- Balanjar
Balanjar ("Baranjar", "Belenjer", "Belendzher") was a medieval city located in the
North Caucasus region, between the cities ofDerbent and Samandar, probably on the lowerSulak River . It flourished from the seventh to the tenth centuries CE. The legendary founder of Balanjar, according to theArab chroniclersIbn al-Faqih andAbu al-Fida , was named Balanjar ibn Japheth.In the
630s CE Balanjar was a capital of the Baranjar state. Some scholars speculate that the name derives from the Turkic root "Bala" or "Great", and the clan-name "Endzhar". With the rest of the Baranjar domains the city became part of theKhazar Khaganate around 650; until the early720s , Balanjar served as the capital of Khazaria. During the firstArab -Khazar war in the 650's, aMuslim army underAbd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah was defeated outside the town (seeBattle of Balanjar ).Around
722 or723 ,Umayyad soldiers underal-Djarrah ibn Abdullah crossed the Caucasus Mountains and attacked Balanjar. The inhabitants of Balanjar tried to defend their town by fastening 3,000wagon s together and circling them around the keyfortress on high terrain, but were defeated in the attack. The Arabs massacred much of the town's population; survivors fled to other towns, including Samandar. The victorious Arab army stole muchbooty and the soldiers received large sums of money.The city was rebuilt after the war, but the capital of Khazaria was thereafter moved to Samandar and later to
Atil . Nevertheless, Balanjar continued to be a city of great importance within the Khaganate. After the fall of Khazaria Balanjar lost much of its importance and declined steadily until it vanished from the record around 1100.The exact location of Balanjar has not yet been established precisely. Soviet archeologist
Mikhail Artamonov initially placed Balanjar on the site of the modernDaghestan i city ofBuynaksk , but when later the ruins of a town to the south ofMakhachkala were found, he idenitified them as being those of Balanjar.References
* Dunlop, Douglas Morton (1997). "Balanjar". "
Encyclopedia Judaica " (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed.Cecil Roth . Keter Publishing House. ISBN 965-07-0665-8
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