The Baku Ateshgah (from Persian: آتشگاه Atashgāh, Azerbaijani: Atəşgah ) or "Fire Temple" is an ancient Hindu castle-like religious temple dedicated to Jwala Ji in Surakhani  a suburb of greater Baku, Azerbaijan, which was initially recognized as a Zoroastrian fire worship place. "Atash" (آتش) is the Persian word for fire The pentagonal complex, which has a courtyard surrounded by cells for monks and a tetrapillar-altar in the middle, was built during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was abandoned after 1883  when oil and gas plants were established in the vicinity, ending the flow of natural gas to the temple and extinguishing the holy fire.

The Baku Ateshgah was a pilgrimage and philosophical centers of fire worshipers from Multan (now located in Pakistan), who were involved in trade with the Caspian area via the famous "Grand Trunk Road". The four holy elements of their belief were: ateshi (fire), badi (air), abi (water), and heki (earth). The temple ceased to be worshiped after 1883 with the installation of petroleum plants (industry) at Surakhany. The complex was turned into a museum in 1975. The annual number of visitors to the museum is 15,000.

The Temple of Fire "Ateshgah" was nominated for List of World Heritage Sites, UNESCO in 1998 by Gulnara Mehmandarova — president of Azerbaijan Committee of ICOMOS—International Council on Monuments and Sites .

It was declared a state historical-architectural reserve by decree of the President of Azerbaijan on 19 December 2007.

Etymology

Surakhani, the name of the town where the Ateshgah is located, likely means "a region of holes" (سراخ/suraakh is Persian for hole), but might perhaps be a reference to the fire glow as well (سرخ/sorkh/surkh is Persian for red). A historic alternative name for Azerbaijan as a whole has been Odlar Yurdu, Azeri for land of fires The Persian toponym Atashgah (with Russian/Azerbaijani pronunciation: Atashgyakh/Ateshgah) literally means "home of fire." The Persian-origin term atesh (آتش) means fire, and is present in several languages as a Persian loan-word including in Azerbaijani Persian.Gah (گاہ) derives from Middle Persian and means "throne" or "bed". The name refers to the fact that the site is situated atop a now-exhausted natural gas field, which once caused natural fires to spontaneously burn there as the gas emerged from seven natural surface vents. Today, the fires in the complex are fed by gas piped in from Baku, and are only turned on for the benefit of visitors.

“Surakhany” in Tati (language of Surakhany, close to Persian) means “hole with the fountain”. In other words, “Yotnporakyan Bagink” and “Surakhany” are practically calques.^{[citation needed]}

History

In “Ashkharatsuyts” (VII century) in the province Paytakaran was mentioned toponym “Yotnporakyan Bagink” (“Place with seven worshiped holes”). Surakhani is located on the Absheron peninsula, which is famous for oil oozing out of the ground naturally, as well as for natural oil fires.

“Seven holes with eternal fires” were mentioned by German traveler Engelbert Kämpfer who visited Surakhany in 1683.

Armenian historian Ghevond (8th century), describing the invasion of the Khazars in the Caucasian Albania in 730 AD, mentioned area “Atshi-Baguan”. Sarah Ashurbeyli notes that the “Atsh” is distorted “Atesh” (“fire”) and “Atshi-Baguan” means “Fires of Baguan” referring to Baku. Word “Baguan” comes from the word “Baga” which means “God” in Old Persian. and "Bhagawan" also means God in Sanskrit.

In general, eternal flames of Apsheron peninsula were worshiped not later Sassanian times.^{[citation needed]}

Estakhri (10th century) mentioned that not far from Baku (i.e., on the Apsheron Peninsula) lived fire worshippers. This was confirmed by Movses Daskhurantsi in his reference of the province of Bhagavan (“Fields of the Gods” i.e., “Fire Gods”).

In the 18th century Atashgah was visited by Zoroastrians. This confirms the Persian handwriting Naskh inscription over the entrance aperture of one of the cells, which speaks about the visit of Zoroastrians from Isfahan:

Persian inscription:

“

آتشی صف کشیده همچون دک جیی بِوانی رسیده تا بادک سال نو نُزل مبارک باد گفت خانۀ شد رو سنامد (؟) سنة ۱۱۵٨

”

Transliteration of Persian inscription:

ātaši saf kešide hamčon dak

jey bovāni reside tā bādak

sāl-e nav-e nozl mobārak bād goft

xāne šod ru *sombole sane-ye hazār-o-sad-o-panjāh-o-haštom

Translation:

Fires stand in line

Esfahani Bovani came to Badak (Baku)

"Blessed the lavish New Year", he said:

The house was built in the month of Ear in year 1158.

The 1158 year corresponds to 1745 AD. Bovan (modern Bovanat) is the village near Esfahan. The word Badak is a diminutive of Bad-Kubeh. (The name of Baku in the sources of the 17th and 18th centuries was Bad-e Kube). At the end of the reference is the constellation of Sombole /Virgo (August–September). In the name of the month the master mistakenly shifted the “l” and “h” at the end of the word. According to Zoroastrian calendar Qadimi New Year in 1745 AD was in August.

Interesting information about Zoroastrian from Baku mentioned by D. Shapiro in “A Karaite from Wolhynia meets a Zoroastrian from Baku”. Avraham Firkowicz, a Karaite collector, wrote about his meeting in Darband in 1840 with fireworshiper from Baku. Firkowicz asked him “Why do you worship fire?” Fireworshiper replied that they do not worship fire at all, but the Creator, which is not a person, but rather a “matter” (abstraction) called Q’rţ’, and symbolized by fire. Term Q’rţ’ (“kirdar”) means in Pahlavi and Avestanas “one who does”, “creator”.

Structure

Fire is considered sacred in both Indo-Iranian branches of Hinduism and Zoroastrianism (as Agni and Atar respectively)  and there has been debate on whether the Atashgah was originally a Hindu structure or a Zoroastrian one. The trident mounted atop the structure is usually a distinctly Hindu sacred symbol (as the Trishula, which is commonly mounted on temples)  and has been cited by Zoroastrian scholars as a specific reason for considering the Atashgah as a Hindu site  However, an Azeri presentation on the history of Baku, which calls the shrine a "Hindu temple", identifies the trident as a Zoroastrian symbol of "good thoughts, good words and good deeds" ^]Some scholars have speculated that the Ateshgah may have been an ancient Zoroastrian shrine that was decimated by invading Islamic armies during the Muslim conquest of Persia and its neighboring regions. It has also been asserted that, "according to historical sources, before the construction of the Indian Temple of Fire (Atashgah) in Surakhani at the end of the 17th century, the local people also worshipped at this site because of the 'seven holes with burning flame'.

One early European commentator, Jonas Hanway, bucketed Zoroastrians and Hindus together with respect to their religious beliefs: "These opinions, with a few alterations, are still maintained by some of the posterity of the ancient Indians and Persians, who are called Gebers or Gaurs, and are very zealous in preserving the religion of their ancestors; particularly in regard to their veneration for the element of fire." Geber is a Persian term for Zoroastrians, while Gaurs are a priestly Hindu caste. A later scholar, A. V. Williams Jackson, drew a distinction between the two groups. While stating that "the typical features which Hanway mentions are distinctly Indian, not Zoroastrian" based on the worshipers' attires and tilakas, their strictly vegetarian diets and open veneration for cows, he left open the possibility that a few "actual Gabrs (i.e. Zoroastrians, or Parsis)" may also have been present at the shrine alongside larger Hindu groups.

Indian local residents and pilgrims

As European academics and explorers began arriving in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, they documented encounters with dozens of Hindus at the shrine as well as Hindu pilgrims en route in the regions between North India and Baku.In the late Middle Ages, there were significant Indian communities throughout Central Asia.  In Baku, Indian merchants from theMultan region of Punjab controlled much of the commercial economy, along with the Armenians. Much of the woodwork for ships on the Caspian was also done by Indian craftsmen. Some commentators have theorized that Baku's Indian community may have been responsible for the construction or renovation of the Ateshgah

Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin's Reise durch Russland (1771) is cited in Karl Eduard von Eichwald's Reise in den Caucasus (Stuttgart, 1834) where the naturalist Gmelin is said to have observed Yogi austerities being performed by devotees. Geologist Eichwald restricts himself to a mention of the worship of Rama, Krishna, Hanuman and Agni.  In the 1784 account of George Forster of the Bengal Civil Service, the square structure was about 30 yards across, surrounded by a low wall and containing many apartments. Each of these had a small jet of sulphurous fire issuing from a funnel "constructed in the shape of a Hindu altar." The fire was used for worship, cooking and warmth, and would be regularly extinguished.

"The Ateshgyakh Temple looks not unlike a regular town caravansary - a kind of inn with a large central court, where caravans stopped for the night. As distinct from caravansaries, however, the temple has the altar in its center with tiny cells for the temple's attendants - Indian ascetics who devoted themselves to the cult of fire - and for pilgrims lining the walls."

Zoroastrian local residents and pilgrims.

Engelbert Kaempfer, who visited Surakhany in 1683, wrote that among people who worshiped fire, two men are descendants of Persians who migrated to India.^[There are some data that in addition to the Hindus in the temple were present Zoroastrians (Parsis and Guebres). Chardin in the 17th century reported about Persian Guebres, which worshiped forever burning fire that was in two days' journey from Shemakha (on the Apsheron)

French Jesuit Villotte, who lived in Azerbaijan since 1689, reports that Ateshgah revered by Hindus and Guebres, the descendants of the ancient Persians.

German traveler Lerch who visited the temple in 1733, wrote that here there are 12 Guebres or ancient Persian fire worshipers»

J. Hanway visited Baku in 1747 and left few records of Ateshgah. People, who worshiped fire in Ateshgah he calls "Indians", "Persians" and “Guebres”.

S. Gmelin, who visited Ateshgah in 1770, wrote that in the present Ateshgah lived Indians and descendants of the ancient Guebres

In 1820 the French consul Gamba visits the temple. According to Gamba here lived Hindus and Persian guebres, the followers of Zoroaster.

The Englishman Ussher visited Ateshgah in September 19, 1863 He calls it "Atash Jah" and said that there are pilgrims from India and Persia ^] German Baron Max Thielmann visited the temple in October 1872 and in his memoirs he wrote that Parsi community of Bombay sent here a priest who after a few years will be replaced. His presence is necessary, because here come the pilgrims from the outskirts of Persia (Yazd, Kerman) and from India and remain in this sacred place for several months or years.

In 1876 English traveler James Bruce visited Ateshgah. He noted that the Bombay Parsi Punchayat provides a permanent presence in the temple of their priest. E. Orsolle, who visited the temple after Bruce, said that after Parsi priest died in 1864, the Parsi Punchayat of Bombay a few years later sent another priest here, but the pilgrims who came here from India and Iran have already forgotten the sanctuary, and in 1880 there was nobody. O'Donovan visited the temple in 1879 and refers about religious worship of Guebres.

In 1898 in the «Men and Women of India» magazine was published an article entitled "The ancient Zoroastrian temple in Baku. Author calls Ateshgah as "Parsi temple," and notes that the last Zoroastrian priest was sent there for about 30 years ago (that is, in the 1860s.)  J. Henry in 1905, in his book also noted that 25 years ago (i.e. about in 1880) in Surakhani died last Parsi priest.

Inscriptions and likely period of construction.

The inscriptions in the temple in Sanskrit (in Nagari Devanagari script) and Punjabi (in Gurmukhi script) identify the site as a place ofHindu and Sikh worship  and state it was built and consecrated for Jwala Ji the modern Hindu fire deity. Jwala (जवाला/ज्वाला) means flame in Sanskrit (c.f. Indo-European cognates: proto-Indo-European guelh, English: glow, Lithuanian: zvilti)^[ and Ji is an honorific used in the Indian subcontinent. There is a famed shrine to Jwala Ji in the Himalayas, in the settlement of Jawalamukhi, in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India to which the Atashgah bears strong resemblance and on which some scholars (such as A. V. Williams Jackson) suggested the current structure may have been modeled. However, other scholars have stated that some Jwala Ji devotees used to refer to the Kangra shrine as the 'smaller Jwala Ji' and the Baku shrine as the 'greater Jwala Ji'. Other deities mentioned in the inscriptions include Ganesha and Shiva. The Punjabi language inscriptions are quotations from the Adi Granth, while some of the Sanskrit ones are drawn from the Sat Sri Ganesaya namah text There are several inscriptions on the Ateshgah. They are all in either Sanskrit or Punjabi, with the exception of one Persian inscription that occurs below an accompanying Sanskrit invocation to Lord Ganesha and Jwala Ji. Although the Persian inscription contains grammatical errors, both the inscriptions contain the same year date of 1745 Common Era (Samvat/संवत 1802/१८०२ and Hijri1158/١١٥٨). Taken as a set, the dates on the inscriptions range from Samvat 1725 to Samvat 1873, which corresponds to the period from 1668 CE to 1816 CE.This, coupled with the assessment that the structure looks relatively new, has led some scholars to postulate the 17th century as its likely period of construction One press report asserts that local records exist that state that the structure was built by the Baku Hindu traders community around the time of the fall of the Shirvanshah dynasty and annexation by the Russian Empire following the Russo-Persian War (1722–1723).

Examination by Zoroastrian priests.

Besides the physical evidence indicating that the complex was a Hindu place of worship, the existing structural features are not consistent with those for any other Zoroastrian place of worship (for instance, cells for ascetics, fireplace open to all sides, ossuary pit and no water source.^] It cannot be ruled out that the site may once have been a Zoroastrian place of worship, but there is no evidence to suggest that this was the case.The temple was examined in the late 19th and early 20th century by Parsi dasturs, some of whom had also visited the Jwala Ji at Kangra in the Himalayas. Based on the inscriptions and the structure, their assessment was that the temple was a Hindu shrine.In 1925, a Zoroastrian priest and academic Jivanji Jamshedji Modi traveled to Baku to determine if the temple had indeed been once a Zoroastrian place of worship. Until then (and again today), the site was visited by Zoroastrian pilgrims from India. In his Travels Outside Bombay, Modi observed that "not just me but any Parsee who is a little familiar with our Hindu brethren's religion, their temples and their customs, after examining this building with its inscriptions, architecture, etc., would conclude that this is not a [Zoroastrian] Atash Kadeh but is a Hindu Temple, whose Brahmins (priests) used to worship fire (Sanskrit: Agni)."

J. Unvala visited temple in 1935 and noted that its structure is pure Sasanian style.

Exhaustion of the natural gas

Claimed visit by Czar Alexander III The fire was once fed by a vent from a subterranean natural gas field located directly beneath the complex, but heavy exploitation of the natural gas reserves in the area during Soviet rule resulted in the flame going out in 1969. Today, the museum's fire is fed by mains gas piped in from Baku city.

Public recognition There were local claims made to a visiting Zoroastrian dastur in the early 20th century that the Russian czar Alexander III had also witnessed Hindu fire prayer rituals at this location

An illustration of the Baku Fire Temple was included on two denominations of Azerbaijan's first issue of postage stamps, released in 1919. Five oil derricks appear in the background.^[55]

By a presidential order issued in December 2007, the shrine complex, which had hitherto been officially associated with the "Shirvanshah Palace Complex State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve" (Государственного историко-архитектурного музея-заповедника «Комплекс Дворца Ширваншахов») was declared as a distinct reserve by the Azeri government (the "Ateshgah Temple State Historical Architectural Reserve, Государственным историко-архитектурным заповедником «Храм Атешгях»).

In July 2009, the Azeri President, Ilham Aliyev, announced a grant of AZN 1 million for the upkeep of the shrine.

Snoozing amid green pillows of beautifully forested mountains, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's loveliest towns. It has a rich history and is one ofthe few places in the country where tourism can be described as even vaguely organised. Even so you probably won't see more than a handful of fellow travellers here, even during summer.HistoryThere are traces of the large-scale settlements in Shaki that date to more than 2700 years ago.According to the Azerbaijani historians, the name of the town goes back to the ethnonym of the Sakas, who reached the territory of modern day Azerbaijan in the 7th century B.C. and populated it for several centuries. In the medieval sources, the name of the town is found in various forms such as Sheke, Sheki, Shaka, Shakki, Shakne, Shaken, Shakkan, Shekin.The Sakas were an Iranic people that wandered from the north side of the Black Sea through Derbend passage and to the South Caucasus and from there to Asia Minor in the 7th century B.C. They occupied a good deal of the fertile lands in South Caucasus in an area called Sakasena. The city of Shaki was one of the areas occupied by the Sakas. The original settlement dates back to the late Bronze Age.Shaki was one of the biggest cities of the Albanian states in the 1st century. The main temple of the ancient Albanians was located there. The kingdom of Shaki was divided into 11 administrative provinces. Shaki was one of the important political and economic cities before the Arab invasion. But as a result of the invasion, Shaki was annexed to the third emirate. An independent principality was established in times of a weakened Arabian caliphate. The city was also ruled by Georgian Kingdom, Atabegs of Azerbaijan and Khwarezmid Empire before Mongol invasion.After the collapse of the Hulagu Khan's rule in the first half of the 14th century, Shaki gained independence under the rule of Sidi Ahmed Orlat. Shah Tahmasp put an end to the independence of Shaki in 1551 and annexed it to Safavid Empire with brief periods of Ottoman rule in 1578–1603 and 1724-1735. Shaki Khanate was established in 1743, and was one of the strongest feudal states among the Caucasian khanates. During existence of Shaki khanate, the local population of the city was engaged in silkworm breeding, craft and trade. As a result of a flood in the river Kish, the city of Shaki was partially ruined and the population was resettled in the present day city. The Shaki khanate became a vassal of the Russian Empire in accordance with the second Treaty of Kurakchay of 1805.The area was fully annexed by Russia by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 and the khanate was abolished in 1819 and the Shaki province was established in its place.During its history, the town saw devastation many times and because of that, the oldest historic and architectural monuments currently preserved are dated to only the 16th-19th centuries. For many centuries, Shaki has been famous for being the center of silkworm-breeding.Historic Sheki was originally higher up the valley around the site now occupied by Kish. That town was ruined by floods in 1716 but rebuilt by rebellious Khan Haci Celebi, who set up a defiantly independent khanate there in the 1740s. He built a second fortress at Nukha (today's Sheki). When the original Sheki was obliterated a second time by more catastrophic floods and mudflows in 1772, Nukha became the new royal capital and the capital of Shaki Khanate. As the new location was near the village of Nukha, the city also became known as Nukha, until 1968 when it reverted back to the name Shaki.The khanate was ceded to Russia in 1805 but Nukha continued to flourish as a silkweaving town and an important traders' junction where the caravan route between Baku and Tbilisi met the cross-mountain branch route to Derbent in Dagestan. At its peak there were five working caravanserais here. Nukha was renamed Sheki in the 1960s.Nowadays, Sheki is likely the most visited city in Azerbaijan, by both local and foreign tourists. Its setting, among the oak tree laden hills, means the weather is generally more comfortable here than other parts of the country. On top of which, there are a few notable attractions to see while in town.Orientation & InformationThe main square is an attractive park full of teahouses 1.6km north of the bus station. The old town starts around 1km further northeast up MF Axundov kuc. A steep cobbled lane continues 400m up from the Karavansaray to the fortress walls. Within lies the Xan Saray (Khan's Palace). Sheki extends almost all the way to Kish village, 6.5km north through the suburb of Dodu. There are several currency exchanges, ATMs and slow Internet Klubs around the main square.SIGHTSWithin the fortress wallsThe sturdy stone perimeter wall of Haci Celebi's Nukha Fortress today encloses an 18th-century palace, several museums and a decent cafe-restaurant, all set in patches of grass that are kept mown by flocks of sheep.The Shaki Castle which was built by the founder of the Shaki Khanate Haji Chelebi Khan (1743–1755), near the village of Nukha on the southern foothills of the Caucasus. The fortress walls are close to a thousand and two hundred meters long and over two meters thick. Protected by numerous bastions, the fortress is entered by two main gates from the north and south. At the height of the khanate, the fortress contained a gated palatial complex and public and commercial structures of the city, while the residential quarter was situated outside its walls. It was restored extensively between 1958 and 1963. Many years Shaki fortress safeguarded approaches to the city, the acts of bravery by its defendants of fight with foreign oppressors had been written in many history books. In Leo Tolstoy's well-known Hadji Murat novel, Sheki fortress had selected as place of events.Xan SaraySheki's foremost 'sight' is the two-storey Sheki Khan Saray (The King's Palace), which was finished in 1762. It is located just up the hill from the Caravansaray, with a decent view over the city and is set in a walled rose garden behind two huge plane trees supposedly planted in 1530. The walled grounds (free entry) hold several building all belonging to the one time Khan of the land, and various other occupying forces. There are couple of museums that are generally not recommended for visit.The stunning exterior of the Palace is masterfully decorated with dark blue, turquoise and ochre tiles in an array of geometric patterns, magnificently setting off the intricate wood-framed, stainedglass windows known as shabaka. You'd think that alone would be a reward, but it's TOTALLY worth it to pay the 2 manat (or so) to go in the Palace. A skillful tour guide (no extra charge) shows you around the fabulous interior, explaining the meaning of the magnificent murals, which cover the walls and even the ceilings. Easily one the most impressive building in Azerbaijan that you could see.Only one-room deep, the palace's interior is surprisingly petite. However, virtually every square inch is covered with  extraordinarily colourful murals. These reach a climax in the central upstairs apartment which vividly features the heroic battles of Haci Celebi, complete with requisite swords, guns and gory severed heads. The 'lady's room' to its right (as you face the window) is contrastingly pastoral, decorated with flowers, birds and arabesques.The ‘lord’s room’ to the left has more ‘manly’ scenes of hunting, mythical beasts, and lions ripping antelopes to pieces. If you arrive after 6pm or want to see the fasade in glorious golden sunset light, the guard might sneak you in for whatever he thinks you’re prepared to pay.MuseumsShaki hosts a wealth of historical museums and some of the most important in the country. The Shaki History Museum is one of the main museums, considered one of the most important for artifacts of the Khanate period.Tour groups are marched dutifully around the Rashidbey Afandiyev Historical-Regional Ethnography Museum, whose name is more impressive than its exhibits: archaeological oddments, ethnographical artefacts and the usual emotive panels on WWII, Karabakh and the Xocali massacre. Across the road is a late-19th-century Russian church in unusual cylindrical form, built on the site of a 6th-century Caucasian Albanian original. It now hosts the limited Museum of National Applied Art that displays fairly haphazard collections of Sheki crafts, including metalwork, pottery and embroidery. Hardly worth the money.More interesting is a Shabaka Workshop (admission free; 9am-7pm), where local craftsmen (no English) assemble traditional stainedglass windows, slotting together hundreds of hand-carved wooden pieces to create intricate wooden frames without metal fastenings. Small examples are sold as souvenirs.As of 18th century, five big Caravanserais (Isfahan, Tabriz, Lezgi, Ermeni and Taze) were active in Sheki but only two of them have survived. The upper and lower Caravanserais were built in 18th century and used by merchants to store their goods in cellars, who traded on the first floor, and lived on the second. Both Caravanserais includes view of all convenience and safety of merchants and their goodsOLD TOWNEven if you don’t stay here, peep inside the wonderful Karavansaray (MF Axundov kuch), an historic caravanserai with a twin-level arcade of sturdy arches enclosing a pretty central courtyard. A caravansary was a roadside inn in years gone by. A place for wary travellers to rest and eat. Caravansarys supported the flow of commerce and information on trade route stretching from Asia to the Middle East to Eastern Europe. This large 2-storey example has been superbly rebuilt to reflect it's former glory.  Rooms are simple, but all have western toilet and hot water.The historic atmosphere of the hotel is certainly worth the modest 30 Manat per room. Even if you decide not to stay here, the tea garden is great way to experience the culture and still great some great photos of the hotel. Stride through the somewhat daunting wooden gateway door and if questioned say you're heading for the restaurant in the garden behind, a lovely place for a cuppa with a slice of Sheki's signature halva (pastry with nuts).Immediately downhill is a second, even larger but partially ruined 19th-century caravanserai. Beyond, Sheki's old town followsa canalised stream down towards the main square passing a pair of 19th-century mosques, numerous halva shops and a chess school with interesting metal reliefs on its outer walls. An appealing maze of red-tiled roofs and shady lanes lies behind.