In the mountains of Nakhchivan the walls of some ancient fortresses are built of such huge, undressed stones that later generations believed only giants could have raised them. Scholars call such buildings cyclopean structures, after the one-eyed giants of Greek legend. But in a primitive community where everyone was equal, who built such fortresses, why, and against whom?
Early Bronze: the Kura–Araxes culture, the ard and irrigation
After the Eneolithic (see The Neolithic revolution and the Eneolithic (Copper Age)) the Bronze Age began in Azerbaijan. Bronze is an alloy made by adding tin (sometimes arsenic) to copper; it is much harder than copper. Axes, daggers, spear- and arrowheads, sickles and ornaments were cast in bronze. The Bronze Age has three stages: the Early Bronze (second half of the 4th – end of the 3rd millennium BC), the Middle Bronze (end of the 3rd – middle of the 2nd millennium BC) and the Late Bronze – Early Iron (second half of the 2nd – beginning of the 1st millennium BC).
In the Early Bronze Age the Kura–Araxes culture arose, named after the two great rivers. It covered the whole South Caucasus and spread as far as eastern Anatolia and north-western Iran. Its hallmarks are round houses, black burnished pottery and horseshoe-shaped hearth stands. Its main sites in Azerbaijan are Sarkartepe in Khachmaz, Kultepe in Nakhchivan, Babadervish in Gazakh and Mingachevir.
The period brought two great changes to the economy. First, artificial irrigation appeared: by digging channels people made even dry plains fit for crops. Second, the soil began to be ploughed with a wooden ard pulled by oxen. Ploughing was heavy men’s work, and men also herded the flocks. So men’s role in the economy and the family grew, and matriarchy gave way to patriarchy.
PatriarchyDefinition
A social order in which men lead in the economy, the family and the community, and kinship is traced through the father.
Middle Bronze: the first proto-urban settlements
In the Middle Bronze Age the painted-pottery culture spread in Nakhchivan, Karabakh and the Urmia basin: clay pots were decorated with paints of several colours. Crafts — metalworking and pottery — split off from farming and became separate trades. Herders drove their flocks to mountain pastures in summer (yaylaq) and down to the plains in winter (qishlaq); mobile herding expanded.
In this period the first proto-urban settlements arose: Uzerliktepe near Aghdam, Kultepe II in Nakhchivan and Goytepe near Lake Urmia. They were larger than ordinary villages, and some were ringed by defensive walls. The dead began to be buried under mounds of earth and stone — kurgans (barrows). Some kurgans hold rich burials with weapons and ornaments, while ordinary graves hold one or two clay pots: property inequality was already visible.
Late Bronze and Early Iron: barrows, fortresses, iron
In the second half of the 2nd and the early 1st millennium BC several local cultures existed in Azerbaijan: Khojaly–Gadabay in the central and western regions, Talish–Mughan in the south-east and the Nakhchivan culture in Nakhchivan. Many bronze weapons were made — daggers, swords, spears, battle-axes. In one of the Khojaly barrows an agate bead was found bearing, in cuneiform, the name of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari — evidence of links with Mesopotamia.
As clashes between tribes grew, cyclopean structures — fortresses of huge undressed stones laid without mortar — rose on mountain tops. Oghlangala and Chalkhangala in Nakhchivan are such fortresses. Only chiefs able to put many people to work could organise such building.
In this period iron appeared, and in the 1st millennium BC iron tools spread widely. Iron ore is found in many more places than copper and tin, and iron tools were both hard and cheap. Iron axes cleared forests, ards with iron tips broke new land, and harvests grew. Iron weapons, in turn, made wars larger.
The decline of the primitive community
As labour became more productive, a single family could live without the help of the community. The patriarchal family became the basic economic unit; cattle and tools became the private property of families. Rich and poor families appeared — property inequality deepened.
Tribal chiefs, priests and war leaders grew rich and became a tribal nobility; their power gradually became hereditary. Wars for wealth and pastures multiplied, and captives began to be turned into slaves. Neighbouring tribes joined in tribal unions for defence and raids. Thus the community based on kinship and equality broke down, and the first states arose in its place.
The process did not run at the same time everywhere. In southern Azerbaijan, close to Mesopotamia, the first states arose as early as the 3rd millennium BC, while in the north the primitive community broke up in the second half of the 2nd and the early 1st millennium BC. Continued in «Tribal unions and early states: Aratta, Lullubum, Kutium».
| Stage | Time | Firsts / main innovations | Culture and sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bronze | second half of the 4th – end of the 3rd millennium BC | bronze tools, irrigation, the ox-drawn ard, patriarchy | Kura–Araxes: Sarkartepe (Khachmaz), Kultepe, Babadervish, Mingachevir |
| Middle Bronze | end of the 3rd – middle of the 2nd millennium BC | proto-urban settlements, crafts split off, summer–winter pasture herding, rich kurgans | Painted pottery: Uzerliktepe (Aghdam), Kultepe II (Nakhchivan), Goytepe (Urmia) |
| Late Bronze – Early Iron | second half of the 2nd – beginning of the 1st millennium BC | first iron objects, cyclopean fortresses, tribal unions, break-up of the primitive community | Khojaly–Gadabay, Talish–Mughan, Nakhchivan; Khojaly barrows, Oghlangala, Chalkhangala |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| Bronze and iron tools | Labour became more productive; surplus appeared |
| Men’s labour in ploughing and herding | Patriarchy, the patriarchal family |
| Irrigation | Dry plains turned into farmland |
| Herds and tools gathered in family hands | Private property, property inequality |
| Wars for wealth and pastures | Cyclopean fortresses, tribal unions, slave labour |
| The tribal nobility grows strong | Power became hereditary; the way to the first states opened |
| Feature | Early Bronze | Late Bronze – Early Iron |
|---|---|---|
| Metal | bronze | bronze and the first iron |
| Settlements | villages of round houses | cyclopean fortresses in the mountains |
| Burials | rich burials still rare | rich kurgans with weapons and ornaments |
| Society | patriarchy emerges | property inequality, tribal nobility, tribal unions |
| Culture | Kura–Araxes | Khojaly–Gadabay, Talish–Mughan, Nakhchivan |
- 4th millennium BC (second half)
The Kura–Araxes culture arises; the first bronze tools
- 4th–3rd millennia BC
Irrigation and ploughing with the ard; patriarchy arises
- 3rd millennium BC
The first states in southern Azerbaijan
- late 3rd – mid 2nd millennium BC
Middle Bronze: painted pottery and proto-urban settlements
- late 2nd – early 1st millennium BC
The Khojaly–Gadabay culture, barrows and cyclopean fortresses
- late 2nd millennium BC
The first iron objects
- 1st millennium BC
Iron tools spread; the primitive community breaks up
- 9th century BC
The Mannaean kingdom arises in the Urmia basin
- 1946
Archaeological excavations begin at Mingachevir
Interactive
In Karabakh, on the plain near the village, there are dozens of barrows. The largest are covered by mounds heaped up of stone and earth. Under one of them a warrior was buried with a bronze dagger, a battle-axe, arrowheads, bronze bracelets and agate beads. On one of the beads the name of an Assyrian king can be read, written in cuneiform.
In the small barrows and ordinary graves, however, the dead usually have only one or two clay pots beside them.
Source tasks
Problem
1) Which site does the text describe? State its period and archaeological culture.
2) Explain one economic and one social reason for the difference between the great barrow and the ordinary graves.
3) Give two consequences of the changes described that are not stated in the text.
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Solution
2) Economic: surplus produce, herds and metal objects gathered as the private property of separate families. Social: a tribal nobility and war leaders rose, and their power became hereditary. Marks: two reasons explained — 1; one — ½.
3) Consequences: tribal unions formed; wars multiplied and captives became slaves; cyclopean fortresses were built; the primitive community broke up, opening the way to the first states. Marks: two correct consequences — 1; one — ½.
Exam task: features of a period (combination)
Problem
Which are characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age?
1. the rise of proto-urban settlements
2. the appearance of the first copper tools
3. crafts becoming a separate trade
4. the wide spread of iron tools
5. the spread of painted pottery
A) 1, 2, 4 B) 1, 3, 5 C) 2, 3, 5 D) 3, 4, 5 E) 1, 4, 5
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Solution
Step 2: every option containing 2 or 4 drops out: A, C, D, E.
Step 3: the remaining 1, 3, 5 are the key words of the Middle Bronze Age — towns, crafts, painted pottery.
Answer: B (1, 3, 5).
Exam task: matching
Problem
Match the sites with the periods:
1. Sarkartepe
2. Uzerliktepe
3. Khojaly barrows
4. Leylatepe
a. Eneolithic
b. Early Bronze
c. Middle Bronze
d. Late Bronze – Early Iron
e. Mesolithic
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Solution
Step 2: Aghdam has two sites: Uzerliktepe, a proto-urban settlement — Middle Bronze (c); Leylatepe — Eneolithic (a).
Step 3: the Khojaly barrows — Late Bronze – Early Iron (d); «e» is extra.
Answer: 1-b, 2-c, 3-d, 4-a.
Remember
- Bronze is copper alloyed with tin (sometimes arsenic); the Bronze Age is divided into the Early, Middle and Late Bronze – Early Iron stages.
- Early Bronze: the Kura–Araxes culture (Sarkartepe, Kultepe, Babadervish, Mingachevir), irrigation, the ox-drawn ard, patriarchy.
- Middle Bronze: painted pottery, crafts as a separate trade and proto-urban settlements — Uzerliktepe, Kultepe II, Goytepe (Urmia).
- Late Bronze – Early Iron: the Khojaly–Gadabay, Talish–Mughan and Nakhchivan cultures, barrows, cyclopean fortresses (Oghlangala, Chalkhangala), the first iron.
- Iron spread widely in the 1st millennium BC: forests were cleared, farmland grew and wars became larger.
- The patriarchal family, private property, property inequality, the tribal nobility and tribal unions broke up the primitive community and opened the way to the first states.