Shirvanshahs Palace

an architectural ensemble in Baku, consisting mainly of structures of the 15th century. The palace of the Shirvanshahs is an outstanding monument of medieval Azerbaijani architecture. The two-story palace building itself, architecturally simple, is probably the earliest of the structures. The divan-khan (court of law) has a hall enclosed on five of its eight sides by a gallery with an arcade. Also of note is the rectangular tomb (1435), with its cruciform prayer hall and richly ornamented portal. The other structures are a two-domed mosque with an elegant minaret (1442), the small eight-sided mausoleum of Said Yahya Bakuvi, the Eastern Gate (1585), an ovdan (underground reservoir) and a bathhouse.

The palace of the Shirvanshahs, although it comprises structures erected at different times, is artistically integrated by unity of scale and architectural technique. The severe, geometrically precise mass of the buildings is set off by the spare but expressive decorative details. The palace is now a museum.