Islamic monuments in Azerbaijan in the XVIII-XIX centuries (based on the documents of the Russian State Military History Archive)

Abstract

The article presents the history of Islamic religious monuments in the territory of Azerbaijan in the 18th and 19th centuries. The presented scientific article includes research on the mosques and religious beliefs of the population in the territory of Azerbaijan in the 18th and 19th centuries based on the documents of the Russian State Military History Archive. From the documents in the archival materials, it is clear that the most of the population are Muslim and Islamic religious monuments are the majority. The article relies on the drawings of the master plans of Azerbaijani cities kept in the funds of the Russian State Military History Archive. It is clear from the archive materials that economic and cultural life in Azerbaijani cities revolved around the mosques, especially the Friday mosques. Thus, the cities were erected not only around the palaces of khans and rulers, but around the Friday mosques, too. Also, at the end of the study, it is possible to come to the conclusion that Juma mosques functioned not only as the religious places of worship, but also as economic, cultural and social centers. In addition, the significance of the study of the documents stored in the Russian State Military History Archive is that it is possible to restore the historical appearance of Friday mosques in the present period from the drawings stored in its funds.