ATABEGS STATE OF AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan experienced a marked flourishing during the 11th and into the beginning of the 13th centuries. Towns began to grow, palaces, mosques, schools and universities were constructed, public libraries, clinics and drugstores were built, fortifications and memorial buildings were erected. Handicraft, science, art and poetry developed. There were an astounding number of creative figures at that time. Among them are the poets Khatib Tabrizi, Nizami Ganjevi, Abul-Ala Ganjevi, Khagani Shirvani, Mekhseti Ganjevi, Mudjir ad-Din Baylakani, Zulfugar Shirvani, Izzaddin Shirvani, the prose writers Abu-Bakr Ganjevi, the philosophers Shahabaddin Abukhafs Sukhravardi, Shahabadin Abulfatukh Sukhravardi, architects Ajami Nakhchivani, Abd-al Mejid ibn Masud, Mahmud ibn Mahsud, Muhammed Zanjani, the composer and musicologist Safiaddin Urmavi, linguist Mahmud Zanjani,astronomers Felaki Shirvani and Fariddin Shirvani, and the scholar physicians Omar Kafiaddin, Jalal ad-Din Tabib, Fahr ad-Din Nakhchivani, Mavlana’s friend and personal physician, Akmal ad-Din Nakhichivani, and many others. How can this phenomenon be explained? What could cause this raise of thought, art and general culture? First of all, evidently, the culture of Northern Azebaijan should not be considered only in terms of the culture of the Caucasus, as well as the culture of its southern part should not be only related to the culture of Iran based on the provided geographic indicators alone. .During the Seljuk times and prior to that, the culture of Northern Azerbaijan, retaining its identity and uniqueness, inclinated toward the culture of the southern part of the country, exposed to the culture of the Middle East and particulary to the Mesopotamian culture, which influence on the culture of the south part of Azerbaijan is evident. .The development of Azerbaijan's northern outskirts was largely impacted by the direction of South Azerbaijan. After Azerbaijan adopted Islam, the influence of the Middle East culture greatly expanded throughout its territory. The establishment of the huge Arabic Caliphate, which Azerbaijan was incorporated into, assistedstrengthening of trade, economic and cultural ties among its regions. It also caused a great burst of architectural activities, handicrafts and science. (coins were issued, and Azerbaijan and Arranwere stamped on some of them as the place of their coinage). Arabic, Persian, Turk and Greek scientific thought were mutually enriched. A great number of translators were engaged in the translation of ancient literatury from Creek and Syrian into Arabic. Arabs penetrated into Iran, Azerbaijan and Central Asia and reciprocity occurred also. Under the rule of the second caliph al Mansur (754-775), 50 percent of the governors in the Caliphate were of Persian or Turkic origin. A real constellation of outstanding Arabic-speaking scientists and writers appeared in Azerbaijan. The Seljuk Turks who in the 11th century asserted themselves as the dominant power in the area were members of a tribal federation called the Oghuz. They were distinguished by their religious tolerance and traditional Turkic democracy. The Seljuk Turks established certain social conditions which assisted the development of knowledge, gathered during the rules of the last three caliphs in Azerbaijan: Under their reign new towns appeared, the existing ones expanded and handicrafts developed. It was the beginning of a new epoch, the key elements of which resemble the period of Renaissance in Europe. The Seljuks' attitude towards science, culture and art as well as a partial restoration of the Great Silk Route played a prominent part in it. First, Seljuks established their capital in Merv, then it was moved to Rey and later to Isfagan. The culture of the Far East was exposed to the interaction of Arabic, Persian and Turkic cultures. When in the 11th century the Oghuz and other Seljuk tribes led by the representatives of the Seljuk family occupied almost the entire territory of the Arabic Caliphate and its capital Baghdad, Arabs lost their secular power, it was now gained by the Seljuk sultan, the religious power however was retained by the Arab caliphs. After the collapse of the Great Seljuks' state which had existed for a relatively short period of time, it was divided into independent sultanates governed by heir-at-law Seljuk princes (maliks). However, after a while, Ata-begs (Father-rulers), the educators of the heir-at-law Seljuk princes, seized power and started to run the sultanates or, rather, new state formations. The sultans were relieved of running their states and commanding the army. Ata-begs gained all the political and administrative power in the sultanates . The Ata-begs’ State of Azerbaijan (the State of Ildegezids) (1136-1225) encompassing a vast territory stretching from the Caucasus Mountains to the Persian Gulf was established on the basis of one of the sultanates- the Iraqi Sultanate. During the reign of Ata-begs a unique, idiosyncratic, bright and innovative Turkic culture was established. Having adopted all the positive features of the Seljuk art, the Ata-begs of Azerbaijan constructed the most splendid monuments of architecture, developed artistic ceramics, and book miniatures; there are no douts that they belong to the Ildegiz school. Nevertheless, strong originally local schools and trends still remained during this period. The Ata-begs’ art school proved to be so strong, that throughout many centuries on the vast territory of the Azerbaijan states of Ilkhans, Garagoyunogly, Aggoyunoglu and partly the Sefevids, the similarity of culture and art still remained. In various times the towns of Shemaha, Baku, Ganja, Nakhchyvan, Maraga, Ardebil, Tabriz, Diarbekir, Sivas, Baghdad, Mosul, Hamadan, Kazvin, Isfahan, Rey, Kashan were part of the territory nowadays shared by the Azerbaijan Republic, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. One can assume that the process of the unification of art and culture throughout the territory started prior to the Ata-begs' rule. Such a stable and sustainable process of culture and art unification proves the fact that the Ildigezids had succeeded in establishing a strong, centralized state consolidating the entirety of Azerbaijan and the neighboring states. During Seljuks and Ildegizids times the Shirvan-Absheron school of architecture was established, the architecture masterpieces of Shemakha, the capital of Shirvan, did not survive. They were wiped out during numerous earthquakes. However in the vicinity of Shemakha and on the Absheron peninsula, particularly in Baku and its suburbia, a great deal of architectural monuments datable to the Seljuk times remained. A line of a fortress wall in Baku has survived to our days. As a recently found building stone indicates, the line of the wall was erected under the reign of Shirvanshah Manuchekhr II (1120-1160) in the 12th century. The first memorial datable to the Shirvan-Absheron architectural school is a minaret of the Muhammad mosque (Synyk Kala) built by the master Muhammad ibn-Abubekr in 1078/79. However, the recently excavated mosque at the bottom of the Maiden Tower is considered to be older. Among the other survived fortifications it is important to mention the Maiden Tower (reconstructed in the 12th century) which is located in the Inner City of Baku (Icheri Shekher), the Mardakyan tower (1232) and the fortification at Baku Bay. (1234-1235). The construction purposes of the structures still raise a lot of disputes among scholars, though on the first sight they appear to be defensive works. All the architectural monuments of the Shirvan-Absheron region are made of a wonderful building material - limestone, which is easily carved. The gracefulness, elegance and durability of the architectural monuments in the region in their most part are due to the characteristics of this stone. One of the most magnificent constructions of this period is the Shamkhor minaret, so called "Shamkhor pillar" about 60 meters in height. The minaret itself didn’t survive, however a considerable number of drawings and detailed descriptions of it made by travelers in the 14-18th centuries have remained to our time. The establishment of Nakhchivan architecture school, sometimes called Nakhchivan-Maraga school, is associated with Ajami Nakhchevani, an outstanding medieval Azerbaijani architect. Ajami Nakhchivany was distinguished among the 12th century architects; it is not by chance that he was called Sheih-ul-mukhandidi (the head of engineers). Ajami lived in Nakhchivan, the capital of the state of Ata-begs of Azerbaijan. At that time the state was governed by the Great Ata-beg Shams ad-Din Il-Deniz and later by his son Nusrat al-Din Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan. Little is known about the life of the great architect; all we have is the silent witnesses of his life – his creations. Probably foreseeing that, the architect inscribed the following words on his most remarkable work - the Mausoleum of Il-Deniz' wife: Our life is transient. The world is eternal. When we leave the world, the world will remain to live. We will pass away but it will remain as a memory. Oh, my Lord, keep the evil eye a long way off. And the memory remained. On the Moslem East there are only a few notable famous architectural complexes. Among them are the Samarkand complex, Isfagan and Taj-Makhal. One can assume that long before the complex were constructed, in one of the ancient towns of the world a majestic ensemble was erected by the design of Adjami Nakhchivani. On a vast territory the sublime Palace of the Ildegezids, Juma Mosque, memorials, a madrasa (University), caravansareis and a number of governmental buildings were erected. Unfortunately, only two mausolea have survived to our days. The avobe-mentioned assumption is proved by the work of an anonymous author of the 13th century, titled The Wonders of the World (Ajaib-adduniya). He writes: Nakhchivan is a town in Azerbaijan, big and crowded, located on a hill and well fortified. A lot of palaces, castles, country estates and fascinating buildings were built there. The town is surrounded by a stone fortress. There is a beautiful madrasa and a mosque in it. They say it is the most crowded town in the world. All the buildings in the town are made of alabaster and kilned brick. Most of the country-houses (koushks) are 3-/4-story buildings and resemble castles. The rural area around the town (savad) is really magnificent. The town has rich supplies of fresh water. The area sinks in gardens and parks. The Araks river flows across the town. During the reign of the August Il-Deniz, Nakhchivan reached its full grandeur. The King's residence (daral-mulk) and governmental buildings (dovletkhana) were constructed there… According to some scientific data , about a quarter of a million people inhabited Nakhchivan at the time of Ajami. The oldest building on the territory, which has remained to our days, is the mausoleum of Yusuf ibn Kuseir (557/1162) better known as Atababa Gumbezi. It is composed of a crypt and a topside tower part constructed in the shape of a marquee of an octagonal pyramid. The outer faces of the mausoleum are decorated with an ornament lined with brick blocks. A decorative, qufic script from Quran passes along the upper part of the tomb. On the left of the entrance the name of the architect Adjemi ibn Abubekr Nachichivanly is inscribed. Another huge and magnificent tomb in Azerbaijan is that of Muminekhatun, better known as Ata-beg Gumbazi. Mumine-khatun was the first wife of Shams ad-din Il-Deniz. Her contribution to the establishment and strengthening of the state of Ata-begs of Azerbaijan was immense. Mumine-khatun passed away in 1175. Il-Deniz died soon after her, so the construction of the mausoleum was completed under the reign of her son, Jahan Pahlavan. The mausoleum is also composed of a crypt and a topside memorial part. The cross-section of the topside part resembles a decahedron. All of the ten faces, except the front side are equal in size and alterated with shell-head decorated niches. A frieze with a decorative qufic script from Quran goes along the upper part of the mausoleum. The script which is almost one meter in height is lined with glazed bricks and serves as the main embellishment of the tomb. Despite its height and monumentality, the mausoleum is well-proportioned and graceful, which emphasizes its relevance to a woman. Because the creation of living beings- - humans and animals is considered to be in the realm of God, Islam discourages artists from depicting such figures through art. Due to the interdiction imposed by Islam on sculptural portraying of various living beings, the tower-like tombs in the East filled the role of tombstone sculptural monuments in Western Europe. They were designed for preserving the memory of a person buried and their beauty and expressiveness helped attain this objective. The third construction on the territory is a portal with two minarets which was part of some immense building. The building was pulled down in the 19th century, however drawings and descriptions of it have remained. Before its demolition, an inscription was read over: "This is a work of the architect Adjami inb Abubekr Nakhichivani". The portal was built in 1187, a year after the construction of the Mumine-khatyn tomb was completed. Scholars assert that the composition consisting of two minarets and a portal was for the first time introduced by Adjami. Later, it was frequently used in the construction of many Islamic monuments. The huge Juma Mosque is another work of the great Adjami. The French travelers Tavernue and Delafrua left behind its description and sketches. In the mid 19th century in the Kavkaz newspaper Engelgart wrote about this majestic mosque: It is a big building with arches made of finished ashlar blocks. The traces of splendid relief carvings are still found on its walls. Part of the building has already collapsed , and the remaining part is under the danger of destruction. The gates with a pair of minarets 20 sazhen in height, incorporated into the mosque complex are 50 sazhens from the mosque. Before numerous structures were located on the territory between the mosque and the gates, now they are gone, and the gates seem to belong to a lonely tower standing by its own not far away from the mosque. It is considered that the huge Juma Mosque by its design and appearance resembles the mosque at the village of Kirma, Nakhchivan, which has survived to our time. It may well be that the territory between the mosque and the gates was occupied by a madrasa or a caravansary, which were usually constructed on the territory of mosque complexes. Most madrasas were supported from private funds and adjoining mausolea to the founders of the schools were frequently built on their territories. Throughout many centuries, Adjami's creative work was a source of inspiration and imitation for many Azerbaijani and foreign architects. The towns of Maraga, Urmia, Tebriz , etc were exposed to the impact of the Nakhichivan architectural school. The tomb of Gunbad-ye Kabud is sometimes considered to be an imitation of the Mumine-khatun tomb. The former was built in Marga in 1196 ten years after the construction of the Mumine-khaun mausoleum.The Sheih Shibli tomb in Demabend (the 12th century) is very similar to it as well. The Gumbad-ye-Surkh tomb built in Miraga in 1147 resembles the cubic tombs of Central Asia. The Sheih-Khorasan mausoleum (the late 12th century - the early 13th century) in the village of Khanega situated at the Alindja river in the Nakhichivan Republic can be attributed to the Nakhichivan school as well. The attention of researchers is drawn to a panel of stucco artistic carving framing the tomb entrance. The shape and building materials of the Gulistan mausoleum at the village of Juga (the early 13th century) differ from those of other known mausolea. While the main building material of all octagonal tower-like tombs built by Nakhichivan architects was brick, the Gulistan tomb was entirely made of red sandstone. The names of a whole number of architects belonging to the Maraga-Nakhchivan school are well known. Apart from Adjami Nakhchivani, Bekr Muhammad (the Gyrmyzy Gunbez tomb), Akhmed Muhammad (the tomb of Gey Gumbez), Khasan ibn Firuz Maragai (Divrigi mosque), Amir ad-Din Nakhchivani, Jamal ad-Din Nakhichivani and Akhmed ibn Eyub Nakhchivani (Barda tomb), Abu Mansur ibn Musa Urmavi (the Uch Gumbaz tomb) and many others are among them. The cylindrical tombs widely spread in the State of Atabegs of Azerbaijan resemble the Segundbad tomb built by the above-mentioned Abu Mansur ibn Musa in 1184 on the shore of the Urmia lake. The central towns of the State of Ata-begs of Azerbaijan - Hamadan and Kazwin – just like Nakhchivan were famous for their highly artistic, monumental and metropolitan architecture. According to certain historical data, there were numerous palaces, mosques, madrasas and the Ata-begs family tomb in Hamadan. The mosques of Gunbadi Heidariye and Gunbadi Humartash (1106-1114) in Qazwin, Gunbadi Alaviya in Hamadan, a mosque in Sudjas and a group of tower-like tombs, have survived to our days. The name of Imam Jamaladdin Kazwini, an outstanding architect of this school has also remained. The facades of buildings in Shirvan were decorated with artistic stone carving, and patterned glazed bricks, frequently turquoise bricks were used to decorate the southern side of the buildings. Tombs in Nakhichivan were covered with finished ashlar blocks. It is notable that some monuments related to the Nakhchivan architectural school were also covered with similar ashlar blocks, for example the Pir Alaviya tomb in Hamadan, built in the 12th century. Many beautiful bridges built by Ata-begs in Nakhichivan - Ardebil, Maraga, Mijan, the most famous of which are the Hudapheri bridges across the Araks river, the bridge across Sefid-Kud, have a lot of similarities in terms of their technical and architectural solutions. The earliest preserved miniatures related to the famous Azerbaijan school of book miniatures date back to the 12th –13th centuries. All of them have stylistic resemblance, and to a certain degree they are similar to Indegezid ceramics paintings . For example,the miniatures from the manuscripts of Kitab al-agany (Book of Songs), painted in Mosul in the early 13th century, Kitab al-Tiryak (Book of Antidotes) of the late 12th century, and Varga and Gulshah painted in Khoy in the 13th century. The latter was written on 70 pages and decorated by artist Abd al-Mumin ibn Muhammad al Khoyi with 71 miniatures. The miniatures of the Ildegizid school are distinguished by their Turk"moonfaced" people painted in a similar manner intrinsic only to the above-mentioned school Artists decorating ceramics and metalworks in many respects tried to imitate miniatures. Perhaps, miniaturists themselves were invited for these purposes. Like in miniatures, the Oghuzes' roundish squinty narrow eyed faces with prominent cheek-bones are depicted here. Men were sometimes pictured with small moustaches and beards while women were pictured with their hair plaited in four braids. Their poses were similar, the absence of landscape background, the elements in iconography are quite common. The heads of the personages portrayed in the miniatures are often surrounded by a halo. Certain plumpness of portrayed women is a typical future of the miniatures. Thus, the assertion that the Ildegezid roundish faces are a result of a fashion trend of the time, or the influence of the image of Buddha, worshiped by some Seljuks, does not seem to be correct. Most probably, it can be explained by the fact that a great deal of the masters were ethnic Turks, thus they portrayed images dear to them. In addition to that, the Seljuks may have brought back with them the patterns of Chinese or, rather, Uygur paintings. They may have captured some Chinese or Uygur artists, who later trained the local masters. As centuries passed by, the images of lovely Turk women considered to be the ideal of beauty in the classic poetry of the New East continued "to live" not only in book miniatures but also in monumental painting. However, the idiosyncratic Ildegizid iconography disappeared. The manuscript by Tabari of Comments on Quran, re-written in Azerbaijan in 1210-1225 is one of the earliest artistically decorated theological books. After the Seljuks came to the Near East and Caucasus, an unusual, revolutionary rise in artistic ceramics production occurred in all the countries of the region. New manufacturing techniques, new motifs and artistic designs appeared. People became very interested in highly glazed delft ware and tiles, such interest had never been observed before. Tiles for the first time were widely used in decorating palaces, worship buildings and memorial constructions. The State of Ata-begs of Azerbaijan was not an exception to the rule. Within the state arose ceramics manufacturing centers of very high artistic quality that were never seen before or after this time. Ceramic ware dating back to the period of Azerbaijan Ata-begs reign are still considered of high value and quality in the world's best museums and private collections. The best faience was produced in the towns of Rey, Kashane, Beilakane (Oren-gala), Sultanabad, Tebriz and Sava. At that time, glazed pottery was most widely spread. Glaze is a thin coating of colored, transparent or opaque material applied to ceramics before firing and then hardened by burning. There was a rush on greenish turquoise (blue) as well as cobalt (from blue to tin color) and white glazes. Artistic, monochrome or polychrome, painting of earthenware was applied either under glaze or over it. Ceramic ware was usually painted with geometric patterns, stylized floral patterns, vegetal ornaments or botanical drawings as well as decorated with imagery of living beings - humans and animals. In the north of Nakhchivan, Beilakan (Oren-gala), Gabala, Ganja, Mingechevir and Baku, red crockery coated with slip glaze was manufactured in great quantities. Slip glaze was applied to the ceramics. Development of this kind of ceramics occurred during the State of Atabeks of Azerbaijan. When the Mongols came, a decline in this art started. At the same time, the master-branded household ceramic ware were frequently encountered in these towns. Archeologists succeeded in uncovering 19 names of experts in glazing earthenware. The following names of masters were indicated on the slip glazed pottery : Hattab, Seidali, Nasir, Ali, Hassan, etc. The inscriptions encountered also indicate the place of birth of the master, for example, it is made by Fadlun in Al-Bailakan. Pottery kilns and moulds for shaping moist clay to be hardened by heat were found here. Good wishes in terms of verses and catch-phrases devoted to a proposed purchaser of pottery can be frequently spotted on red crockery and delft ware decorated with slip glaze. Due to the lack of needed clay, delft ware was produced in comparatively small amounts in the northern part of Azerbaijan and Shirvan. The vessels made in the shapes of birds, animals and humans were also covered with glaze. Under Atabegs' rule, slip glazed ceramic ware with incised drawings (sgraffito) extended to the north of Azerbaijan. Sgraffito sometimes similar to metal engravings, reveals a different color beneath by incising glazing at different levels beneath the surface and revealing the various colors of different levels. A small settlement of Aghand in the south near Tebriz was the center where this latter method was used. In the late 12th century and in the early 13th century luster (pigment) painting started to be applied to the surface of glazed ceramics. After burning it gave a golden metallic color or pearl sheen of various colors. Though luster was earlier known in the Near East and Iran, it got widely spread only under the Ildegizids rule. Luster was used for monochrome painting of dishes, vases, various vessels as well as tiles designed for the decoration of palaces, shrines and memorial constructions. By the late 12th century ware decorated in a style of miniatures with imagery of brass men, hunters, persons going on a spree or vegetal ornaments appeared. Ceramic ware of the two kinds were found in Oren Kale (Beilakane). The paintings dated back to the years are attractive because of their expressive compositions - one or numerous figures including imagery of hunters, animals or floral patterns. Specificity of the compositions was conditioned by the shapes of vessels. A lot of magnificent lusterware of the two types which were designed for various purposes were found during excavations of the medieval Bailakan (Oren-Kala) in the north of Azerbaijan. A big, deep luster dish with a diameter of about 50 cm decorated with many figured composition depicts the reception of a high ranking Seljuk ruler. This fills the entire surface of the dish. The ruler is positioned in the center of the composition and is surrounded by his 34 court narrow. The people’s heads are surrounded by halos. The entire composition is onlined by a calligraphic inscription. Two cheetahs lie at the ruler's feet. Apart from luster under the Ildegizids rule a technique of polychrome painting of ceramics - minai - was widely used. Unlike luster, minai can be applied to polychrome - multicolored painting by enamel paints. With minai technique, dyes were applied to a surface, blazed and burnt at very high temperatures. Then the ware was blazed in a kiln at a lower temperature. The advantage of the method was that it enabled them to use a wide variety of paints, which did not withstand the initial burning (blazing). Keeping the same themes and compositions of the luster technique, minai had an advantage over the oil method at the expense of bright and pure colors of paining. The ceramics were considered to be the most luxurious and expensive. Relating to composition and style of painting the miniatures from the above-mentioned manuscript by Varga and Gulshah dated back to the 13th century are very similar to this kind of miniatures. By the late 12th century with the development of minai, lusterware became rarely encountered. A distinct peculiarity of ceramics, which appeared at the time of Azeri atabeks is active replacement of graphic and botanic ornaments accepted in the Islamic world. They were close to a miniature with their pictorial scenes involving many living beings. In the 14th century such ceramics were excluded by ornamented ceramics . It is obvious that in Atabegs' court there was a tradition to order large sets of dishes of famous masters. For example, the American scientist Richard Ettinhausen thinks that a mold used for making a luster dish dated December 1210 and painting a scene with a sleeping bridegroom and his vision of five beauties riding a piebald was then used to decorate a number of other luster dishes, which are likely to be included in a set of dishes ordered by one of the Azeri Atabegs dynasty in Tebriz. The Meschedi-Jami mosque built in Kazwin in 1131 is the earliest shrine, in which a feeble attempt was made to use turquoise tiles in the mosque interior for decorative purposes. Tiles were much employed when the mausolea of Gunbad-i-Surkh and Gunbad-i-Kabud in Maraga was being built. The blazed and pure bricks form a harmonic ornamentation. A star-like tile with four sitting figures, dated 1203, is the earliest of excavated objects. It shows that such ware was already made by the late 12th century. According to some data ceramics and tiles in Kashan were produced almost without interruptions from 1200 to 1330. A mikhrab used in the mosque of Masjid-i Maidan short in Kashan after a fall of the Ildegizids dynasty and signed by Al-Hasan ibn - Arabshah and dated 1226 is the most significant piece of work made from lustertiles. As can be expected, the production of artistic metal ware reached high levels in the 12th–13th centures. Metal ware, especially weapons, were made at that time in all large towns of the country. Nakhchivan, Khamadan, Rey, Gandja, Tebriz, Shemakha and Baku are famous for their metal ware. Numerous artifacts of that time, signed ware and archeological finds, now scattered in museums throughout the world, are indicative of this. Artistic copper lamps (chyrags) and chandeliers, two silver bracelets found in Shemakha with an inscription Of Glory and Happiness, bronze figures of birds found in Oren-Kala and faded bronze boiler Shirvan (Mahmud ibn Abu-Bekr, copper-smith, Sanct-Petersburg, Hermitage) refer to the latter. Bronze vessels from the collection of P.Morgan, New York, and a water-carrier stored in Louvre and made by Osman ibn Suleiman an Nakhcivani in 1190, the Shirvan bronze water-carrier (Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Kasim, 1206) refer to the Nakhchivan school. A whole number of jugs, bowls, candelabras, dishes, water boilers, penals made of metal in various towns of the country refer to the same school. They are decorated with geometric and vegetal ornaments (arabesques) and imageries of people, animals and birds made in such a manner similar to the style represented on the ceramic ware and miniatures. Like ceramics and miniatures, the influence of the Arabian-Mesopotamian school also can be notified here. Metal ware was decorated with engraving and inlaid bronze with red copper, silver or more rarely gold. Iraq and particularly the town of Mosul situated at the border with the State of Atabeks of Azerbaijan and under its vassal subordination was always considered to be a center of inlaid metallic vessels. However, by the early 13th century, the method had already been assimilated in many regions of the country and even extended beyond its borders and now one does not always succeed in determining the place of their manufacture. Few memorials of monumental art dated from the 12th-13th centuries of the State of Atabeks of Azerbaijan have survived to our time. A statue and head of the Atabek warrior made in the manner of a relief in the stucco fashion. During excavation works in Rey, a lot of fragments of humans' faces, figures of birds and animals made using this technique were found. Stucco large-scale multi-figured wall reliefs, or rather, their fragments are stored in various museums of the world. It was a widely accepted tradition to color the figures and reliefs.
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Chingiz Qajar
Re: Discussion: The Atabeg of Azerbaijan
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ers uzbekis on the other hand.. 
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Originally Posted by Faris ad Din
Feels like win.
