Abstract
This article is devoted to identifying the chronology of the medieval Alania capital architectural and spatial structure formation. The study revealed that the first on the site were erected cross-domed temples, built according to the Byzantine model and dated to the first half of the 10th century. In this regard, the planning structure of the fortified settlement was formed under the influence of the Byzantine Christian topography traditions. The chronological stages of the fortified settlement formation are revealed. The planning structure of the Nizhne-Arkhyz fortified settlement is similar to the planning of Constantinople, the main features of which were laid down at the end of the 5th century. Both cities have similar outlines of plans, inscribed in a triangle, at the eastern peak of which their community centers were located. In the spatial planning scheme of both cities, there are three main streets, the directions of which merge into one main street leading to the community center. Community centers of cities are represented by the squares where Christian churches are located.
Highlights
Nizhne-Arkhyz fortified settlement, located in the gorge of the Bolshoi Zelenchuk river, localized by the researchers as the Christian capital of medieval Alania
The capital of Alania (Nizhne-Arkhyz fortified settlement) was created as an Eastern Christian city, its foundation was associated with the Alanian Metropolitanate center formation in the first half of the 10th century and took place with the assistance of Byzantium
The planning structure of the city, formed during the X-XII centuries by the type of the Byzantine capital city. This follows from the fact that the planning schemes of the two Christian capitals (Alanian and Byzantine) are built according to the same compositional laws, which allows us to consider them similar
Summary
Nizhne-Arkhyz fortified settlement, located in the gorge of the Bolshoi Zelenchuk river, localized by the researchers as the Christian capital of medieval Alania. Today, it is a large archaeological complex on the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia, consisting of numerous fragments of buildings and structures dating from the X-XII centuries. The value of the Nizhne-Arkhyz fortified settlement lies in its unique history and in the memory of the events that played an important role in the history of our multinational people. The fortified settlement was a city-forming structure large for its time and country, consisting of streets, squares, residential quarters, public, industrial, defensive structures, and a large number of religious sites of Christian and pagan origin. Kuznetsov calls this medieval city "an outpost of Byzantine influence in the North Caucasus" [1]
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