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Tiversk or Tiversky gorodok (Finnish: Tiurinlinna) was a medieval Russian fortified settlement situated on an island of the River Vuoksi. The fort was 215–300 m long and 40–56 m wide. It gained in prominence in 1323 when the Treaty of Nöteborg established a Novgorodian-Swedish border in the immediate vicinity. It was then mentioned in the Nikon Chronicle in 1404, when the settlement was granted to Prince Yury of Smolensk as an appanage. Seven years later, the fort was sacked and destroyed by the Swedes during one of the Swedish-Novgorodian Wars.
The site of Tiversk was first identified and described by Jacob Groot in 1847. The remnants were excavated in 1888-1891 by Hjalmar Appelgren, Theodor Schwindt and Alfred Hackman, in 1971 by Anatoly Kirpichnikov, and in 1971-1974 by Svetlana Kochkurkina. Most remnants are dated end of the 13th-beginning of the 15th century. In 1890 archaeological works revealed a treasure trove with 13th-15th century Arabic silver coins. Some remnants dated 10th-early 12th century have also been discovered. The ramparts and stone walls of the settlement were 4.5 to 7 metres thick.
References:Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.
Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.
A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.
The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.
The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.
In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.
In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.