Ancient Chechen mountain architecture is a unique phenomenon in world culture. These are residential and combat towers, places of worship and necropolises. It was in these places that the shortest communication routes between the nomadic world of Eastern Europe and the agricultural ancient civilizations passed. Thanks to this, the Caucasus is a place of intersection of the influence of the cultures of various great peoples.
The article presents one of the varieties of Chechen architecture - Chechen towers: photo, description, features.
General information
In mythology, in pagan cults and in the culture of the Chechens, those features have been preserved that testify to their connection with the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and Europe. This is most clearly seen in a deeper study of Chechen mythology and medieval pagan cults, where parallels are found with the names of the mythological heroes of the greatest civilizations of antiquity.
For scientists the greatest interestrepresent various magical signs and petroglyphs preserved on the necropolises and stone towers of mountainous Chechnya. They are often older than the towers themselves.
History
Chechen towers in the mountains - the most unique architecture. Tower medieval architecture originally originated in antiquity on the territory of the settlement of the Nakhs (Ingush and Chechens). These regions extend from the east from Argun to the Kuban in the west. They reached their peak between the Terek and Argun rivers (the area where the Nakhs lived later).
Towers once existed not only in the mountains of Chechnya, they were built in the foothills (Khankala gorge) and on the plain (northern and eastern borders of Chechnya). However, since the XIV century, since the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, the Chechen towers began to be systematically destroyed. They suffered especially hard during the Caucasian War and during the deportation of Chechens (1944). As a result of the events, hundreds of towers were destroyed.
Architectural monuments of the Middle Ages were badly damaged during the last two wars. Many Chechen towers were destroyed, subjected to fire and severely damaged, and during the bombing, the process of destruction of unique thousand-year-old buildings in mountain gorges accelerated.
Tower Features
In the construction of these structures, more ancient processed stones from the buildings of the X-V centuries BC were often used. On them, the masters tried to preserve the most ancient petroglyphs, and over time they are practically unchanged.were transferred to other new towers.
It was among the Nakhs in the Caucasus that tower architecture reached its highest development. This manifested itself in a special way in the construction of combat towers, which are the pinnacle of architecture of the Middle Ages. These Chechen towers were built in compliance with the proportionality and mirror symmetry of all the details of the building, in unique harmony with the surrounding natural landscape.
Current state
Today, in the mountains of Chechnya, in the region of the upper reaches of the Argun, Fortanga, Sharo-Argun, Gekhi rivers, near lakes Galanchozh and Kezenoy, about 150 settlements with tower buildings, more than 200 military and several hundred residential towers. Dozens of places of worship and more than 100 above-ground crypts have also been preserved.
These historical monuments date back to the XI-XVII century.
Chechen ancestral towers
The skill of building such unique structures was inherited, so the majestic stone structures are a clear result of their ingenious and amazing creativity.
The construction of both combat and residential towers was carried out quite solemnly. The first stone rows were stained with the blood of a sacrificial animal (ram), and the complete construction should have lasted no more than one year. The customer had to feed the master building the tower, because according to Vainakh beliefs, hunger brings misfortune to the house. If suddenly the master fell from the tower from dizziness, then the owner was expelled from the village, accusing him ofgreed.
Chechen beauty
This Chechen tower is one of the oldest in the republic. Derskaya tower in the distant past (XII century) was a military structure. The wooden floors of the tower rotted away, but the tower itself was able to survive to this day. This unique building is a monument of medieval architecture. The height of this building is 23 meters. The upper tier once served as a sentinel point, from where a panoramic view of the mountain gorge opens. Watchmen from the top of the tower transmitted signals - warning and combat.
There is a small village not far from the Derskaya tower. It is an interesting site for tourists who want to know the legends and stories associated with this historical region.
In conclusion
Researchers distinguish three main types of Chechen towers: combat, semi-combat and residential. Each of these surviving unique architectural structures has its own peculiarity and its own interesting history.
In addition, the objects of ancient stone architecture include burial grounds (necropolises) and religious buildings located inside these towers.
