AZERBAIJAN ALBANIAN TEMPLE AND ITS HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

In the Gazakh region of Azerbaijan, there are historical monuments in the “Avey” State Historical-Cultural reserve. It is possible to find archaeological, architectural and natural artifacts from the Paleolithic period to the Middle Ages here. Every year, scientific research and archaeological excavations are carried out around various monuments. As a continuation of these studies, scientific-research studies were started in 2023 around the Alban temple, located on the highest peak of Mount Avey in the reserve area. If we look at the history of the Albanian temple, based on the materials obtained from the excavations, it can be assumed that the temple was built in the V-VII centuries during the Caucasian Albanian state. Roman and Greek architectural styles are evident in the construction of the temple, which is more similar to the monuments of the pre-Christian Albanian period in terms of architectural style. According to some researchers, the word "Avey" means "house of the moon" in ancient Turkic language, and the temple was built in honor of the Greek goddess of the moon, Selena. Pre-Christian Albania practiced a polytheistic religion were Roman and Greek gods were worshipped here. The fact that the temple was built on top of a mountain, on a steep rock, shows that this temple was not open to the public. That is, the temple was an address where only selected people-priests came to perform religious rites at certain times. Graves were discovered in the yard of the Avey temple in the 70s and 80s of the 19th century. An Albanian lotus flower was dug on top of one of the graves, whose chest stones were carved in a style characteristic of Albanians. In 2023, during the archaeological excavations conducted in the southern, eastern and northern parts of the temple yard, 34 graves were found, which were very densely buried and accompanied by chest stones, and two graves were opened in order to determine the burial custom. A copper coin was found next to the skeleton in one of these graves. When reading the surface of the copper coin, it became clear that this dirham is a coin minted during the reign of the Elkhani (Hulaku) ruler Abaga Khan. A copper dirham minted in Tabriz in 663 Hijri (1265 AD) is considered to be a copper coin of the "Qaan al-adil" type. In a small area, the burials were carried out very close and dense. This is the proof that the burials in the courtyard of the temple were carried out continuously over a long period of time. This can be explained in only one way, because the temple and its surroundings are considered a sacred area, so the members of the Christian religion preferred to bury their dead in this area.