lucky one in the middle and offer to ride on a bet: whose horse is faster. His horse, of course, will break forward and fall into the abyss.

On that and decided.

So they began to drive up to the abyss, and the older brothers said to the younger:

Let's ride a bet: let's see whose horse is faster.

Are you laughing? - the young man was surprised. - You know that my horse runs around the world three times in one moment ... How can you compete with me?

Nothing! - answered the elders. - But at least we will admire how your horse gallops.

And they put the younger brother in the middle and rode straight to the abyss.

The sea horse galloped to the abyss and stood rooted to the spot in front of it. The young man could not resist and flew headfirst into the abyss, and the daughter of the Sea Shah fell to the ground.

The brothers immediately rushed to catch the sea horse, but as soon as they stretched out their hands, it was already out of sight.

Taking the beauty with them, the older brothers came to their hometown, locked her up and went to their father.

On one lie they piled ten, on ten they built a hundred, telling him about their dexterity and prowess.

And the horse you saw in your dream, father, - they finished their story, - is not in the world. There is no such place left on earth under the sky, wherever we have been and have not looked for it, but we have not found it.

I don’t need a horse! Tell me, where did you leave your little brother? - said the father.

He drove alone along a dangerous road. He did not obey us, - answered the brothers, - and, apparently, died on the way.

Father's grief was great. He dressed in black clothes, and all the neighbors mourned with him the death of the brave young man. And the older brothers every now and then sent matchmakers to the daughter of the Sea Shah, and each matchmaker praised her fiancé.

Let these deceivers beware! - the beauty answered the matchmakers. - I myself know whom I will marry!

And she looked out the window, at which she sat for whole days, not taking her eyes off the road.

One early morning, the daughter of the Shah of the Sea finally saw how the sea horse was spinning in the distance, gnawing at the bit and squinting at it with a fiery eye. She waved her handkerchief to him - and in an instant the sea horse was standing by her window.

Where is your master? she asked.

You know: fell into the abyss, - answered the horse.

We must save him! - exclaimed the daughter of the Sea Shah.

Throw a longer rope around my neck, - said the horse, - and I will pull him out of the abyss.

The beauty did not have a rope, and therefore she cut off her golden braid, twisted a long rope out of it and threw it around the horse's neck.

At the same instant, the horse was at the abyss and lowered the golden rope to the very bottom. The young man grabbed her, got out into the world, sat on a sea horse and rode to his hometown.

And the older brothers, when they heard the familiar ringing of horseshoes, set off on their heels: one to the west, the other to the east, and still, perhaps, are still running.

So the brave young man got his father a snow-white sea horse and married the beautiful daughter of the Sea Shah.

The wedding was really fun!

They blew into the leather zurna, beat the copper drum. Whoever came, left fed and drunk. They say, and now they still drink and eat.

BOGATYR

Once ruled over one country by the Shah. One day he heard the news that a hero had appeared in the city.

Send him to me, the shah ordered.

And the young hero was brought to the Shah.

Who are you and what can you do? the shah asked.

Where I’m from, you don’t need to know, but what I can do, the one who will take me to work will see.

Do you want me to take it? - suggested the shah.

Good, - the young man agreed. - I cannot find a richer master.

And he was hired as a worker.

Somehow, the shah ordered to send a hundred people into the forest for firewood.

Why are you sending people from outside? - asked the young man.

I need a lot of firewood, - answered the shah. - What's the use of sending you alone!

But you will see, - said the young man. - Great to serve me the dinner that they cooked for these bums.

They brought him food prepared for a hundred people, and he ate everything, and then ordered:

Bring me some more ropes.

And when they brought a hundred ropes, he threw them over his shoulder and went into the forest.

There, with each rope, he overtook one oak tree, then grunted, pulled and pulled out a hundred trees with rhizomes.

Dragging the oaks behind him, the hero came to the huge city gates and began to shout:

Hey shah! I'm afraid I'll get stuck here ... Would you order to build a wider gate!

The shah ran to his cry and was horrified. It was only then that he realized what his worker was capable of, and decided to get rid of him at all costs.

He planned to send him to a place from which they do not return alive.

Can you see that mountain over there, boy? the shah asked. - There, behind the mountain, stands the saklya of the old woman Kart, and this old woman, I must tell you, long ago owed me a measure of peas and does not want to give it back ... Go and demand a debt from her!

The worker went to the old woman Kart. He found her on the current. There she threshed wheat, chasing two black bulls.

Why don't you pay back your debts, you worthless one? - said the hero angrily. - Give me the peas, or I'll drag you to the Shah!

Old woman Kart looked at him affectionately.

Wait, my dear ... I'll look for you the purest, freshest peas. - And she went to the saklya, calling him with me: - I have peas in a jug here. Take yourself a full measure.

The guy entered the saklya and saw a huge jug. He lifted the lid and peered into it. The peas were not there. And the old woman Kart, when her guest bent down, grabbed him by the legs and began to push him into the jug.

Oh, there you are! - said the hero and very deftly threw the old woman Kart into the jug and slammed the lid.

Let me out and I'll do whatever you want! - pleaded the old woman Kart.

Sit down, shameless! There was no need to quarrel with me, - answered the young man, put the jug on his shoulder and went to the Shah.

Got a debt? - Asked the shah, seeing him with a burden.

She did not want to repay the debt, - said the hero and shook the jug so that the old woman Kart gasped. - But I outwitted her: here she is. You can pay.

Take it away, take it back to where you brought it from! - the shah waved his hands. - I was kidding! I don't need her or her nasty peas ...

The bogatyr took the old woman Kart back, shook her out of the jug, gave her a good cuff at parting, and told her not to come across him on his way.

And from that time on, the shah lived in perpetual anxiety. He scattered everything with his mind, how to get rid of the restless farm laborer, and when he thought it up, he ordered to call him to him.

Do you see that forest over there? the shah asked. - At its farthest end lives the Ashdagh serpent. Ten years ago he stole a bull from my herd. Go, boy, to him, demand my goods back.

Without saying a word, the hero went to the Ashdagh snake.

Hey you snake! What kind of ridicule is this! he shouted. - Give back, robber, the bull stolen ten years ago!

The serpent hissed with anger and rushed at the brave man, but the young man grabbed him by the ears, like a cat, and, no matter how hard the serpent resisted, dragged him to the shah.

Shah turned white when he saw a snake in his palace.

Take him away, take him away! he pleaded. “I don’t need a thousand bulls, just save me from this monster!

May you both be lost! - the hero got angry. - How long will I stagger uselessly? - And let go of the snake.

The ashamed serpent of Ashdag flew like a leaf blown by the wind, and in passing swallowed the herd of purebred Shah's horses like we swallow a pie. The shah did not even know what to do: whether to grieve for the horses, whether to rejoice that he had escaped from this terrible serpent ...

For a long time the shah could not recover his senses, and when he finally came to his senses, he called the hero and said:

I have one sick nag. You should have taken her up the mountain to graze. Just be careful not to come back until the horse is smooth and round like a hen's egg.

And the hero, leading the dying nag on the bit, went with her to the green mountain. And the shah waited until nightfall and moved against him all his troops, horse and foot, which were only found in his kingdom.

The hero woke up and saw this innumerable power.

I am a poor man, here I am grazing the shah's nag! What do you want from me? he shouted.

Beware! - Shouted the Shah in response, looking out from behind the backs of the soldiers, - I'll see where you are now going!

Oh, that's it! - the guy was surprised.

Hit the nag on a stone, tore it into four pieces and began to fight. He waved one horse leg - and killed a thousand people, waved another - killed two thousand and so quickly exterminated the Shah with all his army, as if all his life he had only been fighting.

Having accomplished this feat, the young man went to wander.

He walked, walked ... He walked during the day, he walked at night and once saw a man who was carrying on his shoulders two centuries-old plane trees, uprooted.

Who are you, well done? - asked the hero.

What a fine fellow I am! - answered the tree-borer. - So I heard - there is a fellow in the world, he brought the greedy Shah the old woman Kart in a jug.

It's me myself, - said the hero.

Then let me be your companion, - asked the tree trunk.

Who are you, well done? they asked him.

What a fine fellow I am! - objected the miller. - So I heard - there is a fellow in the world, he dragged Ashdag's snake into the palace to the greedy Shah, and even grabbed him by the ears, like a cat.

Why, it was me! - answered the hero.

Well, if you are, then I will be your friend, ”the miller rejoiced.

And the three friends went.

They walked here and there, wandered through the mountains and forests, and finally chose a clearing on which they built a house and lived in it. They hunted for food.

One day the young man and the miller went out to hunt. The tree trunk remained at home.

Having filled a cauldron with meat, which included ten deer, the tree-borer began to make a fire and suddenly heard something rustling outside the door.

He looked out and saw: a man was riding on a lame hare - a quarter himself, a beard about an arshin.

Give me a piece of meat, - asked the guest.

The tree-bore gave him a whole deer. Having swallowed it like a fly, Riding-on-a-hare said:

Give more!

The belly will burst! Go where you were going, - the tree-borer drove him away.

Then Riding-on-a-hare plucked a hair from his beard, tied it with that hair of a tree-bore like a lamb, ate everything in the cauldron clean, and set off on his own way.

The miller and the hero returned from the forest, untied the tree-bearing, they looked - and the cauldron was empty.

The next day the tree-borer with the hero went hunting, and the miller remained at home. As soon as he began to cook dinner, Riding-on-a-hare was right there, and everything happened the same as yesterday.

On the third day, the bogatyr sent his comrades out hunting, and he himself began to cook the food.

As soon as he put the meat into the cauldron, Riding-on-a-hare was already at the threshold.

Give me meat! he demanded.

A kind guest with a host of affectionate ones, - answered the young man. “If you don’t know this, I won’t give it to you.

Having pulled out a longer hair from his beard, Riding-on-a-hare rushed at the hero, but the hero grabbed him with one hand, with the other he split the century-old oak that stood by the house, and pinched the man's beard into the crack.

When the tree trunk and the miller returned, carrying the killed deer, the young man took them to the oak tree to show off his booty. But Riding-on-a-hare, it turns out, uprooted the oak and left, dragging it behind him.

Friends followed the trail that the tree left.

They walked, walked for a long time, and reached a cave with an abandoned oak tree lying at the entrance.

Tie me tight with a rope, - said the hero.

Friends tied him up, and he began to descend into the cave.

At first he died from the cold, then he died from the heat, but still he got to the bottom and stood with his feet on solid ground.

Looking around, the young man saw that he was in a large dungeon full of all kinds of jewels. The floor here was silver and the walls were solid gold. In the corner, on the carpet, a girl was sitting at her sewing, whose face, illuminating everything around, shone like a fifteen-day-old moon. Riding on a hare slept right there; he had a magic saber at hand.

Oh! the girl screamed softly. - How did you get here? Leave as soon as possible before the owner wakes up. He will certainly kill you.

To be afraid of death - not to be alive! - said the hero and grabbed Riding-on-the-hare by the gray beard.

Squealing, he grabbed the brave man like a cat, but the hero slammed his enemy against the wall so that only a beard remained in his hands.

Where are you from, beauty? Who are your father and mother? - he asked.

I am the Shah's daughter, - the girl answered. “This bearded thief took me away from my father’s house by force and locked me here.

Well, I dealt with him. And I will take you upstairs, take you to my father’s house and, if you don’t mind, I will marry you, ”said the young man.

Good, - answered the princess. - I do not want anything else. After all, you delivered me from this villain ...

And the hero began to collect treasures, and his friends pulled them up on a rope.

So they raised everything that was at the bottom of the cave. Finally, only the youth and the Shah's daughter remained below.

Now let them raise you, - said the hero.

No! Rise yourself first, ”she said. - I am afraid that your comrades will not leave you here.

They are not such people, - the young man was offended. - Get up, you first!

The girl did not agree for a long time, but the hero still persuaded her. Then she said to him:

I sense that your comrades are up to something bad. Remember what I tell you. Every day at dawn two rams run into this dungeon - a white and a black one. When they come running, try to sit on the white ram, and he will carry you out into the white light. But beware of getting on the black one: with him you will fall into the underworld.

Is there anything else down there? - shouted the tree-borer and the miller, lifting the Shah's daughter upstairs.

Nothing more. Drag me now, - answered the young man.

Well, you can stay there too! - shouted friends.

They threw the rope into the cave, closed the entrance with a mill, which the miller carried along everywhere, piled two plane trees, which he carried on his shoulder a tree-tree, and then left, taking all the wealth and beauty.

Here the hero only comprehended the girl's mind, and his own stupidity, and the cunning of his friends, but there was nothing to do: he just had to sit and wait.

The bogatyr waited all night, not closing his eyes, and early at dawn two rams ran into the dungeon - a white and a black one. The young man aimed to sit on the white one, but missed and hit the black one. And at the same moment the young man found himself in the underworld, on the roof of someone else's sakli.

He jumped off the roof and entered the house where an old woman was sitting and spinning yarn.

Give me, mother, a sip of water, I am dying of thirst, - he asked.

Oh, - exclaimed the old woman, - did you not come down from the white light to laugh at us, poor people! Where will I get your water from?

And what, don't you have it at all? - the young man was surprised.

How not to be - it happens! - said the old woman. - What's the point when a Dev with nine heads settled at our transparent spring. Every year we give him the most beautiful girl in our city. On the day he eats it, he lets us into the water. The rest of the time we suffer without water.

Give me two jugs! - ordered the hero. - I am surprised: what kind of people you are!

Watch out, son! - the old woman cried. - The fellows tried harder than you, but everyone was left without heads. Dev will kill you!

Okay, - he waved it off on the doorstep. “He won’t dare. And if he dares, he will regret it ... Give the jugs.

With tears the old woman handed him two jugs, and the hero went to the spring. He filled both jugs to the brim, and the Dev, who was lying by the water's edge, only looked askance at him and shook his nine heads.

When the old woman emptied the jugs, the hero went to the spring again. And again Dev did not say anything to him, but stamped his foot so that the earth cracked, and the dust rose in a column to the sky.

Immediately the whole city learned about the heroic deed of the brave youth. The ruler of the underworld called him to him.

Ask whatever you want, take whatever you want, just kill this Deva, O hero! he pleaded. - You alone can do it, otherwise Dev would have killed you immediately, as he killed everyone who dared to approach the water.

Okay, I'll go fight! And one of us two will get it hard today, - said the young man. - And you don't forget your word.

He girded himself with a magic saber, which he got in the dungeon, grabbed the jugs and went to the spring for the third time.

You have no shame, man! - Dev shouted. - The first time I spared you as a guest, the second time I felt sorry for you as a friend ... And now you come again!

Hey, you scoundrel, - answered the hero, - and you yourself are not ashamed to take water from good people and devour young beauties alive? .. Beware! I came for your vile heads. - And the young man struck nine times with the magic saber, and all nine heads of the Deva rolled to the ground.

The people of the underworld almost went crazy with joy. They cried and laughed, jumped and kissed. And people, and chickens, and donkeys, and camels - all living things rushed to the water.

The feat that you have accomplished is worthless, - said the ruler of the underworld to the hero. - This year was my daughter's term to go to the nine-headed Dev. I have nothing dearer than her. Marry her and rule our country. I would have done more, but I don’t know what else can be done!

I am a resident of the white world, - answered the young man. “Don’t think that I don’t like your daughter or I don’t appreciate your generosity. No! But I love my homeland, and to see it again is dearer to me than anything else in the world.

I can't do that, young man, ”the ruler frowned. - And no one can, except for the eagle that lives in the plane tree forest. I will send messengers to him. Who knows, maybe he will agree.

But the messengers returned with nothing. The eagle had six eagles in its nest, and he did not want to leave them even for the sake of the ruler of the underworld.

Then the hero himself went to bow to the lord of the birds.

At that time, the eagle flew away for prey, and over its nest, in which hungry chicks were screaming, a coal kite circled.

The young man killed this kite, lay down under the plane tree and began to wait for the eagle.

Cheer-cheer! Cheer-cheer! - shouted the eagles, seeing the eagle. - This hero saved us from death. He killed a coal kite.

Hey, hero, - said the eagle, - you killed my enemy and the enemy of my children. Ask what you want, I will fulfill everything without refusal.

Carry me out into the white light, I don't need anything else, - asked the hero.

Slaughter fifty buffaloes and refresh them! - ordered the eagle. - Make skins out of skins and fill with water. We will take meat and water with us on the road.

The young man did everything as the eagle ordered him. He put the meat on the eagle's right wing, put the skins on the left, sat down on the bird's back and shouted:

They flew, rising higher and higher, and when the eagle demanded: "Meat!" - the hero handed him a piece of meat, and when he shouted: "Water!" - gave water.

It was only a little longer for them to fly to white light, when the supply of meat ran out.

Meat! - shouted the eagle. - Meat, meat!

The hero silently cut off a toe on his right foot and gave it to him.

The eagle flapped its wings one last time and carried it out into the sweet white light.

The young man bowed low to the bird for her service and went limping along his native land.

Why are you limping? the eagle shouted after him.

My right leg got numb on the way, - answered the young man.

Tell the truth! - ordered the eagle.

When I ran out of meat, I cut off a toe on your right foot for you, ”the young man reluctantly confessed.

The eagle immediately spat out this finger, moistened it with its saliva, applied it to the wound, and the finger again adhered to the leg.

The young man said goodbye to the eagle and went to his house.

He came, stood at the door and heard such a noise that he almost went deaf.

It was a fight because of the Shah's daughter, a tree-borer with a miller. And the girl wept bitterly and kept repeating one thing: that she would not marry anyone but a young hero.

Whoever gets what will be with it! - said the hero and opened the door.

He hit the miller and laid him face up, hit the tree-borer and laid him face down, and then took the girl by the hand and went with her to another kingdom.

So the hero married the beauty.

Churek - special baked bread, in the form of a large flat cake.

Devas - in the folklore of the peoples of the Caucasus, Asia Minor and Central Asia, Western Siberia and others. Devas are evil spirits, mainly anthropomorphic or zoomorphic giants.

Myths and legends of the peoples of the world. Peoples of Russia: Collection. - M .: Literature; World of books, 2004 .-- 480 p.

Dagestan. The land of warriors and heroes
SmartNews has collected the legends of the most ancient city in the country / Article 2014

Almost every city in our large country is fraught with legends and traditions that local residents have passed on to each other by word of mouth for tens, or even hundreds of years. They are told to children and grandchildren, travelers, guests, collected in collections, songs about them are composed. We have collected the most interesting and meaningful legends of the Russian regions, on the basis of which you can compose an alternative history of the country. Legends

Derbent, citadel of Naryn-Kala / Photo: Mark Redkin

How the commander Abu Muslim al-Maslama took Derbent

Around the 7th century, during the Arab Caliphate, after a long siege of Derbent, the Arab commander Abu Muslim al-Maslama doubted that he could take the city. The last hope was the traitor who was brought to him by the soldiers. A defector, he insisted that he knew how to force the Derbent people to open the gates. In return, the traitor asked not to kill him and to spare close relatives. The commander guaranteed not only life, but also personal enrichment.

- The traitor showed the warriors a hill near the fortress. They dug it across and found pipes through which water enters the city. The warriors of Abu Muslim al-Maslama slaughtered the rams, and their blood was poured into the water supply. In this way, several thousand sheep were slaughtered during the night. Scarlet water, unsuitable for drinking, began to flow into the reservoirs of the city. In panic, the townspeople were forced to cut off the pipes. Overnight, the tanks were turned into a bloody mess. The blood began to rot, carrying an unpleasant odor. "Why won't the gate open?" - Abu Muslim al-Maslama began to doubt. The traitor asked to take the soldiers away from the fortress. Seeing that the Arabs retreated from the fortress, the townspeople opened the gates and poured out of the fortress away from the stench, where they had been killed. The legend is partly confirmed by historical information. In Arab sources, it is briefly indicated that a traitor helped to take the city.
Huseynbala Huseynov, deputy editor-in-chief of Derbent Izvestia, author of the book Legends of Ancient Derbent

Breakthrough Oil

Ibrahim Khan learned that, according to the Mongolian tradition, it is customary to give gifts in the amount of nine pieces. He was carrying Tamerlane the nine best horses, nine of the most beautiful concubines, nine precious jewelry. Among the gifts were slaves - the most devoted. But there were eight of them. Tamerlane was indignant: "Where is the ninth slave?" “The ninth slave is me,” answered the ruler of Derbent. The commander was amazed at such an original expression of submission and changed his anger to mercy. The commander fulfilled the request of Ibrahim Khan - he did not give the city to plunder. And he did not hang Ibrahim Khan, but raised him, making him the ruler of the entire Shirvan (a medieval state on the territory of modern Azerbaijan).

- The legend is not pure fiction, but is confirmed by historical facts. Tamerlane was chasing Tokhtamysh's army, and he needed an unobstructed passage. Ibrahim Khan opened the Iron Gates for him - this was the name of the Derbent fortress in the old days, since it blocked the narrow passage between the mountains and the sea. Thus, Ibrahim Khan rendered an invaluable service to Tamerlane. The commander took the new ruler of Shirvan with him on the campaign. The empire from the lands conquered by Tamerlane quickly disintegrated. And the dynasty of Ibrahim Khan ruled Shirvan for another 150 years.
Veli Yusufov
_______

- When Peter I entered the city, a terrible earthquake broke out. The walls shook. Peter I was not taken aback, hit the walls with his foot, and the earthquake stopped. The people gasped and fell to their knees in front of him. They thought the king had caused the earthquake.
Magomed Khanmagomedov, journalist

Peter the Great in Derbent

There were many beauties in the harem of the ruler of Derbent, but there were not enough Georgians. To fill the gap, the khan supplied a detachment to Georgia. The nukers made a march across the Caucasian ridge and returned with forty abducted Georgian beauties. But Derbent at this time was besieged by the enemy army.

- On the outskirts of the city, a detachment returning from Georgia entered into an unequal battle. The nukers managed to hide the kidnapped girls in a cave, blocking the entrance with heavy stones. The detachment fell, and no one knew about the girls imprisoned in the cave. Many years later, a shepherd accidentally climbed into a cave and found the girls' bones. When Alexander Dumas, the father, was in Derbent in 1858, he was told this legend. He went down to the cave and found animal bones there.
Veli Yusufov, head of the Naryn-Kala complex of the Derbent Museum-Reserve

At the end of the 18th century, when the childless khan of Derbent died, the winner in archery was to become the ruler of the city. The contenders for the gallop had to hit the apple. Nobody has been able to do this. Then a masked man approached the jury. The judges asked to open their faces and were refused.

- The judges, after consulting, admitted the shooter. The last participant in the competition raced at a gallop and hit the apple, after which the mask was thrown off. The contender for the throne was a girl, the sister of the ruler of the neighboring state of the Kaitag utsmiya Emir-Hamza. The girl's name was Umu-Kusum, and the nickname was Tuti-Bike. The judges considered her primacy over men as a sign from the Almighty and declared her the ruler of Derbent. Although, according to worldly laws, a man should have ruled the city.
Veli Yusufov, head of the Naryn-Kala complex of the Derbent Museum-Reserve

Derbent, history of the conquest, spread of Islam, city architecture

© 2013

Musa Musaev, Ksenia Gagai, Gyulayat Chelebova,
Natalia Grebneva, Stanislav Zakharkin
SmartNews, 10 March 2014

1. One of the threads to the land of "Sky Metal"

Iron finds in a burial ground on the banks of the Araks River are almost three thousand years old. But even a thousand years before that, iron jewelry appeared in the pyramids of the Egyptian pharaohs. It was meteoric iron. It was no coincidence that iron in the New Kingdom was called "the metal of the sky." Iron on the territory of the USSR was first found in the Caucasus. But is it only the threads of the "Metal of Heaven" that connect the Caucasus with ancient Egypt? Is it an accident that there was a legend in Dagestan that the Avar and Kumukh khans were descended from the Egyptian pharaohs? One of the legends about this was recorded in the last century by A. Runovsky. Here it is: “How the pharaohs entered Dagestan and established themselves in Avaria, the legend does not say; it is only known that the Kazikumukh khans are descended from the Avar khans and that the teachings of Magomed, spreading over the Caucasus and taking with them all the royal dynasties there, left only one pharaonic dynasty in the same conditions. "

2. A thread to the biblical Noah.

One of the Georgian chronicles says that all the peoples of the Caucasus descend from the great-grandson of Noah - Torgamos. Torgamos had 8 sons, lived quietly near Ararat, but his children dispersed in different directions and laid the foundation for special peoples. From Gaikos originated the Armenians, from Kartos - Georgians ... Kavkazos laid the foundation for other Caucasian peoples. Lekos went to Dagestan, and from him came the Lezgins, that is, the Dagestanis.

3. Legend of the Scythians

There is a legend saying that modern Dagestan was inhabited in the 7th century BC. This settlement is associated with the invasion of the Scythians in Transcaucasia. Legend tells that the Scythians invaded Georgia and Armenia in numerous hordes, devastated these countries, took many prisoners and returned to the Northern Black Sea region. From the captive peoples, "the Scythians formed two kingdoms in the North Caucasus: one on the Terek to the western extremity of the mountains under the rule of Wobos, the son of the Scythian king, and the other in the east, under the rule of the king's cousin." From the subjects of the first, the Ossetians arose, and in the east, where the Khunzakh was built, the peoples of Dagestan arose.

4. Laws of Lycurgus in Amush.

The legendary legislator of Ancient Sparta Lycurgus is known in history for harsh laws that strengthened the military organization of the Spartan community. Weak, handicapped babies were exterminated in Sparta. Ancient old people were once thrown off a cliff. Mountain aksakals in Dagestan say that once, long ago, in the village of Amush, there was a custom to kill people who had reached a ripe old age. They were placed in wicker baskets and then pushed off a cliff.

5. Before Islam and after Islam.

Before the adoption of Islam, twelve Andalal settlements in Avaria were called Vitzkhu. After the introduction of Islam, the Arabs began to call Witskhu Judalal. From here, they say, the name Andalal originated. It is curious that in the Lak region there are auls even now, the population of which calls itself Vitskhins.

6. Mount Kabh - Mountain of Tongues.

Back in the 9th century, the Arab traveler Masudi exclaimed: “Mount Kabh is a mountain of tongues. One god will read the peoples of different languages ​​living in the Kabh mountains. ”Century passed after century, and the greatest expert on the Caucasian languages ​​P.K. Uslar repeated these words in 1862:“ “900 years have passed since Masudi's pious exclamation. with the question, how many different languages ​​are there in the Caucasus, then we would answer: one god will read the peoples of different languages ​​living in the mountains of Kabh. Mount Kabh is a mountain of languages. "

7. Legend of the torn sack.

Many auls know the tale of a horseman who once, in time immemorial, traveled around the world with a sack containing different languages. The rider distributed different languages ​​to different peoples of the earth. When the rider appeared in the Caucasus, he tore his sack on one of the inaccessible rocks of Dagestan. Tongues scattered over the mountains, and everything got mixed up. That is why there are so many languages ​​in Dagestan.