There were 11 palaces in the city. Little sodomies. The main palace of the Russian Empire
Once upon a time, on the territory of the Knossos Palace lived the Minotaur, the son of the wife of King Minos and the sacred bull. In order for a monster with a human body and a bull's head to agree to live incessantly in the labyrinth built for him, criminals were thrown to him to be devoured, and once every eight years a tribute was sent - seven girls and seven boys. In order not to sacrifice his subjects, the Cretan king demanded that young people be sent from Athens: this city was under the influence of King Minos.
The streets are so straight and wide that you can see them up and down from one end to the other and from one gate to the other. Both up and down the city there are beautiful palaces, many fine and fine hostels, and fine houses in large numbers.
Moreover, in the city center there is an excellent clock - that is, a bell - which is struck at night. And after he has struck three times, no one should go out into the city unless he is needed for the needs of a woman, working or sick. And those who carry out such assignments are required to carry flashlights with them.
Theseus, whose father was the Athenian ruler Aegeus, having learned about what was happening, decided to kill the monster, and therefore persuaded his father to replace him with one of the victims (they agreed: if Theseus defeats the Minotaur, he will replace the black sails with white ones). The young man did not immediately go to the monster: once in the palace of Midos, he charmed the king’s daughter, Ariadne, and the girl in love quickly figured out how to make her lover find his way out of the labyrinth, giving him a ball, the thread of which would show the way back.
Under the name of Yenqing, she has a prominent place in the wars of Genghis against the last dynasty. The tattoo was completed in the summer of Old Yenking, when he occupied Kin, a chain of 27 litas, then increased to 30 litas. The river that ran between the old and new city must have been the small river Yu, which still runs through the modern Tatar city and fills the city's ditches. The existing Tatar city of Beijing stands on the site of Taidu and represents it. After the expulsion of the Mongols, the new native Ming Dynasty established its capital at Nanjing, but this was so inconvenient that the third sovereign of the dynasty reoccupied Taida or Kambaluk, the renovation of which began in it, he reduced its size, cutting off almost a third of the city at the northern end. The remains of this abandoned portion of the wall, however, still exist, approaching 30 feet in height. This old wall is called the Chinese Yuen Wall, and it was founded in At present, there seems to be no doubt that the current southern front of the Tartar city was the southern front of Taidu. Thus, the entire Taidu outline is still preserved and easily measurable. The entire perimeter was therefore approximately 18 English miles or less than 16 Italian miles. If this statement is correct, it will give a total of 40 general or geographical for the Mongol city chain. Both Gaubil and Martini also say that there were 12 gates. Eastern wall. Its western wall exhibits a base of sculpted stones that appear to have belonged to the old Yenqing Palace. Martini talks about the state clock towers in Chinese cities, which at one time were supplied with water. The clocks looked at the great gong, at the same time showing the hour with large characters. The same man watched the fires and called the public with his rut to help them extinguish the tower, marked Marco still exists. A cut of this courtyard with its tools and old trees, also attributed to Mongol times, will be found in Chap. Northern entrance to the Palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete.
Having defeated the monster, Theseus went home, taking Ariadne with him, but there was one “but”. Minos promised to give his daughter as a wife to the god Dionysius - and therefore her marriage with Theseus was not included in the Olympian’s plans. But the young man did not respond to all the demands to return the girl. Then the gods sent a curse on Theseus - and he forgot what he promised his father. Aegeus, seeing the black sails, without waiting for the ship to arrive, rushed into the sea.
The Palace of Knossos is located south of modern Heraklion on the northern coast of Crete. The site came to prominence in the early 20th century when it was excavated and restored by a team led by British archaeologist Arthur Evans. When the palace was first built, "it must have been a remarkable sight, unlike anything seen on Crete before," writes J. Leslie Fitton in his book The Minoans. She notes that although other settlements on Crete at this time built their own palaces, none were as large as Knossos. Knossos may have started out as "first among equals", and relations between the powerful groups who built the palaces may not have been entirely friendly.
Scientists who study the Minoan civilization are increasingly inclined to think that the legend of the Minotaur did not arise just like that, but had a very real life history. According to one version, the “demigod” was the teacher of King Minos, his name was Taurus and he was a very cruel man who often organized fights, offering Athenian children as a prize.
The position of Knossos was not accidental, and Fitton notes that it is connected to a sanctuary located on Mount Yuktas to the south. Even though the palace was excavated a hundred years ago, there are still many questions about the palace and the people who lived in it.
For example, the chronology of the palace is the subject of scholarly debate. The publications in their book raise the possibility that instead of a "first" and "second" palace, there were several stages of renovation and change that occurred over several centuries. The actual name of the people who lived in the palace is unknown. The Minoan writing system and the name "Minoans" comes from Arthur Evans, who believed that he had found the palace of "King Minos", a mythical Cretan king who supposedly built a great labyrinth on Crete.
He usually got the reward: he was a very skilled warrior and not everyone was able to defeat him. This could not continue for long - and, in the end, the Athenian Theseus defeated him, as a result of which King Minos freed his city from paying tribute by young people.
There is another hypothesis that reveals the secret of the origin of the legend of the Minotaur. Some scholars argue that bullfighting was an elaborate theatrical performance and an initiation ritual for young aristocrats (numerous frescoes in the Palace of Knossos directly tell of this event).
Today, archaeologists know that King Minos probably did not build this palace. Researchers know that the palace has suffered from several disasters throughout history. Although the remains of the "first palace" mostly lie beneath later reconstructions of the palace, archaeologists have been able to piece together a rough picture of what it looked like in antiquity.
The first palace was built around a central courtyard and contained numerous storage areas, including magazines in the west and northeast. On the northwest side of the central court was a room that researchers call the "early house," and next to this another section is called the "initiative area."
Castle
The Palace of Knossos is located on Kefal Hill, in the north of the island of Crete in the administrative district of the Greek Republic, four kilometers from the coast of the Cretan Sea, south of the capital Heraklion. You can find the city at the following coordinates: 35° 17′ 52″ N. latitude, 25° 9′ 47″ e. or at the address: Crete, Minoiton, Heraklion 71409.
It is no coincidence that the palace complex was nicknamed a labyrinth. The Knossos palace of King Minos was built so confusingly and chaotically that many visitors, unfamiliar with its plan, were simply lost and had difficulty finding a way out. Interestingly, the palace was built twice. The first palace complex, built by King Minos (according to assumptions, the main architect was Daedalus), was erected about four thousand years ago and was destroyed by a powerful tsunami, which, according to geologists, hit the island between 1645 and 1500. BC. The second palace was built by the Achaeans according to the plan of the first, but they stayed in it for no more than a century, after which they left the city for unknown reasons.
The initiative area contains a "lust pool", which consists of a square tank sunk into the ground, with stairs descending on either side, write Arnold Lawrence and Richard Tomlinson in their book Greek Architecture. They note that some of these pools were built in the palace. For lack of a better explanation, the original use is believed to be religious, in connection with some kind of anointing ritual, but there would be no downside to using the pool as a shower stall if the water was quickly drained.
The period when the first palace was created and the years following it (1700 to 1450 BC) is considered the heyday of the Minoan civilization, in particular the city of Knossos, and therefore architecture, painting and even engineering technologies were at a high level . Quite indicative is the fact that archaeologists found many documents among the ruins of the Knossos Palace, which made it possible to determine that there were three types of writing on the island: hieroglyphic writing (the signs were depicted in the form of drawings), as well as linear writing A and B - the signs were depicted contour lines.
The walls of the first palace were bulkier than the walls built later. "The overall structure of the earlier palace was more massive, more massive, than that of the later palace in general layout and in individual details," writes researcher John McEnroe in his book The Architecture of Minoan Crete. He notes that the bases of the columns and the pavement were made of stones of different colors.
The development of the palace coincided with the emergence of the still unexpanded Minoan writing system. Moreover, during this early period, different areas of Crete retained their own distinct style of pottery and material culture, indicating that the island was not unified.
In the second palace, much of the monumental portion of the earlier building would be illuminated by structural innovations and intricate detail, and the taste for colored stone would be partially replaced by representational wall paintings, writes McEnroe. Again, much of the palace was used for storage, including the western section dedicated to weapons. During this period, the ceramic styles and material culture of Knossos would be used on the island, indicating that the people recognized hegemony, or at least influence, over the site.
The palace during this period contained four entrances, one from each direction, and a royal road running north of the palace. McEnroe notes that the south entrance provided a particularly grand entrance, directing the visitor through a narrow corridor lined with a fresco of the procession. Their final destination would have been the central court, which may have been used for religious ceremonies. “Following the narrow confines of a twisting, dark corridor, the wide, shiny Central Court offered sudden expansion and liberation,” McEnroe writes.
It is believed that the Palace of Knossos was the largest structure erected by representatives of the Minoan civilization: its area was 130 by 180 meters (many call it the first skyscraper of the ancient world: it had buildings with about five floors). The palace had water supply, sewerage, ventilation, and also contained a huge number of living rooms, workshops, reception halls, ruler’s rooms, etc.
Indeed, this is an entrance unlike that of a labyrinth, a key idea in Greek literature and something that was on Arthur Evans' mind when he interpreted the site. He thought he had discovered the palace of the mythical Cretan King Minos, who, according to legend, kept the Minotaur in a labyrinth, demanding that the city of Athens feed him with young men and women.
This central courtyard provided access to several areas, including the throne room, the central castle, and a residential quarter that could house royal apartments. The butler's "throne room," as Evans called it, has plaster benches on three sides, a swimming pool in the center, and a large chair that Evans interpreted as a throne. This "throne" is surrounded by a reconstructed fresco of a griffin. Whether the actual king or queen sat in the throne room is a debate among archaeologists.
Unfortunately, exact data on what exactly this architectural monument looked like has not been preserved, and from the ruins found, one can only guess about it. As a result of reconstruction, archaeologists were able, although not completely, to restore the appearance of the ancient structure.
Courtyard of Knossos Palace
The Knossos Palace initially did not provide for any fortifications, and all its buildings (halls, galleries, stairs, passages) were located in a chaotic manner around a central square stone courtyard, 50 by 50 m.
To the south of the throne room is an area that researchers call the Central Palace Reserve. McEnroe notes that Evans reconstructed a small three-sided shrine, and behind it there is an area considered by many scholars to be the "religious heart of the palace", containing temple vaults. They were "found filled with pottery and a number of remarkable objects, such as the famous faience snake goddesses in the Heraklion Museum."
On the southeast side of the central court is an area called the residential area. Entering through what is sometimes called the "majestic staircase", its rooms may have served as royal apartments, used for living by the rulers of the palace.
Since local architects did not master the art of symmetry, they built buildings where they saw fit, and did not pay much attention to how harmoniously the building fit into the ensemble. Therefore, some rooms were carved directly into the rock, others were built from brick (since this area was always seismically active, Minoan craftsmen alternated stone with layers of wood to give the buildings stability).
It contains a "hall of colonnades" surrounding a light well. To the south is an area known as the "Hall of Double Axes", which takes its name from the "Double Ax Mason" signs carved into the limestone cedar walls, British School of Athens researchers write in a virtual tour which is on their web -website.
Another key feature in the residential areas is the area that Evans called the "queen" megaron. It features a reconstructed mural of blue dolphins swimming above the door. The eruption that caused astonishing parts of Crete did not bring about the end of the palace - that happened several centuries later. The queen's megaron in the palace of Knossos has a reconstructed fresco of blue dolphins swimming above the door.
From an architectural point of view, the red and black columns of the palace tapering towards the bottom were interesting. At the top of each pillar was a round capital, where lay a slab supporting the ceiling. The ancient masters of Crete did not pay much attention to forms - they performed a purely practical function: they were supports, while among the Persians and Egyptians the columns often had the shape of a plant.
Fitton notes that all the palaces on the island, with the exception of Knossos, were destroyed. Exactly what happened is a matter of debate. One idea is that the island was hit by a number of natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Another idea is that Crete was invaded by people called the Mycenaeans, who researchers know occupied Knossos. The Mycenaeans were a Greek-speaking people who apparently moved to Crete from the mainland.
"Several parts of the palace, mainly on the top floor, were involved in administrative record keeping," writes McEnroe, adding that they indicate that Knossos was the center of economic activity on the island at this time. Recent studies of these tablets provide clues to the lives of the women who lived in Mycenaean-controlled Knossos.
The design of the stone stairs of the palace complex was also interesting: they not only connected the buildings with each other, but also had gutters through which drinking water flowed into the palace, the pools and bathrooms were filled, and pipes were installed to remove waste from the latrines.
Palace from inside
The Knossos palace had no window openings at all. They were easily replaced by huge holes in the ceiling, which, if the building had several floors, were located on top of each other, thanks to which the sun's rays reached the lower tier (depending on the size of the opening, the craftsmen achieved different levels of illumination of the rooms). These openings also provided ventilation in the rooms, which was important in the hot climate of the island.
The western wing of the palace complex served as an administrative and religious center (there were three stone mines where gifts were brought to the gods during religious ceremonies - sacrificial animals, wine, butter, milk, honey). In the same part of the building was located the Throne Room - the most luxurious room of the palace. The small hall could accommodate no more than sixteen people. The ruler's throne with a high back was made of plaster, and has survived to this day. It is located in the hall, being the most ancient throne on the European continent.
On the walls of the Throne Room there were griffins lying among lilies everywhere. Sir Evans, who discovered the Palace of Knossos and led the excavations, did not doubt the existence of King Minos, and therefore believed that he was not only a ruler, but also a high priest. Therefore, it was not in vain that mythical animals were here - the head of an eagle symbolized Air, the body of a lion - the power of the Earth, the tail of a snake - the other world.
The premises in which the ruler's family lived were located separately from other living rooms, and could be reached by a wide staircase. The royal rooms were bright, and the walls were decorated with various paintings. The artists painted the frescoes of the Knossos Palace (plants, zigzag patterns, ritual actions) on wet plaster with paints.
The portraits painted by ancient artists were also interesting: people’s faces are different from each other, there are no frozen poses, and among the colors the most popular shade is red with black trim (orange, blue and turquoise tones can often be seen).
Paintings on the walls decorated almost the entire palace, and all the frescoes were painted very skillfully, and the details were very well drawn. A popular theme was bullfighting and sports activities; a fresco with a blue bird sitting on a rock, with mountains, roses and irises as a background, has been partially preserved. Also on the walls there are often images of elegant ladies with intricate hairstyles (ancient painters were so successful in conveying the fragility, beauty and grace of women that researchers conventionally called these frescoes “Parisian women” or “court ladies”).
Death of Knossos
The Santorini volcano erupted between 1645 and 1500. BC. on the neighboring island of Thira, which was located in the Aegean Sea, destroyed all nearby cities and settlements not only in Crete, but also on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The destruction of the territory neighboring Thira was caused not so much by the eruption itself (it was so powerful that the volcano completely collapsed and its cone disappeared from the face of the Earth), but by the tsunami that followed, which swept away everything in its path, including the destruction of the Knossos Palace.
It is interesting that during excavations, no remains of people or animals that would have died as a result of the cataclysm were found, which means that people, warned by the earthquake, managed to leave the dangerous territory.
When the eruption ended, a large amount of ash, which completely covered the island (in the center of Crete its layer was about twenty centimeters, and on the east coast - about a meter), completely prevented the growth of any vegetation in this area for decades.
After some time, life on the island resumed - in the 15th century. BC. it was settled by the Achaeans, who restored the castle, preserving the original plan of the Knossos palace. They lived here for no more than a century - and in 1380 BC. Knossos, and with it the Palace of Knossos, fell completely into disrepair.
Knossos Palace today
The Palace of Knossos was discovered by British archaeologist Arthur Evans at the end of the 19th century. after his attention was attracted by the Cephalus Hill, the appearance of which strongly resembled the sand-covered ruins of an ancient city. And after some time, he heard about one of the merchants who discovered huge pots and the ruins of some buildings on his plot near the hill. For Evans, this information was enough: he organized excavations, and in parallel with them he restored destroyed ancient buildings, so it is difficult for tourists to distinguish the remains of ancient structures from those built by Evans.
In ancient times there lived a husband and wife, people neither poor nor rich; They worked tirelessly and thus earned food for themselves and their children, their ten sons.
When the sons grew up, they began to help their father and mother in everything. They were all smart and brave horsemen and always dreamed of traveling to distant lands. Their parents did not dissuade them, did not keep them at home and said: “Well, go to foreign lands if you want it so much!”
The brothers got together, said goodbye to their parents and left. And shortly before this, the eleventh son was born; They named him Akhmet. When his brothers left home, he was very young.
Ten brothers left and went missing. Nobody knows where they are. There is not even a rumor about them.
And the eleventh son Akhmet grows up year after year. He grows up as a mischievous, playful boy. He bullies all his peers. When they see him, they quickly hide. They are afraid to catch his eye.
One day an old man says to Akhmet:
“Your brothers weren’t so perky.” You turned out to be much braver than all of them!
Akhmet was surprised: “Did I really have brothers?”
He came to his mother and asked: .
- Tell me, mother, did I have brothers?
His mother was afraid to tell him the truth: if Akhmet finds out that his ten brothers have gone somewhere, he might want to leave himself. Answers him:
- No, son, you didn’t have brothers.
Akhmet didn’t ask any more questions and went outside to play.
A little more time passed. The eleventh son Akhmet turned fifteen years old. At this time he was already a tall, strong horseman, much stronger and taller than his brothers.
Whether Akhmet is playing or doing anything, he still cannot forget the old man’s words about his brothers.
He returned home one day and began asking his mother again:
- Tell me the truth: I had brothers, didn’t I? Why are you hiding this from me? If they were, tell me what they are and where they are now.
The old mother shed tears and said:
- You had brothers, son. There were ten of them. They were all kind and good horsemen. When the youngest was eight years old, the older brother took them all with him and took them to foreign lands. You were born in this very year. Fifteen years have passed since the day they left, and we have not received a single message from them. We don't even know where they are now. Whether they are alive or all died, I don’t know anything about that...
And the mother cried bitterly. Eleventh son Ahmet says:
- Don’t cry, dear mother, I will find them!
He began to get ready for the road. His mother and father beg him:
- Do not go! Don't leave us! How will we live alone?
And he says:
- I can't stay here! I must find my brothers!
Akhmet took some bread for the road, said goodbye to his parents and went to look for his brothers.
He walked for a long time and passed many places. Soon he ate everything he took from home, and he had to ask people for bread. And when he walked far from the villages, he ate only various roots and eggs that he found in bird nests.
And so it went week after week, month after month, year after year. Akhmet walked along many roads, passed many villages and came to a dense forest.
When he entered the forest, darkness had already fallen. But Akhmet did not stop for the night: he relied on his strength and endurance and continued on his way.
“I have nothing to be afraid of,” he thinks.
He walks through the forest in the thick darkness of the night and sees a small light sparkling in the distance. Akhmet went to this light. He walked and walked and came to a large palace.
Akhmet asked the guards for permission to enter the palace. The guards let him in. He enters the palace, and in the palace, except for one terrible old woman, there is no one. Akhmet greeted the old woman and asked
- Who are you, grandma?
“I am from the family of genies,” the old woman answers. - What family will you be from?
Ahmet says:
- I come from a family of people.
“If you are one of the people,” said the old woman, “then you came here by mistake.”
“No,” the horseman answers, “I didn’t come here by mistake.” I saw a light from afar, followed it and finally came to this palace.
The old woman says:
- Maybe this is so. But it’s one thing to get in, and another thing to get out. It's unlikely you'll get out of here alive!
- Why do you say that? - asks the horseman.
The old woman answers:
“I have eleven sons, all of them are fierce, merciless. They will return home and immediately tear you to pieces.
Dzhigit says:
“They won’t tear me to pieces right away—they’ll want to know who I am first!” And you, grandma, feed me in the meantime, I got very hungry on the way.
The old woman says:
“I prepared a lot of food for my sons’ return.” It will be your share too. Sit down, eat!
She served Akhmet food. He ate and asked:
- Give me more, I’m not full!
The old woman brought him more.
He ate everything to the crumbs and asked again:
- Give me more, I’m very hungry!
The old woman brought him more food, but Akhmet couldn’t get enough.
- I’m not full! - He says and asks for more.
Finally he was satisfied and went to bed.
Just before the morning, the old woman's sons return home. The younger one turned his nose and asked:
- Mother, where does this smell of human spirit come from?
The old woman answers:
— Some traveler wandered into our place. I fed him and now he is sleeping.
Then the old woman’s sons shouted:
- Give it to us here quickly! Now we'll eat it!
And the eldest of them says:
“You can’t kill a traveler until we know who he is.” Maybe he will be a useful person for us!
The old woman’s sons went to Akhmet and woke him up:
-Who are you and where are you going?
Ahmet says:
— I had ten brothers. They left home a long time ago, so I’m going to look for them. Now tell me, who are you and what do you do?
The old woman's sons say:
- We are from the family of genies. And all we do is get our own food. We don't need anything else.
“But we still have one desire, but we just can’t fulfill it.”
Ahmet asks:
- What kind of desire is this?
The Genie Brothers say:
— A padishah lives not far from here. He has eleven daughters. We want to kidnap them, take them away, but we cannot do this. Ten horsemen live in the city of this padishah. They are all dexterous and strong and also want to marry the daughters of the padishah. We fight with these ten horsemen all the time, but we just can’t defeat them.
Ahmet says:
“I will help you carry away the daughters of the padishah, only you give me freedom!”
The genie brothers heard these words and were very happy. They don’t know where to put Akhmet, what to treat him with - he has become so dear and sweet to them.
They fed and watered Akhmet and asked him:
- What do you need to go to this city?
Ahmet says:
- Give me more money and harness three good, fast horses for me. I will go to that city and kill the horsemen, whom you yourself cannot defeat!
The genie brothers were surprised, but first they decided to test the power of Akhmet. They tell him:
- Let's fight! Show us how strong and agile you are.
They began to fight. Not one of the genie brothers could resist Akhmet: he defeated them all. The genie brothers see that he is really strong. They collected everything they needed and sent Akhmet on his way.
Akhmet goes to the city of the padishah, and he himself thinks:
“Will I meet my brothers in this city? Maybe they live there?
He arrives in the city on three horses and asks passers-by if they know where ten brave horsemen live. One person tells him:
- I'll accompany you!
He brought him to the outskirts of the city and said:
- Do you see that house over there - without a fence, without a gate? You go there and find those horsemen.
Akhmet found this house and entered it. He sees one person sitting in the house. Akhmet greeted him and asked:
-Who lives here?
The owner of the house answers
- We live here - me and my brothers. We have neither wives nor parents.
Akhmet asks him:
- What country are you from?
“I’ve forgotten what country we’re from,” the owner replies. — Ten of us sons were born from one mother. I'm the youngest of them. The owner of the house told this to Akhmet and, in turn, asked him:
- Now tell me, horseman, what country did you come here from?
Eleventh son Akhmet answers:
“When your brothers return, then I’ll tell you.” And now I’ll just say one thing: I’ve been looking for you for a very long time, I’ve walked through many countries...
Soon all nine brothers returned home. They looked at Akhmet, marveled at his strength and height and asked:
- What country did you come here from, horseman?
“I came here from a distant country,” Akhmet answers them. And he told everything about himself: what village he was from, who his father and mother were, and who he was looking for. The brothers listened to his story, became overwhelmed with joy and shouted all at once:
- So you are our eleventh brother! Your name is Akhmet, you were born in the same year when we left home!
They began to cry and began to hug Akhmet. And he lost his head with joy: he cries and laughs, but he only repeats one thing:
- Oh, I finally found my brothers!
After that, his brothers sat him down at the table and began to treat him. Akhmet drinks and eats, and he talks about his road adventures.
He also told about how he ended up in the palace of the genie brothers and how they sent him to this city.
“Aren’t these genies fighting with you,” he asks?
“With us,” the brothers answer.
Ahmet says:
“We must defeat these genies.” They began to hold advice on how to free themselves from these genies who did not allow them to live in peace.
“You can only get rid of them with the help of some trick,” says Akhmet.
All ten brothers agreed with him and said:
“Go back to the genies, but don’t tell them you found us.”
Akhmet returned to the palace of the genies and told them:
- I saw the horsemen with whom you have been fighting for so long. Are these warriors? Yes, they will all fly apart like chips with one blow!
The genies were delighted and began to hurry Akhmet:
- Let's quickly go to the city, kill those horsemen and drag away the daughters of the padishah!
The genies gave Akhmet their sharpest sword, they all armed themselves and went to battle with ten horsemen.
In the dead of night they crept up to the palace of the padishah and stopped under the windows.
“The girls live in those rooms over there,” said the genies, “you can only get to them through the window.”
- What needs to be done for this? - asks Akhmet.
The jinn gave him a rope ladder and said:
- Throw away this ladder and climb it.
Akhmet threw the ladder and entered the girls’ room. Soon the genies heard his voice:
- Let one of you come up to me!
The oldest genie climbed the stairs first. As soon as he stepped on the windowsill, Akhmet cut off his head with a sword.
Then he leaned out of the window and said to the genies:
- Let one of you come up to me!
The second genie climbed up the stairs. As soon as he stepped on the windowsill, he fell headless.
One after another the genies climbed the stairs, and each one lost his terrible head.
So Akhmet destroyed all the genies, threw out their bodies, dumped their heads in front of the padishah’s palace, and he himself entered the girls’ room.
All eleven daughters of the padishah did not even hear how Akhmet dealt with the genies. Akhmet carefully removed their personalized gold rings from the hands of the sleeping girls, went down the stairs and went to his brothers. He told them how he destroyed the genies and went to bed.
But you need to know that these genies caused a lot of harm to both the padishah and all the inhabitants of the city. They constantly robbed and ruined people, tortured them in every possible way and did not give them peace. People were desperate and didn't know what to do. The padishah's warriors tried many times to enter into battle with the genies, but they could not defeat them.
The padishah had five strong warriors, and the padishah told them all the time:
- If you free us from the genies, I will marry you to my five daughters!
The batyrs really wanted to become the sons-in-law of the padishah, but they did not dare to enter into battle with the genies and kept putting off and postponing the day of the battle.
On the morning of that day, these warriors passed by the palace of the padishah and saw the chopped bodies of the terrible genies. The warriors said:
- Let's go to the padishah and tell him that we killed the genies at night!
They ran to the padishah, sat down at his door and began to wait for him to wake up and come out. As soon as the padishah appeared, the warriors all said at once:
- We killed the genies! Now you are saved from them!
And they began to brag and invent various fables about how bravely they fought with the genies at night. After this, the batyrs demanded from the padishah that he marry his daughters to them.
The padishah affectionately patted each of them on the shoulder and said:
“I will fulfill my promise and marry my daughters to you.” Let each of you choose the one he likes.
The warriors immediately chose a girl for themselves, and each of them said:
- I like this one!
The padishah, overjoyed, did not delay and immediately announced the wedding day. Everyone was invited to the wedding - from the smallest children to the most ancient old people.
The wedding day has arrived. Guests arrived from all over. Everyone looks with respect at the warriors, the conquerors of the genies. And the warriors sit importantly in places of honor, as if they had really beaten the genies.
When the guests gathered, the padishah looked at everyone and asked:
“Has everyone gathered here on our orders?”
One of the guests rose from his seat and said:
- O great padishah, for some reason those ten young horsemen who live on the outskirts of the city are not visible here.
The padishah ordered his vizier:
- Go and get them!
The vizier came to the brothers and said to them:
- Go to the padishah: today he is marrying off his daughters to warriors.
But the brothers don’t want to go, they refuse:
- We won’t go on foot! If the padishah is having such a big wedding, let him send horses for us.
The vizier returned to the palace and said:
- They're not coming. They want you to send horses for them.
The padishah was offended, called ten guards and ordered the brother horsemen to be brought in by force.
The padishah's guards came to the horsemen and wanted to seize them.
And the horsemen locked nine of the ten guards in the barn, and sent the tenth back to the padishah with the words:
- Let him not frighten us with his guards! We and his entire army are not afraid.
The guard brought an answer to the padishah. The padishah got angry, but he didn’t want to upset the wedding. He ordered his servants:
- Lay down the threes, send for them!
When the horsemen arrived and took their places, the padishah asked again:
- Has everyone come to the wedding now?
“Now everyone has gathered,” they answer him.
Then the padishah turned to the guests and said:
“Let everyone know why we arranged this wedding.” I have five brave warriors. These warriors killed eleven terrible genies, my fierce enemies, the destroyers of my possessions. In gratitude for this, today I marry my five daughters to glorious warriors!
The guests rejoice and glorify the warriors.
When the wedding feast ended, the padishah's eleven daughters began serving sweet sherbet and wines from the padishah's cellars to the guests.
The youngest daughter of the padishah approaches his eleventh son Akhmet and gives him a goblet of sherbet. The girl looks and is surprised: the horseman accepts the cup not with his right hand, but with his left.
“No, horseman,” says the girl, “that’s not how it’s supposed to be.” Take the cup with your right hand.
Akhmet extended his right hand. Then the padishah’s youngest daughter saw her personalized gold ring on his finger. The girl remembered this horseman, didn’t say anything more to him and went to take care of the other guests.
And after this daughter of the padishah, his other daughter, and the third, and the fourth brought Akhmet a cup of wine... The horseman got excited, got up from his seat and said:
“I would like to know, great padishah, what kind of people your warriors are.” Let them show us all that they are real warriors: they will try to raise at least one head of the genie from those that, according to them, they cut off!
The padishah says to the eldest of the five batyrs:
- Raise the head of the genie, show it to our guests!
The warrior approaches the genie’s head, tries to lift it, pushes, presses his feet into the ground, but cannot move it.
The second hero comes up, grabs the genie’s head, strains all his strength, turns blue, his veins are inflated from the strain, but he cannot move it from its place. The third warrior comes up, the fourth, the fifth - nothing works out for them. Then the two of them try to lift the genie’s head - they can’t! The three of them can’t do it again! And five people can’t lift it either. The warriors approach the padishah and say:
“We need to bring the genie’s head on horseback!”
Akhmet heard this and said to the padishah’s batyrs:
- How did you kill the genies if five of you can’t even lift one severed head?
Akhmet approaches the padishah:
- Allow me, great padishah, to show who really killed these genies!
Padishah says:
- Show me!
Then Akhmet went up to the heads of the genies, chose the largest head, grabbed the ear with one hand and threw it into the air, and picked it up with the other hand. He brought it to the guests and asked:
- Do you see now who killed the genies?
All the guests shout:
- We see! We see!
Then Akhmet demanded that his ten brothers come out and stand next to him.
But the padishah doesn’t know what to do: he’ll get up, then he’ll sit down, then he’ll run, then he’ll hobble back to his place, and then he’ll shout:
- Throw the deceivers into the dungeon!
The servants of the deceiver batyrs seized them and threw them all into the dungeon.
When the guests saw the rings with the names of the padishah’s daughters on the hands of the eleven horsemen brothers, they believed even more in the veracity of Akhmet’s words. And the padishah began to ask his brothers for forgiveness:
- Forgive me, warriors, I didn’t know who you were, that’s why I didn’t honor you! These liars and scoundrels deceived me in order to marry my daughters. Yes, just don’t let this happen! I will marry my daughters to real warriors! We have everything ready for the wedding feast!
The guests began to praise the horsemen brothers. And the padishah saw that the horsemen were wearing bad, poor clothes, he took them with him and gave them the best, festive outfits.
The dressed-up horsemen returned to the guests, and the feast began!
When the wedding feasts were over, the padishah built a separate palace for each brother and settled them there with their young wives. And he kept Akhmet and his youngest daughter with him.
Everyone began to live in love and harmony, it couldn’t have been better.
One fine day, Akhmet decided to go hunting with his wife.
As soon as they approached the forest, a strong wind suddenly rose and a heavy, black cloud appeared in the sky. This cloud fell to the ground, enveloped Akhmet and carried him away. The young wife was left alone.
She ran in fear to her father and told him everything. They cried together, grieved, but there was nothing more they could do.
Let's leave them and tell about Akhmet.
It was not a black cloud that dragged him away; dragged away, taking the form of a cloud, by the grandfather of those genies whose heads Akhmet cut off. He was the padishah of all jinn. This padishah of the jinn brought Akhmet to his palace, which stood behind the high snowy Kaf mountains bordering the earth, and said to Akhmet:
- Well, now you've fallen into my hands! I've been lying in wait for you for a long time!
The old genie chained Akhmet's legs and arms and threw him into a dark dungeon under the palace. But you need to know that the padishah of the genies did not take Akhmet away in order to take revenge on him for his grandchildren. He had long been in love with the daughter of the Padishah of the Sun and tried in every possible way to kidnap her, but he never succeeded. The daughter of the Padishah of the Sun was of unprecedented beauty.
Padishah said:
- I will give my daughter only to someone who brings me a horse - golden hooves from the stable of Padishah Almaz.
Many times the padishah of the genies tried to take away this horse - golden hooves, but all his efforts were in vain. That is why the padishah of the genies decided to use the help of such a clever and brave horseman as Akhmet. He went down to his dungeon and said:
“Now you are in my hands, and I can destroy you.” If you bring me a horse - golden hooves from the stable of Padishah Almaz, I will let you go home!
“Okay,” says Akhmet, “I’ll get this horse for you.”
The padishah of the genies told Akhmet how to get to the possessions of the padishah Almaz, and let him go.
Akhmet set off on his journey. He passed through a lot of lands, climbed high mountains and crossed them, made his way through dense forests and wide rivers. Finally he became so exhausted that he could go no further. Akhmet village at a fork in the road; sitting, resting. Suddenly an old man comes up to him and asks:
-Where are you going, son?
Akhmet answers him:
- I, grandma, am going after the horse - golden hooves, which stands in the stable of Padishah Almaz!
The old man says:
- My son, you have taken on a very difficult task! It is difficult to lead this horse away. But I will teach you. When you open the stable door, you will see a bridle on the wall. The horse is beautiful, but the bridle is much more beautiful than him! But don’t covet this bridle, don’t touch it. This bridle is attached to strings with bells in the palace of Padishah Almaz. Get your bridle somewhere and use it to lead the horse out of the stable.
The old man said these words and disappeared.
Akhmet got up and moved on.
He walked for a long time, endured a lot of torment along the way, and finally came at night to the possessions of Padishah Almaz. He approached the padishah’s stable, opened the door and saw a horse of unprecedented beauty. He looked at the wall and saw a bridle; and when I saw it, I couldn’t resist, I took it off and wanted to lead the horse out. But as soon as he touched the reins, strings and bells began to ring in the padishah’s palace. The guards of Padishah Almaz jumped out, grabbed Akhmet and put him in the zindan.
When Padishah Almaz woke up in the morning, the guards brought Akhmet to him and said:
- We caught the thief. He wanted to take away your horse - golden hooves!
Padishah Almaz shook his head reproachfully and spoke to Akhmet.
- Oh, you handsome horseman! It's not so easy to take my horse away! And before you they tried to take him away, but no one succeeded. If you want to get this horse, go to Padishah Month. He has a wonderful golden nightingale. From dawn to dusk he bursts into song, singing incessantly. Bring me this golden nightingale, and then I will give you my horse in good hands!
What should Akhmet do? He went to Padishah Month for a wonderful golden nightingale.
He walked without stopping, endured a lot of various hardships and hardships, endured cold and hunger, and in the end he was completely exhausted. Stopped at a fork in the road; sitting, resting. Suddenly the same old man comes up to him and says:
- How are you doing, my son? Did you manage to lead away the horse - golden hooves?
“No, babay, it didn’t work,” Akhmet answers. “I didn’t listen to you, I couldn’t resist, I took the bridle - it’s very beautiful!” Then the guards of Padishah Almaz grabbed me. And now, on his orders, I am going to the possessions of Padishah Month to get the wonderful golden nightingale.
The old man listened to him and said:
- When you take away the golden nightingale of Padishah Month, do not take his cage, otherwise you will get into trouble again.
Better stock up on your cage.
- This time I'll be smarter! - says Akhmet.
He said goodbye to the old man and moved on.
He came to the domain of the padishah of the Month, waited for the dark night to fall, and entered the room where the golden nightingale was located. He looks - this nightingale’s cage is so beautiful that it’s impossible to take your eyes off it! Although Akhmet wanted to take it, only this time he resisted. He put the nightingale in his cage of willow twigs and went back safely.
On the way, the nightingale spoke to him in human language and said:
- Dzhigit, now I won’t part with you! Wherever you are, there I will be!
Akhmet came to the possessions of Padishah Almaz and handed him his prize - a wonderful golden nightingale. Padishah Almaz was delighted and immediately ordered the horse with golden hooves to be taken out of the stable and given to Akhmet. Akhmet mounted his horse and rode to Padishah the Sun for an unprecedented beauty.
On the way, the horse suddenly spoke in human language and said:
- Dzhigit, now I will never part with you! After three days of travel, the golden nightingale caught up with Akhmet and flew next to him. On a horse, and on such a beautiful horse at that, it was not difficult to overcome all the paths and roads. Not much time passed - Akhmet came to Padishah the Sun and gave him a horse - golden hooves. Padishah the Sun rejoiced and said:
“As I promised, it will be so: get my daughter!”
He handed Akhmet his daughter, an unprecedented beauty, gave him a good horse and saw them off on their way.
Akhmet now went to the padishah of the genies. On the way, the girl says to Akhmet:
- Eh, horseman, how good it would be for me if I stayed with you!
“Yes,” says Akhmet, “it would be very good...
And he didn't tell her anything else.
Soon a horse caught up with them - golden hooves. Akhmet put the girl on him, and they drove even faster.
It was fun for them to ride: the girl was having fun, the nightingale was incessantly singing her songs, and the horse with golden hooves seemed to be dancing to the nightingale’s songs and shining with its hooves in the sun.
And suddenly the same old man who had already twice given good advice to Akhmet came out to meet them and said:
- Here, horseman, everything you strived for has come true! Soon you will reach a fork in the road. Look, don’t forget my words: if you go to the right, your path will be happy, if you go to the left, you will suffer many misfortunes.
The old man said this and disappeared.
But did Akhmet really care about the old man’s words! He talks with the girl, listens to the songs of the nightingale and does not remember anything. They reached a fork in the road and went not to the right, as the old man said, but to the left.
They traveled along this path of misfortune for a long time and finally became very tired and decided to rest. They dismounted and sat down on the grass. Soon sleep overcame both of them - the girl and Akhmet, and they fell fast asleep.
Akhmet slept for a long time, and when he woke up, he found neither the girl, nor the horses, nor the wonderful golden nightingale.
Akhmet began to rush here and there like crazy: looking for a girl, looking for horses, looking for a nightingale. They are nowhere to be found!..
- What is this? - Akhmet asks himself. — Does all this happen in a dream or in reality? What's wrong with me? Where should I go? What to think?
He threw himself face down and began gnawing the ground in despair. At this time the same old man appeared and said reproachfully:
- Eh, son Akhmet! I told you: be careful, go right, but you forgot my words and went left. This is where your misfortunes began.
- What should I do now? - asks Akhmet. Where can I find a girl, a horse and a nightingale?
“To find them,” said the old man, “you will have to endure a lot of torment.” Here's a scarf, a comb and a mirror. They will be useful to you in difficult times. I can't help you anymore!
And again the old man disappeared, as before.
Akhmet took courage and walked straight, without turning anywhere.
On the way he met a wide and deep river. It is impossible to go around this river, it is impossible to swim across. Akhmet stands on the shore, wondering what to do. And then he remembered the old man’s gift. He took out a handkerchief and put it on the water. At the same moment a bridge appeared, Akhmet crossed to the other side and continued on.
Let's leave Akhmet on the road and return to the girl.
When Akhmet and the girl fell asleep, a diva appeared in those places. He saw the girl and was seduced by her beauty. I saw a horse and a nightingale and decided to kidnap them. He crept up quietly, grabbed the girl, grabbed the horse and the golden nightingale and took her to his palace.
And now we will talk about Akhmet again.
How long or how long did Akhmet walk, when he saw a large palace in the distance. He went to the palace, stopped near the gate and heard a golden nightingale singing. Akhmet guessed that here both the girl and the horse had golden hooves.
He made his way into the palace. It's quiet all around, no one is there. He went around all the rooms and found the girl. She told Akhmet that her diva had kidnapped her.
“And now,” he says, “the diva is gone, he’s gone somewhere.”
Akhmet did not hesitate, took the girl and the nightingale, led the horse with golden hooves out of the stable and set off on the way back.
A little later the girl looked back and said to Akhmet:
“Look, a cloud of dust has appeared behind us and is flying towards us!”
Akhmet looked around and saw: the cloud was swirling, growing and quickly approaching. Akhmet guessed:
- This diva returned to his palace, saw that there was neither you, nor the horse, nor the nightingale, and set off in pursuit of us!
And the diva is getting closer with every moment, about to fly at them... And again Akhmet remembered the old man’s gift. He took out the comb and threw it between himself and the div. And now a tall, dense forest appeared. Akhmet with a girl at one end of the forest, Div at the other. The diva became furious and rushed into the forest. He runs without a path, clings to branches with his hair, tears his body until it bleeds. He walked through the forest for a long time before he got out of it. And during this time, Akhmet had already galloped far ahead.
The diva became furious and rushed in pursuit even faster.
A girl saw him and said:
- The diva is catching up with us again!
Akhmet took out a mirror, swung it and threw it between himself and the diva. At the same moment, a large, raging sea overflowed.
The diva rushed into the sea, wanted to swim across it, but that was not the case: the waves rose high, they did not allow him to swim. He struggled and struggled with the waves, choked and drowned.
Meanwhile, Akhmet continued on his way.
It was already close to the possessions of the padishah of the genies. The girl asks:
- Tell me, horseman, where are we going? Where are you taking me?
There was nothing left for Akhmet to do - he had to tell the girl the whole truth.
“I’m taking you to the padishah of the genies,” he says.
The girl began to cry bitterly and tear out her hair in despair.
“Why,” he says, “didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” I don’t want to live with the old padishah of the genies!
Akhmet began to console the girl:
- Don’t cry, you won’t stay with the padishah of the genies!
I promised him to bring you and I cannot fail to fulfill my promise. But you won't live with him for long. I'll take you away soon.
They come to the padishah of the genies. The old genie was happy and said to Akhmet:
- You fulfilled your promise - for this I am freeing you! Go wherever you want!
But Akhmet doesn’t want to leave.
“Keep me,” he says, “as your employee!”
The genie left it in his palace. Akhmet began to think about how he could help the girl out. You can’t run away with her - the genie will catch up with her.
It is impossible to defeat the genie - neither a sword nor an arrow can defeat him. Akhmet came to the girl and said:
- Ask the genie where his soul is.
When the genie returned, the girl greeted him with a gentle gaze, with a smiling face and asked:
- Tell me where is your soul?
The cunning genie said:
“If you really want to know where my soul is hidden, know: it’s in the broom that stands outside the door.”
Akhmet waited until the genie went to bed, came to the girl and asked:
-What did the genie tell you? Where is his soul hidden?
The girl says:
— The genie said that his soul is hidden in the broom that stands outside the door.
Akhmet shook his head and said:
- No, I don’t believe that his soul was hidden in the broom. We need to find out more about this. You take a broom, wrap it in silk ribbons, wrap it in expensive velvet, decorate it in every possible way... When the genie returns, take the broom in your hands and stroke it tenderly, as if it is dearer to you than anything else in the world.
The girl did just as Akhmet taught her. She decorated the broom with silk ribbons and wrapped it in velvet. And when the old genie returned, she carefully took her in her arms.
The genie saw this and asked:
- Why did you dress up the broom like that?
- I miss you, so I walk with your soul, I carry it in my arms! - the girl answers.
The genie laughed and said:
- How stupid you are, though! How can my soul be in a broom?
“You yourself told me that you hide it in a broom,” the girl answers.
“I was joking,” the genie replies. “My soul is not here, it is hidden far, far away from here.” There is a lake to the west of my palace.
In the middle of this lake is an island. And on the island there is a duck’s nest. There is a duck sitting on that nest; there are four eggs under the duck. It is in these four eggs that my soul resides. Only no one will ever be able to reach this island! It is guarded by four terrible boars, with tusks like sharp daggers. Only one duck can fly to that island.
The girl remembered all these words of the padishah of the genies - she did not forget anything, and then she retold everything to Akhmet.
Ahmet says:
- Now you can believe his words! I'll go look for this island! I will take possession of the genie's soul and set you free.
Akhmet went to the genie and said:
“I served you for a long time, carried out all your orders - now you let me go.”
Genie said:
- Go to all four directions and take my horse and this dagger.
Akhmet left the palace and headed to the lake where the soul of the padishah of the genies was hidden.
He drives and sees: not far from the lake, an old man is grazing sheep. Akhmet drives up to the Shepherd, greets him, asks him about his life: how many years he has been herding sheep, what he has seen in his life, what is interesting in these places.
The old man says:
“I’ve been herding sheep here for twenty years, and I haven’t gone anywhere else.” There is a lake not far from here. Scary boars run around him. They tear to shreds anyone who decides to approach the lake. How many sheep have they killed! That's why I never drive my herds towards the lake.
Akhmet listened to the shepherd's story and was very happy: it means that he did not go astray and got to where he needed to be.
- How long will it take to get to this lake? - he asks the shepherd. “I’m just making my way there.”
The shepherd got scared and began to dissuade Akhmet:
- Son, dear, don’t go there! Fierce boars will tear you to pieces, as they have torn many others.
Akhmet did not listen to the shepherd. He said goodbye to him and directed his horse to the lake.
The old shepherd was left in great anxiety. He looks after Akhmet and thinks: “What a young, handsome horseman - and he will disappear for nothing!”
Akhmet rode up to the lake and stopped his horse. And the boars had already smelled him, crawled out of the swamps and reeds, wheezed angrily and all rushed towards him. They surrounded me on all sides and wheezed:
- We know why you came here! Well, let's measure our strength!
And then a terrible struggle began. The wild boars attack the horseman, trying to hook him with their sharp fangs. And he knows how to dodge them deftly and stab them with a dagger.
This battle continued for a long time. Finally, Akhmet was tired, and the boars were exhausted.
Here the oldest boar says:
- Eh, I wish I could eat a young sprout of reeds that has just appeared! Then I would immediately have strength - I would tear you apart in one hour, turn you into dust!
“If I could eat a roasted lamb now,” Akhmet says to the boar, “I would destroy you all in one minute!”
But the old shepherd, it turns out, could not resist: he became alarmed and followed the horseman to the lake. “Maybe,” he thinks, “I can help him in some way!” The shepherd heard Akhmet say: “I would like to eat a lamb,” and he immediately slaughtered the lamb, quickly roasted it over the fire and served it to Akhmet:
- Eat, horseman!
Akhmet ate the lamb in an instant, and immediately his strength returned. He rushed at the wild boars, and soon not a single one of them was left alive.
Then Akhmet swam across the lake on his horse and got out to the island. He found a duck nest in the middle of the island, drove the duck off it and saw: there were four eggs in the nest. He took these eggs, hid them in his bosom and returned to the shore. He galloped to the palace of the padishah of the genies and shouted:
- Now you are in my hands, damned genie! I will repay you for all the evil you caused me!
And he showed the genie the duck eggs.
The padishah of the genies was afraid and began to beg Akhmet:
- Give me these eggs, horseman!
“No,” Akhmet answers, “I won’t give it up!” And he threw two eggs on the ground. The eggs broke. The genie at that very moment weakened, fell, began to crawl on his knees in front of Akhmet, begging him:
- Don't hit the rest of the eggs, my son! You took my two souls, leave me at least the last two! I'll never touch you again! If you want to take all my wealth, take it!
“No,” said Akhmet, “I don’t need your wealth.” What do you need from me then? - asks the padishah of the genies.
- Take me now, the girl, my horse - golden hooves and nightingale to the places from where you took me!
“My son Akhmet,” says the genie, “if I take you home, will you give me the remaining two eggs?”
Ahmet says:
- I'll give it back.
Then the genie put the girl and Akhmet on himself, took the horse and the nightingale and said:
- Close your eyes!
He soared into the sky and in an instant brought Akhmet just to the forest where he had once descended on him in the guise of a black cloud.
Akhmet opened his eyes and saw that he, the girl, his horse, and the nightingale found themselves in the very place where he had hunted with his wife.
“Now,” Akhmet orders the padishah of the genies, “you fly to your possessions.”
The genie began to beg the horseman to give him the remaining two eggs with his souls.
“No,” said Akhmet, “you will never get them!”
When the genie flew away to his domain, Akhmet hit the egg against the egg and broke them. And at that very moment the padishah of the genies was gone: he crumbled into fine dust. And our horseman went to his wife, gathered his brothers and told them about his amazing adventures. The girl he brought from the genie was settled in the palace of the padishah. Soon Akhmet said to his brothers:
“We married the daughters of the padishah here, we live in contentment, and our parents are waiting for us and think that none of their eleven sons are already alive.” Let's go to them and make them happy!
The brothers got together, harnessed the horse with golden hooves to a gilded cart, took with them a wonderful golden nightingale and, together with their wives, went to their village to their parents.
I can’t even tell you how happy the father and mother were when they saw all their sons alive and well!
From that time on, the brothers were never separated from their parents again and lived together joyfully and amicably. They say, and now they live!