Sarkel was a fortress of the Khazars, built on the lower Don River in the steppe, to defend against attack by nomads and Rus raiders. According to Byzantine sources, the Khazar ruler asked the Byzantine emperor Theophilos for engineers, and the architect Petronas Kamateros was sent to build it. It was constructed from baked brick, an unusual material in the region, and it was a trading and military centre where the Don and the Volga come close. The name means white house, possibly after its white walls. Sarkel was captured and destroyed by Sviatoslav of Kyiv in the tenth century. The site was flooded by the Tsimlyansk Reservoir in the 1950s after being excavated.
Before and after
- 13 June 823 CEBirth of Charles the Bald
- 828 CEConstruction of St Mark's Basilica
- c. 830sThe House of Wisdom flourishes in Baghdad
- from 833 CE to 907 CEGreat Moravia
- 834 CEOrigins of Sarkel
- c. 841 CEOrigins of Dublin
- from 843 CE to 962 CEEast Francia
- from 843 CE to 1707Kingdom of Scotland
- from 843 CE to 987 CEWest Francia
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The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 9th century.