2026. no 1. Larisa Smirnova

Kalai kuhna in Darwaz of 15th – 16th centuries

Larisa Smirnova
State Hermitage Museum
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation

Abstract. The purpose of the work is to compare the monument of Kalai Kuhn with written sources about Darwaz of the 15th–16th centuries. The research material was the results of the expedition’s work during the author’s stay at the monument in 2013–2014, when the main objects of the upper period of the monument’s habitation were cleared. The architectural structures in a number of articles were dated from the end of the 14th to the 16th centuries. This period in the history of the Pamirs is best known for the history of the neighboring territories such as Badakhshan, Balkh, Khutallyan, etc., which is extrapolated to Darvaz. The study of Kalai kuhna and the comparison of archaeological data with references to Darwaz in written sources allowed us to fill them with some material evidence and slightly deepen our knowledge of Darwaz.

Keywords: Pamir; history and archeology of Darwaz; Timurid architecture; Timurid and Mughal gardens; late Middle Ages; toponymy

For citation: Smirnova L.O. Kalai kuhna in Darwaz of 15th – 16th centuries. Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2026, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 113–128. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2026.1.113-128 (In Russian)

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Larisa O. Smirnova – Researcher, Oriental Department, State Hermitage Museum (34, Dvortsovaya Embankment, Saint Petersburg 190000, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0002-5757-3542. E-mail: smirnova@hermitage.ru

Received 17.01.2026

Accepted 16.03.2026