10 Manat 2018, Azerbaijan
| in Krause book | Number: 33 |
| Years of issue: | 2018 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Governor of Azerbaijan Central Bank: Elman Rustamov (In office 13 January 1995 - 12 April 2022) |
| Serie: | 2018 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 2005 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 134 x 70 |
| Printer: | Oesterreichische Banknoten und Sicherheitsdruck, Wien |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Coat of arms of Azerbaijan and denomination 10.
The state emblem of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan gerbi) mixes traditional and modern symbols. The focal point of the emblem is a stylized flame. The flame is in the shape of the word "Allah" written in Arabic (ﷲ) to represent the country's majority-Muslim population. As well as a reference to Azerbaijan's eternal natural oil-gas resources, which has given it the nickname "land of eternal fire".
The emblem is supported by a crossed stalk of wheat and an oak bough. Wheat is the symbol of abundance in Azerbaijan. Also, wheat bread is the main staple food. The oak tree is the symbol of power and youth in time. 
Avers:
Topic - history.
In the foreground are Old Baku, the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower against a background of the Icheri Sheher wall.
Centered is a view from the top on Old Baku - Icheri Sheher.
Old City or Inner City (Azerbaijani: İçərişəhər) is the historical core of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The Old City is the most ancient part of Baku, which is surrounded by walls. In 2007, the Old City had a population of about 3000 people. In December 2000, the Old City of Baku, including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower, became the first location in Azerbaijan to be classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is widely accepted that the Old City, including its Maiden Tower, date at least to the XII century, with some researchers contending that construction dates as far back as the 7th century. The question has not been completely settled.
During this medieval period of Baku, such monuments as the Synyg Gala Minaret (XI century), the fortress walls and towers (XI–XII centuries), the Maiden Tower, the Multani Caravanserai and Hajji Gayyib bathhouse (XV century), the Palace of the Shirvanshahs (XV–XVI centuries), the Bukhara Caravanserai and Gasimbey bathhouse (XVI century) were built.
In 1806, when Baku was occupied by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Persian War (1804-13), there were 500 households and 707 shops, and a population of 7,000 in the Old City (then the only neighbourhood of Baku) whom were almost all ethnic Tats. Between 1807 and 1811, the city walls were repaired and the fortifications extended. The city had two gates: the Salyan Gates and the Shemakha Gates. The city was protected by dozens of cannons set on the walls. The port was re-opened for trade, and in 1809 a customs office was established.
It was during this period that Baku started to extend beyond the city walls, and new neighbourhoods emerged. Thus the terms Inner City (Azerbaijani: İçəri Şəhər) and Outer City (Azerbaijani: Bayır Şəhər) came into use. Referring to the early Russian rule, Bakuvian actor Huseyngulu Sarabski wrote in his memoirs:
"Baku was divided into two sections: Ichari Shahar and Bayir Shahar. Inner City was the main part. Those who lived in the Inner City were considered natives of Baku. They were in close proximity to everything: the bazaar, craftsmen's workshops and mosques. There was even a church there, as well as a military barracks built during the Russian occupation. Residents who lived inside the walls considered themselves to be superior to those outside and often referred to them as the "barefooted people of the Outer City".
With the arrival of Russians, the traditional architectural look of the Old City changed. Many European buildings were constructed during the 19th century and early XX century, using styles such as Baroque and Gothic.
In 1865, a part of the city walls overlooking the sea was demolished, and the stones were sold and used in the building of the Outer city. The money obtained from this sale (44,000 rubles) went into the construction of the Baku Boulevard. In 1867, the first fountains of Baku appeared in the Boulevard.
In this period two more gates were opened, one of them being famous Taghiyev Gate (1877). The opening of new gates and passes continued well into the Soviet period.
The church mentioned by Huseyngulu Sarabski was the Armenian Church of the Holy Virgin, built under Persian rule between 1797 and 1799 in the shadow of the Maiden Tower, defunct since 1984 and demolished in 1992.
Inside of Icheri Sheher The Palace of the Shirvanshahs can be seen.
The Palace of the Shirvanshahs (Azerbaijani: Şirvanşahlar Sarayı, Persian: کاخ شروانشاهان) is a XV-century palace built by the Shirvanshahs and described by UNESCO as "one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture". It is located in the Inner City of Baku, Azerbaijan and, together with the Maiden Tower, forms an ensemble of historic monuments inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments. The complex contains the main building of the palace, Divanhane, the burial-vaults, the shah's mosque with a minaret, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's mausoleum (the so-called "mausoleum of the dervish"), south of the palace, a portal in the east, Murad's gate, a reservoir and the remnants of a bath house. Earlier, there was an ancient mosque, next to the mausoleum. There are still ruins of the bath to the west of the tomb.
In the past, the palace was surrounded by a wall with towers and, thus, served as the inner stronghold of the Baku fortress. Despite the fact that at the present time no traces of this wall have survived on the surface, as early as the 1920s, the remains of apparently the foundations of the tower and the part of the wall connected with it could be distinguished in the north-eastern side of the palace.
There are no inscriptions that survived on the palace itself. Therefore, the time of its construction is determined by the dates in the inscriptions on the architectural monuments, which refer to the complex of the palace. Such two inscriptions were completely preserved only on the tomb and minaret of the Shah's mosque. There is the name of the ruler who ordered to establish these buildings in both inscriptions is the – Shirvan Khalil I (r. 1417–1462). As time of construction – 839 (1435/36) was marked on the tomb, 845 (1441/42) on the minaret of the Shah's mosque.
The burial vault, the palace and the mosque are built of the same material, the grating and masonry of the stone are the same.
The complex used to occupy more area. There were rooms for court servants and services.
The main buildings of the ensemble were built at different times. Despite this fact, these buildings are linked by unity of scale, by rhythm and proportionality of the basic architectural forms – cubic volumes of buildings, domes, portraits. The builders of the ensemble relied on the traditions of the Shirvan-Absheron architectural school.
In 1964, the palace complex was declared a museum-preserve and taken under the protection of the state. In 2000, this ensemble, along with the fortified walls of the historic part of the city and the Maiden Tower, was named a World Heritage Site.
The palace is depicted on the obverse of the Azerbaijani 10,000 manat banknote of 1994-2006 and of the 10 new manat banknote issued since 2006.
At the bottom, right of center and left of Icheri Sheher is The Maiden Tower.
The Maiden Tower (Azerbaijani: Qız qalası; Persian: قلعه دختر) is a XII-century monument in the Old City, Baku, Azerbaijan. Along with the Shirvanshahs' Palace, dated to the XV century, it forms a group of historic monuments listed in 2001 under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property, Category III. It is one of Azerbaijan's most distinctive national emblems, and is thus featured on Azerbaijani currency notes and official letterheads.
The Maiden Tower houses a museum, which presents the story of the historic evolution of Baku city. It also has a gift shop. The view from the roof takes in the alleys and minarets of the Old City, the Baku Boulevard, the house of Isa bek Hajinski and a wide vista of the Baku Bay.
The Tower is covered by cloud of mysteries and legends which are rooted to the history and culture of Azerbaijan. Indeed, some epics became a subject for scenario for ballets and theatre's plays. The Maiden Tower (ballet) is a world-class Azerbaijani ballet created by Afrasiyab Badalbeyli in 1940 and ballet's remake was performed in 1999.
Consequent to the receding of the sea shoreline of the Caspian Sea, a strip of land emerged. This land was developed between the 9th and 15th centuries, when the walls of the old city, the palace including the huge bastion of the Maiden Tower were built.
The tower has been described as the "most majestic and mysterious monument of Baku, the Gyz Galasy", built on solid rock foundation, demonstrates right on the coast line, a fusion of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman influences. It was constructed alongside a natural oil well. It is a cylindrical eight story structure that rises to a height of 29.5 meters with a base diameter of 16.5 meters. The internal space available in the tower is said to be adequate to accommodate 200 people. A long solid projection to the main tower faces east, which is oriented towards sunrise pointing to the equinoxes, which has led to the conclusion that it was built as an astronomical tower; while the buttress faces east, the door access to the tower faces southeast. Each floor of the tower has a shallow vaulted roof, "a stone cupola" that has a central opening. The thickness of the walls varies from 5 meters at the base tapering cylindrically to 3.2-4.2 meters at the top floors. All floors are connected by staircase which abuts the circular wall and are lighted by narrow windows or niches which flare inward. The structure built in stone masonry exhibits varying finished surfaces, which is inlaid with local grey limestone. The alternate courses of stone laid in gypsum plaster gives a black and white banded effect. The northwestern part of the tower retains the original surface finish. There is also a beak-like projection, a buttress, curved in shape, made in masonry. The earliest stonework has square corners.
A detailed examination of the construction features of the tower by archaeologists suggests that the stone masonry, both on its interior and exterior surfaces, is diamond-shaped and is seen at the top as well as at the bottom of the tower wall. The diamond-shaped cut seen as a decorative feature, particularly on the outer face of the west side wall, is ornate at the top and plain at the bottom of the wall; a subtle feature noted throughout the tower suggests that it was built as one monolith unit at one period. However, the recent renovations are stated to be crude.
Also, in the background, are The Ornaments of regional carpets.
10 Manat 2018 in UV.
Revers:
Stylized map of Azerbaijan. Below is a map of Europe, which symbolizes the integration of Azerbaijan with Europe.
In the background are patterns from old Azerbaijani carpets. In my opinion, the banknote shows patterns from Shirvan carpets.
The Shirvan carpet weaving school is one of the Azerbaijani carpet weaving schools. The school covers the territory of Shirvan and nearby regions, especially Shamakhi, Maraz, Agsu, Kurdamir, Goychay. The school includes 25 compositions, which also includes Salyan carpets.
The compositions of the carpets of the Shirvan school include the carpets of Shahnazarli, Lyadzhadi, Shirvan, Kabystan, Shamakhi, Israfil, Arjiman, Maraza, Nabur, Chukhanly, Jayirli, Jamjamli, Bijo, Gashad, Pirgasanly, Kurdemir, Shilyan, Sor-sor, Hajikabul, Shiralibek, Kabala, Salyan, Palace, Kilim, etc.
In the Shirvan production center, preference was given to the so-called "gazmial-kilim", in which the contours of the patterns were made with a complex wrapping technique. Such a complicated weaving technique enriched the decorative structure of the kilim.
Large sumac carpets are known as gellu-palaz, small ones - sumakhcha; the latter are used for prayer. The main center of sumac production was Shamakhi.
Shirvan carpets are characterized by a special weaving, which allows placing up to 3,000 knots per square decimeter, the warp can be either wool or cotton, the shuttle has two to three weft passes, the knot is symmetrical, the weaving is thin, and the carpets are especially soft to the touch. The colors used are both dark and light tones, the characteristic colors of the main background of these carpets are red and blue with a combination of green, sometimes yellow, saffron, blue and ivory are also used for the field. Against the background of the restrained shades of the central background used, the black and dark green contours of the borders acquire greater relief. Carpets woven in Mugani are characterized by a polychromatic range of pastels and deep colors, most often used deep blue in combination with yellow and red, obtained from cochineal.
According to the composition, “Shirvan carpets” are divided into two categories. The first includes carpets without decorated borders. Wide stripes are characterized by hexagonal motifs or triangular shapes. There are also zigzag patterns. One of the most common patterns of such carpets are images of star-shaped patterns, which are often lined up in rows. The main material, as for most Azerbaijani carpets, is wool.
The rich composition and design of "Shirvan carpets" have been widely known since the Middle Ages, information about them comes to us thanks to medieval travelers. Anthony Jenkinson, who visited Azerbaijan in 1562, describes two main types of Azerbaijani carpets produced in Shirvan - halla (hairy) and dejimi.
“Shirvan carpets” were also exported to other countries. So in 1648, according to M. Kh. Heydarov, two were sent to Russia, and in 1688 three Shemakha carpets. "Shirvan carpets" such as sumac are exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. On one "Shirvan carpet" from the museum, a horseman and camels are depicted (as on the "shadda" carpet), on the other, geometric patterns.
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