Naryn-Kala Citadel

Naryn-Kala is an ancient citadel forming the upper end of the Derbent fortification system on the Caspian coast of Dagestan, Russia, built in the sixth century CE under the Sasanian ruler Khosrow I Anushirvan to control the narrow pass between the Caucasus mountains and the sea. The citadel encloses about 4.5 hectares within a roughly rectangular circuit some 180 meters wide and 255 meters long, its walls reaching 20 to 25 meters in height and up to 3.5 meters thick, reinforced by small towers spaced 20 to 30 meters apart and a gun tower at the southwest corner. Double walls once ran from the citadel down to the Caspian shore, sealing the coastal pass entirely. Within the walls survive the remains of a shah palace, bath buildings, ceramic water pipes and disputed ruins that may represent an early Christian church. Naryn-Kala was inscribed as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, though it is listed as endangered, and it now functions as a museum with ongoing archaeological excavation.