TEHRAN – A centuries-old inscription bearing a Persian poem has been identified in a mosque located in the Russian city of Derbent situated on the western shores of the Caspian Sea, in present-day Dagestan.

The stucco-carved inscription embellishes the mosque’s mihrab which is a semicircular niche in the wall that points out the qibla, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying.

The mosque is known by two names; “church-mosque” and “Tawba”, which means repentance in Islamic culture, according to an expert affiliated with Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism, IRIB reported on Monday.

That place of worship is probably one of the few mosques in the world that have been converted into a church for a while and has a double name, Morteza Rezvanfar said.

As mentioned by the expert, the poem, which is composed by Suzani Samarqandi, reads: “I have brought four things, O Lord (Kings), which are not in your treasure, you are not, I have brought needs, excuses and sins.”

Derbent is one of the important cities that was separated from Iran upon the Treaty of Gulistan, and now it is the oldest and only Shia city in Russia, the researcher explained.

This mosque is also among Derbent buildings registered in the UNESCO World Heritage list, he said.

According to UNESCO, Derbent owes its rich history to its strategic position, along the travel route between Europe and the Middle East, on the border of Europe and Asia, where the mountains of the Caucasus almost arrive at the coast leaving a narrow 3-km strip of plain.

The ancient city was once in a position to control the traffic between Europe and the Middle East. The defense structures that were built by the Sasanians were in continuous use by the succeeding Persian, Arabic, Mongol and Timurid governments. Its name is a Persian word: “Darband”, meaning “closed gates.”

Physical evidence of Derbent’s defensive role dates from the 7th or 8th century BC, and, since the 1st millennium BC, control of the north-south passage on the western side of the Caspian Sea has been linked to this location. Archaeological excavations since the late 1970s have confirmed Derbent’s nearly 2,000 years of continuous history as an urban settlement, the oldest in Russia and one of the most ancient in the region.

Evidence was found of a fortified settlement in the region of the citadel during the 3rd century BC and 4th century CE, which was confirmed by historical documents; Greek-Roman authors knew this settlement by the name of Albanian gate and meanwhile, the ancient Armenian authors called it the Chol/Chor.

As mentioned by the UN body, the modern name of Derbent (from Persian dar, “gate”, and band, “red, communication, barrier”) is associated with a great fortification constructed in the 5th century by the Sasanian Empire. Two walls were constructed 300 to 400 m apart, extending approximately 3.6 km from the Caspian Sea up to the citadel situated on the mountain.

AFM