Tower city of Erzi. Natural reserve "Erzi" View of Olgetti and the new mosque

The tower buildings of the Ingush represent unique phenomenon in world culture. Let me use the statement of one of the famous Caucasus experts E.I. Krupnov, who put it wonderfully about the Ingush towers: " Ingush battle towers are, in a true sense, the pinnacle of architectural and construction skills of the ancient population of the region. They amaze with their simplicity of form, monumentality and strict grace. For their time, the Ingush towers were a true miracle of human genius".

On the first day of my stay in Ingushetia, I was struck by the impressive view of one of the largest tower-type castle-type settlements, located at the tip of a mountain ridge in the Dzheirakh Gorge on the territory of the reserve of the same name - Erzi. Previously, I posted photographs of the tower complex taken from a quadcopter. Today I’m starting to post a more detailed series of posts with photographs taken from the ground and the picture seen directly with my eyes.

On the background majestic mountain Mat-lam and in contrast to the small stream, the buildings of the village rise. The approach to the construction of these complexes to the surrounding landscape is very interesting. They merged with the landscape, complementing it. The combination of the ocher-gray mass of the towers with the purple slate faults, the distant rocks of the Mat-lam plateau, and the ash-gray haze of the mountain ranges is very interesting. We are entering the village of Olgetti, whose population is just over 300 people.

A little geography about the reserve: located on the northern macroslope Greater Caucasus, in the Dzheirakh-Assinskaya basin and the mountains of the Rocky Range adjacent to it from the north. Most large rivers on the territory of the Assa and Armkhi reserve. About a third of the territory is occupied by forests: on the northern slopes of the mountains there are areas of oak and beech forests, sometimes with an admixture of Norway maple. Sea buckthorn, willow and gray alder grow in the river floodplains. Above 1500 meters on the slopes there is hook pine with an admixture of oak, birch, hornbeam, linden, and rowan. Further, there is a crooked birch forest with an undergrowth of Caucasian rhododendron, and above 2000 meters there are mountain steppes and meadows, above which there are alpine meadows. Above 3500 meters there is a belt of glaciers and snowfields.

Aul Erzi means "Eagle". Legends say that once the inhabitants of the village of Kerbit came to the forest. They cut down the tree. And among the branches there was an eagle’s nest with chicks. This discovery was perceived as a good omen, and they founded the village of Erzi on the site of the forest.

There is no exact time for the construction of tower complexes in mountainous Ingushetia. In the village of Erzi there are nine military and twenty-two residential towers. There are battle towers along the perimeter of the village. One of them stands at the entrance to the village. And residential towers are located between them. In all this we see typical features of the Vainakh architectural style.

Earthquakes often occur in the mountains, but the tower buildings, despite the seeming primitiveness of the masonry, still stand. This depends primarily on the fact that the towers are built, as a rule, on rocky platforms and slates, the petals of which act as a dampening shock force. Mostly ordinary river boulders and pebbles were used in the construction of the towers. But at the same time, massive hewn blocks were laid in the corners. A clay-lime mortar was skillfully smoothed around the stones. The walls are held together by separate flat slabs. Tower buildings do not have a foundation. They are placed directly on a rock or shale base - the mainland.

Large gaps between the boulders are filled with small river pebbles. At the base of the towers lie larger stones. The walls are held together by separate flat slabs. Inside the towers they protrude as corners. Tower buildings do not have a foundation. They are placed directly on a rock or shale base - the mainland.

The Vainakhs had a custom - the chosen place for the construction of the tower was watered with milk. If the milk remained on the surface, then such an area was considered suitable for construction.

The height of the residential towers "gala" did not reach a height of more than 10 m (two or 3 floors). For floor coverings, special wall projections and recessed niches were used. Beams were inserted into them. A column was often installed in the center of a large tower - a supporting tetrahedral pillar with a massive base and stone pillows located at different heights.

At the top of the pillar there was a capital in the form of a truncated tetrahedral pyramid placed on a cut-off top. The floor coverings, consisting of beams covered with slate and brushwood, rested on pillar pads, ledges and wall niches. The roof of the residential towers was flat, it was smeared with clay and compacted with a stone cylindrical roller. The walls of the tower rose above the roof in the form of a parapet. The lower floor usually housed livestock and stored household supplies. People lived in the upper rooms.

No external scaffolding was used in the construction of the towers. Everything was built from the inside. It looked like this: as the building grew, boards were laid, after which the craftsmen resorted to using a special gate - “four”. They lifted stone blocks and slate slabs.

Door and window openings end with semicircular arches of a fairly regular shape. They were carved either in whole monolithic stones, or in two massive stones moved closer to each other. In Ingushetia, arches made of several blocks with a primitive keystone in the center are quite common. Sometimes arches different types decorate the same building. The varied design of the openings enlivens the building. Over the doors and windows in some buildings there are cornices in the form of canopies. On the inside, the openings widen, often ending with pointed arches. In cold weather and at night, doors and windows were covered with board shields. The room was heated by a fireplace, where mountain residents spent their evenings.

16. The walls were full of niches in which pottery and metal utensils were stored. Felt carpets decorated the floors and walls.

17. Sometimes residential towers were equipped with loopholes and machicolated balconies.

Outside, near the residential towers, there are stone troughs (large niches with a stone deck at the base); a stone with a hole or notches, the so-called hitching post, is driven into the walls.

18. Hitting post.

Now let's turn our attention to the battle towers. The first thought that flashed through my head was: “They are amazing.” Unlike residential ones, their height reaches 18-20 m. They are also called “vou” towers. The number of floors is from four to five. Inside, beams were also used for ceilings, resting on special niches and cornice projections. However, there are also differences in construction compared to residential towers. Thus, the second and third floors were very often covered with a vault with edges-protrusions in the form of a cross. The battle tower had one entrance opening, rarely two, and they led immediately to the second and third floors. This was done for defensive purposes. In case of danger, an extension ladder - a beam with notches - could be raised upward at any time.

20. The area of ​​the battle towers at their base is 5*5 m and 4*5 m, and they become very narrow towards the top.

The passages inside the towers were located in the corners and were zigzag. They are covered with a flat roof with parapet projections at the corners, but more often with a stepped pyramidal roof with a spire in the center. Combat towers are always equipped with a mass of loopholes - narrow slits (topan Iurgish), and at the very top - combat balconies-machiculi (chIerkh) (photo 27). The loopholes are well suited for shooting from bows and flintlocks. Also, it is worth saying that the Vainakhs and Dagestanis shot from a bow not only arrows, but also small stones.

24. Many Ingush surnames come from Erzi, including: Yandievs, Mamilovs, Aldaganovs, Evkurovs, Buruzhevs, Bataevs and others.

25. Crypts near the village of Erzi.

At the ascent to the village of Erzi there are crypts, there are also them behind the village, near the stream. One of the crypts, located at the entrance to the village, is ornamented, the in-depth pattern resembles a cross. Next to the crypts there was the Erzeli sanctuary, from which only traces of the longitudinal vault inside the building and fragments of slate, which covered the seven-stage roof back in the 30s, have survived.

27. Combat balconies-machiculi (chIerhi).

Battle towers were built for all occasions. Sometimes wells were made in such towers to raise water, and small underground passages were also built. The purpose of the battle towers in the magazine “Russian Invalid” for 1822 is stated as follows: “The lower tier serves as a refuge for wives and children during the war. Meanwhile, from the upper floor, their brave spouses protect their property.”

31. On the lowest floor of the “vou” tower, food supplies were stored, and prisoners languished behind a stone partition.

32. The walls of the towers on the inside are well connected with each other by corner stones.

The construction of the combat and residential towers was arranged very solemnly. The first rows of stones were stained with the blood of a ram. The tower took no more than a year to build, and the customer had to feed the craftsman well. The Vainakhs were very afraid of hunger. And if the master fell from a height due to dizziness during construction, the customer was accused of greed and expelled from the village.

The skill of the builders was passed down from generation to generation. The surname of the Ingush Berkinhoevs (Berkinoevs) from the village of Berkin is still known, who erected towers even outside their country - in Ossetia.

37. The cost of laying a corner stone was equal to the cost of a sheep.

41. View of Olgetti and the new mosque.

42. One of the streets settlement, named after the President Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

44. Local children play football. In the distance they are guarded by Erzi's battle towers.

A bronze solid-cast incense burner in the shape of an eagle was kept in the local sanctuary for a long time. The incense burner was identified by V.N. Kasaev, a researcher at the State Hermitage. It dates back to the beginning of the 8th century. Created in the center of the Abbasid Caliphate in Iraq - the city of Basra. Today, this figure is “one of the oldest monuments in the world bearing a date from the Muslim era.” The eagle's head is very good - the beak is slightly open, the eyes are emphasized by the brow ridges, the ear openings are highlighted with a roller. The inscription on the eagle's neck reads "In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. May God bless him. This is what Suleiman ordered to be made. Glory to the true God. Year one hundred and five." 105 Hijri corresponds to 715-716. Perhaps this item came to the village of Erzi thanks to Daryal, along which merchant caravans had moved since ancient times, and it was here that the Ingush collected duties from passing merchants. In 1931, the eagle figurine was purchased for the Ingush Museum in Ordzhonikidze. After the unification of Ingushetia and Chechnya, the figure was transported to Grozny. And in 1939 it was delivered to the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg from the Chechen-Ingush Museum in Grozny, where it is kept to this day.

45. Bronze incense burner from the sanctuary of the village of Erzi. The height of the figure is 38 cm.

46. ​​Map of the Caucasus of the second half of the 18th century. 1780

47. Map of European Russia and the Caucasus region. 1862

48. Map of the Caucasus region in 1903 from the calendar appendix.

49. Road map of the Caucasus region in 1903.

50. Map of the General Staff of the Red Army of southern Russia. 1941

51. Topographic map European Russia. year 2000.

52. Modern map. 2017

Bibliography:

1. Shadyzheva M.M. Ingushetia - part of the Caucasus: collection of documents. -M Tetragraph, 2013, -320c. ISBN 5906002413, 9785906002419
2. Tankiev A.Kh. Spiritual towers of the Ingush people: a collection of articles and materials about folk culture. - Saratov: Region. Volga region publishing house "Children's Book", 1997. - 296 p. ISBN 5-8270-0190-2
3. Markovin V.I. In the country of the Vainakhs. -Moscow: Publishing House "Iskusstvo", 1969. - 120 p.
4. Bulletin of the Archaeological Center. Issue II. -Nazran, 2014.
5. Bulletin of the Archaeological Center. Issue IV. -Nazran: KEP LLC, 2012. - 198 p. ISBN 978-5-906177-38-4

Photo: State nature reserve"Erzi"

In the Dzheirakh Gorge and its environs, it is difficult to find a point from which you cannot see at least one tower or ancient burial ground: now, after the deportation and mass resettlement of the highlanders to the plain, these places have become sparsely populated, but it was here that the historical homeland of the strongest Ingush teips was once located.

Several centuries ago, the Ingush were divided into several teip associations - shahars: Dzheirakhs, Tsorins, Metskhals, Khamkhas . They stand apart Orstkhoys, whom both Ingush and Chechens consider as their own, and sometimes even distinguish them as a separate nationality.

Large settlements of strong shahars - impressive agglomerations of ancestral towers - by medieval standards can be considered real cities. A few are especially large and spectacular - such as Erzi, Targim and Egikal. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, I did not have the opportunity to properly examine them all (however, I managed to see both Targim and Egikal from the road on the way to Thaba-Erdy). So the next morning, having slept to my heart’s content in the large kunatskaya in the nazir’s yard with the rain pattering on the roof, I decided to move to Erzi, which of the “first-class” ancient villages of the gorge is closest to modern Dzheirakh.

Once upon a time Erzi (translated as “Eagle”) belonged to the Metskhal shahar - a strong society, which included several other large villages. Now the village is located downstairs, right next to the road - in the old place, in the towers, when I arrived there was only a shepherd's cat left (Nazir even went specifically to ask the locals if there were dogs tied up at the top - you have to be afraid of them much more than people here).

Most of the surviving buildings of Erzi are residential towers, squat and wide at the base, called in Ingush gIala. But first of all, the predatory and slender ones that dominate them catch the eye. inIou- combat towers.

There are nine battle towers in Erzi - only the foundations of some remain, and one was rebuilt quite recently.

The construction of a "voe", adapted exclusively for defense, required more skill from the architect, and was much more expensive; Not every teip could afford their own battle tower. Accordingly, the builders of such towers were famous far beyond the borders of their shahars. The family of Nazir, who received me as a guest in Dzheirakh, belongs to the Lyanov teip - Detsa Lyanov, one of the few tower builders whose name remains in history, also came from it.

“The Vainakhs had a custom,” wrote Markovin, “the place selected for the tower was watered with milk. If the milk did not seep into the ground, then such a site was considered good and then construction began. When constructing the towers, the craftsmen did not use external scaffolding. They were built from the inside. As the building grew, planks were laid using a special gate - “chegyrk”; stone blocks and slate slabs were lifted with it.”

I managed to climb inside one of the “woos” - I was impressed by the interesting cross vault:

At a distance is the unchanged crypt necropolis. Islam came to these mountains, let us remember, quite recently - pagan funeral traditions in these parts were eliminated only in the 19th century, if not later.

The rain finally drove me out of the ruins - again, Nazir promised to pick me up at the appointed time below (the option “it’s a couple of kilometers, I can easily walk there” absolutely did not work). Later, after taking a short rest at his house and saying goodbye to my entire large family, I got ready to head back to the Georgian Military Road - and then to Tbilisi.

Nazir and his family were going to a neighboring village for a funeral, and, after making a short detour, they took me to the Ossetian post. Soon, after standing on the highway for a short time and exchanging words with the fat Ossetian policeman on duty, I was already in Upper Lars, at the border.

The border guard girl, seeing the Kyiv stamps for January and February in my passport, did not fail to call the special officers - soon a young man with an inconspicuous but insightful face appeared and began asking me if I knew that VGTRK journalists had recently died in the Donbass (it was the end June) and what emotions I feel about this - at the same time probing me with his gaze. To end the questioning with passion, I had to wave my editorial ID at the young man, after which the question was dropped. Georgian customs, as always, went through without a hitch.

By that time, the road had barely been cleared of mudflows: in May a catastrophic landslide descended from Kazbek, and traffic between Russia and Georgia was completely blocked for a month and a half. I was lucky: after my trip, a second derailment occurred, again blocking the road for a long time.

Kazbegi, renamed Stepantsminda under Saakashvili, has changed a lot in the nine years since I first got there - a bunch of guesthouses and restaurants have appeared, crowds of backpackers and trekkers are on the streets. I leave the city on foot, planning to walk to the ancient basilica in Sioni, about five kilometers from the city - on the mountain near this 10th century temple, on our first visit to Georgia, we once spent the night under open air, snacking on peaches and puri bread, which the altar boy treated us to.

A passing car stopping straight to Tbilisi with a nice Russian-speaking Czech guy, an OSCE worker, upset my plans - I decided not to refuse such an opportunity and move straight to the capital. But about Tbilisi - some other time.

Ingushetia-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Dagestan, summer 2014

Erzi Nature Reserve Republic of Ingushetia

A small and young (from December 2000) reserve on the territory of Ingushetia - the Sunzhensky and Dzheirakhsky district - is the 100th reserve natural reserve in Russia, which is organized as a protected zone of local culture, flora and fauna!

Address: 366720 Republic of Ingushetia, Nazran, Embankment, 6.

The Ingush are inextricably linked with the tower culture, crypts and sanctuaries. There are “cities of the dead” and “solar burial grounds” in every Ingush village. Ingush vIovnashka (Vovnushki) are late medieval defense watchtowers.

Erzi tower complex, belonging to the Ingush teip of the Mamilovs. Stone towers from the 10th and 17th centuries. is the largest tower complex in Ingushetia.

Tower - “GIal” in Ingush. Battle Tower - "Wow".

Semi-combat, semi-residential and combat towers are available in the Dzheirakhsky and in small numbers in the Sunzhensky region of Ingushetia.

The Armkhi and Assa rivers, the Terek basin, are the main waterways of the reserve.

Assa River

The Erzi Nature Reserve (area 5970 hectares) is located in the mountains North Caucasus on the territory of Dzheirakhsky Republic of Ingushetia.

The territory of the reserve (its zone is limited to an area of ​​34,240 hectares) borders the Chechen Republic, Georgia and the Republic of North Ossetia.

The territory of the reserve is an unusually picturesque area and has a high standard. The northern slopes of the mountains are covered by a third of oak and beech forests, with areas of Norway maple.

Along the Armkhi River

In river valleys, for the most part, narrow deep gorges and crevices with rapid streams, rapids and waterfalls. The reserve also has numerous springs - in ravines, ravines and on the slopes at the foot of the mountains.

Due to the mountainous terrain, the climate changes significantly with altitude. Summer in the valleys is cool, sunny, in the mountains it is cold, rainy and cloudy. Winter is stable and snowy.

In the valley of the Assa River

At a higher level (altitude 1500m) there grows crooked birch forests, hooked pine, hornbeam, oak, linden, and rowan.

Endemic - hooked pine - Pinus uncinata

Even higher (2000m) there is a belt of meadows and steppes, and snowfields and glaciers (this is already a height of 3500m) of the mountains of the Rocky Range of the Dzheirakh-Assinsk basin.

The Erzi Nature Reserve is a macroslope of the Greater Caucasus. There are several wonderful natural monuments on the territory of the reserve.

Gorge near the former village of Furtoug with a waterfall and walnut plantings;
Olgetinsky gorge with mountain broad-leaved forests;
Trough valley in the Amalchoch gorge;
Shoan glacier with the sources of the Armkhi River;
A plot of high-mountainous dry steppe near the village of Lezhgi;
Forest area along Tetris-Tskhali above the former village of Khamkhi;
Forest area near the former village of Targim and along Tkhabakhro;
Gorge of the Nelkh River;
Sea buckthorn grove in the Targim Basin.
The ridge of the Rocky Range from Mount Khakhalgi to the gorge of the Assy River (the place of growth of the endemic of Ingushetia - strawberries, Ingush cinquefoil);
A section of beech-hornbeam forest on the right side of the Assy River gorge with an undergrowth of Caucasian blueberry (Vaccimum arctostaphylos).
Armkhinsky (Lezhginsky) waterfall on the Lezhgi River falls down from steep cliffs into a deep forest gorge.

Armkha pine grove is unique as the only place the growth of Crimean pine in mountainous Ingushetia, which was brought here at the beginning of the 20th century.

Also interesting is the massif of hooked pine in the upper reaches of the Myagikha River and the nearby Myagi-Erda sanctuary. Healing spring on the Bisht pass.

Among the sanctuaries, temples, tower settlements, necropolises, crypts and sacred groves, the Mai-Lam complex of sanctuaries occupies a special place. The Myatzel temple-sanctuary is well preserved.

Next to the reserve, within its protective zone, is the famous Dzheirakh-Assinsky State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve.

Among the rare birds of the Erzi Nature Reserve are the crossbill and the yellow-headed kinglet. Snowcocks and Caucasian lentils nest in the subglacial belt. Birds of prey - black vulture, bearded vulture, buzzard, golden eagle, common kestrel, peregrine falcon.

The Erzi tower complex consists of eight military and several dozen residential towers. The height of some structures reaches 30 meters. In the Dzheirakh region of Ingushetia there is the medieval Erzi tower complex. Erzi translated into Russian means “eagle”. According to one of local legends, one day the inhabitants of the village of Kerbit came to this place and cut down a tree. On it they saw an eagle's nest with chicks. So the settlement that appeared on this place began to be called Erzi. The eagle apparently became a sacred bird for local population. Thus, during research in the 19th century, a bronze incense burner was found in the Erzi sanctuary, made in the form of an eagle figure 38 centimeters high. The object was dated to the 8th century AD. e. However, it is possible that the object ended up in the village by chance, since it apparently was made far outside the settlement. Nearby was the Alan Gate gorge, an important passage through the Main Caucasus Range. Perhaps the object was in one of the trade caravans passing through the gorge.

According to the latest information, it was a part of a military standard. Erzi was once a large village. Its wealth can be judged by the large stone towers that have survived to this day. There are many towers on the territory of Ingushetia, but it is in Erzi that there are the most of them. The complex consists of eight combat towers, two semi-combat ones and the remains of about 50 small residential towers and walls. Particularly impressive, of course, are the majestic combat towers, the height of which reaches 30 meters. Unlike other battle towers found in the Caucasus, the battle towers in Ingushetia are narrower. The structures have a square base of 5x5 meters.

At the top they end with pyramidal stepped roofs, although there are also towers with a flat roof. The roof of the pyramidal-step towers was made of slate slabs, with a large cone-shaped stone installed on top. The construction of the towers was approached with special care. First, they chose the place where the structure would be built. Such towers did not have a foundation as such. At the site where the structure was supposed to be built, the soil was first torn off and watered with milk. This was done until the milk stopped being absorbed. When constructing Ingush towers, the proximity of the future structure to a river or spring was taken into account. The construction of the tower was carried out by one of the clans of the village. The richer the family, the higher and safer the tower. The tower was built in such a way that at least one more tower was visible from its loopholes. First, several large stone blocks larger than human height were laid. Each such stone was valued as one bull. The block was hewn by four stonemasons over 12 days.

Getting the stone up the slope was also a challenge. For this purpose, 12 bulls were harnessed. The towers in Erzi were made of river boulders; only the craftsmen placed massive hewn stones in the corners. The cost of one corner stone was equal to the cost of a sheep. The laying of the tower was accompanied by ritual actions. When the first rows of stones were laid, they were sprinkled with the blood of a sacrificed ram. Starting from the second floor, the stones were laid from the inside. In the 12th-13th centuries, highlanders did without mortar, carefully adjusting the stones. Later they used lime mortar. Sometimes architects left petroglyphs on the stones. The tower was erected over the course of a year. If construction was delayed, it was a great shame for the family. The tower, which was not built on time, was not completed. The village of Erzi is known for its wealthy families. From this village came a large number of famous families of Ingushetia. During his heyday, Erzi could field more than 60 horsemen in full armor. The fame of local builders spread far beyond the Dzheyrakh Gorge. Craftsmen were invited to build towers on the territory of neighboring states. However, local craftsmen were prohibited from erecting battle towers outside their homeland. They were allowed to build only semi-combat and residential towers. Combat towers were significantly higher than residential ones. They had narrow passages and were better suited for defense. The stones for combat towers were processed more carefully than for residential ones. Since the towers were quite high, a stone vault was made at the level of the fifth floor to strengthen the structure. This also prevented the spread of fire in case of arson.

All combat towers had a conical shape. It was possible to climb to the upper floors only with the help of ladders. They could be raised at any time. We passed between floors through hatches located in the corners of the tower. The entrance to the tower was at the second floor level. This made the use of a ram useless. The entrance was closed from the inside with wooden doors and locked with a wooden beam. Prisoners were sometimes housed on the ground floor. There were also storage facilities here. At the top of the tower, stones for throwing, bows, arrows and other weapons were prepared. The tower had narrow loopholes and viewing slits, and at the top there were battle machicolations. During armed conflicts, there were women and children at the bottom of the towers - soldiers fought on the upper floors.

Local residents were prepared for a siege, so wells and underground passages under the tower were often installed in the towers. The walls of the towers should not have any protrusions so that the enemy could not climb them. Battle towers in Ingushetia were built over several centuries. The last such towers were erected here in the 18th century. Now these medieval monuments are not in the best condition. In 2012, a project to reconstruct the towers was launched in Ingushetia.

We recommend reading

Estate museums

Montego Bay, a city in Jamaica: description, attractions

Interesting

Where did the Kremlin towers get their name from?

Blog

Alaska in literature What seas is Alaska washed by?

Answers

Map of France with surrounding countries

Attractions

Saturn holiday home. Recreation center Saturn. We guarantee the best prices

Interesting

Raspberry Mountain Beloretsk closed area