Balanjar
Sign in to savethumb|400px|Map showing the major Varangian trade routes of the 8th–11th centuries, with Balanjar along the Volga trade route (in red). Balanjar (; Baranjar, Belenjer, Belendzher, Bülünjar) was a medieval city located in the North Caucasus region, between the cities of Derbent and Samandar, probably on the lower Sulak River. It flourished between the seventh and tenth centuries. The legendary founder of Balanjar, according to the Persian and Kurdish chroniclers Ibn al-Faqih and Abu al-Fida, was named Balanjar ibn Yafith (بلنجر بن يافث).
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thumb|400px|Map showing the major Varangian trade routes of the 8th–11th centuries, with Balanjar along the Volga trade route (in red). Balanjar (; Baranjar, Belenjer, Belendzher, Bülünjar) was a medieval city located in the North Caucasus region, between the cities of Derbent and Samandar, probably on the lower Sulak River. It flourished between the seventh and tenth centuries. The legendary founder of Balanjar, according to the Persian and Kurdish chroniclers Ibn al-Faqih and Abu al-Fida, was named Balanjar ibn Yafith (بلنجر بن يافث).
==History== In the 630s Balanjar was a capital of the Baranjar state. Some scholars speculate that the name derives from the Turkic root "Bala" or "Great", and the clan-name "Endzhar". With the rest of the Baranjar domains the city became part of the Khazar Khaganate around 650; until the early 720s, Balanjar served as the capital of Khazaria. During the First Arab-Khazar War in the 650s, a Muslim army under Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah was defeated outside the town (see Battle of Balanjar).