Discovery of the Akkerman Fortress Sundial
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Abstract
On one of Turkish towers of the outer front of Akkerman Fortress a vertical sundial with a southeast orientation was installed in the last quarter of the 15th century. This is one of the earliest examples of Islamic sundials, which survived in the territory of the former Ottoman Empire. The tower sundial performed a public function and regulated the daily religious life of the city. It was installed and adjusted in December. The tower was erected specifically for the subsequent placement of this device on its façade, that is why the Ottomans called it the “Clock tower”. The Akkerman sundial had two gnomons to indicate the time of the beginning of two afternoon prayers – the noon Zuhr and the evening Asr. The designer of the device was interested in fixing the time for prayers (religious time) according to the canonical recommendations of the hadiths and the Hanafi mazhab. It was impossible to determine the beginning of the Asr prayer in the period from September 3 to April 8 due to the south-east orientation of the sundial. However, throughout the year it was possible to fix the time of the noon prayer, and orient oneself in the days of the equinoxes and solstices. In 1796, the public sundial of Akkerman was damaged. Another slab was installed on the tower over the marble cadran with dismantled gnomons, there was the tugra of Sultan Selim III on it, but it was also removed from the façade in the first quarter of the 19th century.
How to Cite
Krasnozhon, A. (2025). Discovery of the Akkerman Fortress Sundial. The World of the Orient, (3 (128), 104-132. https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2025.03.104
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Keywords
Akkerman Fortress; Bayezid II; historical astronomy; prayer namaz; Ottoman Empire; Selim III; sundial; Hanafi mazhab
References
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Красножон А. В. (2016а), Крепость Белгород (Аккерман) в исторических изображениях, Stratum plus, Кишинев.
Красножон А. В. (2016b), “Історична топографія фортеці та міста Аккерман у 1770–1793 рр.”, Чорноморська минувшина, № 2, с. 16–24.
Красножон А. В. (2018), Фортеці та міста Північно-Західного Причорномор’я, Чорномор’я, Одеса.
Красножон А. В. (2021), “О дате модернизации Аккерманской крепости Франсуа Кауффером”, Stratum Plus, Кишинев, № 6, с. 255–267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp216255267
Красножон А. В. (2023), “Епіграфіка та декоративне кам’яне різьблення на пам’ятках Аккермана XV–XVIII ст.”, Східний світ, № 2, с. 53–74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2023.02.053
Красножон А. В. (2024), «Одеські трофейні експонати в колекції Національного музейного комплексу “Молдова” (Ясси)», Старожитності Лукомор’я, № 2, с. 33–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33782/2708-4116.2024.3.270
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Свиньин П. П. (2001–2002), “Описание Бессарабской области”, Stratum plus, № 6, с. 342–413.
Тесленко І., Богуславський Г., Красножон А. & Теліженко С. (2019), “Дослідження на території Білгород-Дністровської фортеці”, Археологічні дослідження в Україні 2017, ІА НАН України, Київ, с. 179–180.
Тютюнджи М. & Красножон А. В. (2019), Місто Ізмаїл та його фортифікація (за джерелами XVI–XIX ст.), Чорномор’я, Одеса.
Челеби Эвлия (1961), Книга путешествия. Земли Молдавии и Украины, Наука, Москва.
Шлапак М. Е. (2001), Белгород-Днестровская крепость (исследование оборонного средневекового зодчества), ARC, Кишинев.
Яворский Б. М. & Селезнев Ю. А. (1975), Справочное руководство по физике (для поступающих в вузы и самообразования), Наука, Москва.
Kraszewski I. I. (1930), “Descrierea Cetăţii Albe”, in Călători poloni in Ţările Romane, Editura Cultura naţională, Bucureşti, pp. 245–251.
Bir А. (2008), “Principle and Use of Ottoman Sundials”, in Muslim heritage, available at: https://muslimheritage.com/principle-and-use-of-ottoman-sundials/?fbclid=IwAR1qumhB8eK0ZDmNyCJ8CkVAS29bchON5DPwrZzbZSpDXzcldcy0y95LxE4 (accessed June 1, 2025).
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (ВOA), D. BŞM. BNE. d. no. 16070.
Çelebi Evliyâ (2010), Günümüz Türkçesiyle Evliyâ Çelebi Seyahatnamesi: Akkirman-Belgrad-Gelibolu-Manastır-Özü-Saraybosna-Slovenya-Tokat-Üsküp, 5 (1), Yapı Kredi Yayınları, Istanbul.
The Encyclopedia of Islam (1993), C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs and the late Ch. Pellat (еds), Vol. VII, E. J. Brill, Leiden and New York.
Ostapchuk V. and Bilyayeva S. (2009), “The Ottoman Northern Black Sea Frontier at Akkerman Fortress: The View from a Historical and Archaeological Project”, in A. C. S. Peacock (ed.), The Frontiers of the Ottoman World, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, pp. 137–170.
Özdemir Y. (2013), “Anadolu Güneş Saatleri”, Acta Turcica (Çevrimiçi Tematik Türkoloji Dergisi), Yıl V, Sayı 1, Ocak “Kültürümüzde İklim ve Mevsimler”, pp. 1–27.
Yazici S. (2021), Tarihi güneş saatleri ve çalişma prensipleri, Karadeniz teknik üniversites, Trabzon.
REFERENCE
Bogoslavskiy S. (1876), “Gorod Akkerman i ego pravoslavnyye tserkvi”, Kishinevskiye eparkhial’nyye vedomosti, No. 9 (May 11–15), Chișinău. (In Russian).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2012), Krepost’ Belgorod (Akkerman) na Dnestre: istoriya stroitel’stva, Stratum Plus, Chișinău. (In Russian).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2013), “Epigraficheskiye pamyatniki XV v. iz Belgorodskoy kreposti”, Stratum plus, No. 6, pp. 177–212. (In Russian).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2016a), Krepost’ Belgorod (Akkerman) v istoricheskikh izobrazheniyakh, Stratum plus, Chișinău.
Krasnozhon A. V. (2016b), “Istorychna topohrafiia fortetsi ta mista Akkerman u 1770–1793 rr.”, Chornomorska Mynuvshyna, No. 2, pp. 16–24. (In Ukrainian).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2018), Fortetsi ta mista Pivnichno-Zakhidnoho Prychornomoria, Chornomoria, Odesa. (In Ukraine).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2021), “O date modernizatsii Akkermanskoy kreposti Fransua Kaufferom”, Stratum Plus, No. 6, pp. 255–267. (In Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp216255267
Krasnozhon A. V. (2023), “Epihrafika ta dekoratyvne kamiane rizblennia na pamiatkakh Akkermana XV–XVIII st.”, Shìdnij svìt, No. 2, pp. 53–74. (In Ukrainian). https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2023.02.053
Krasnozhon A. V. (2024), “Odeski trofeini eksponaty v kolektsii Natsionalnoho muzeinoho kompleksu ‘Moldova’ (Iassy)”, Antiquities of Lukomorie, No. 2, pp. 33–52. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.33782/2708-4116.2024.3.270
Nadezhdin N. N. (1839), “Progulka po Bessarabii”, v Odesskiy al’manakh na 1840 g., Odessa, pp. 308–457. (In Russian).
Rossiyskiy gosudarstvennyy voyenno-istoricheskiy arkhiv (RGVIA) [Russian State Military History Archive], Fund 418, Inventory 1, File 702, Page 1. (In Russian).
Svin’in P. P. (2001–2002), “Opisaniye Bessarabskoy oblasti”, Stratum plus, No. 6, pp. 342–413. (In Russian).
Teslenko I., Bohuslavskyi H., Krasnozhon A. and Telizhenko S. (2019), “Doslidzhennia na terytorii Bilhorod-Dnistrovskoi fortetsi”, in Arkheolohichni doslidzhennia v Ukraini 2017, IA NAS of Ukraine, pp. 179–182. (In Ukrainian).
Tiutiundzhy M. and Krasnozhon A. V. (2019), Misto Izmail ta yoho fortyfikatsiia (za dzherelamy XVI–XIX st.), Chornomoria, Odesa. (In Ukrainian).
Chelebi Evliya (1961), Kniga puteshestviya, Part 1: Zemli Moldavii i Ukrainy, Nauka, Moscow. (In Russian).
Shlapak M. E. (2001), Belgorod-Dnestrovskaya krepost’ (issledovaniye oboronnogo srednevekovogo zodchestva), ARC, Chișinău. (In Russian).
Yavorskiy B. M. and Seleznev Yu. A. (1975), Spravochnoye rukovodstvo po fizike (dlya postupayushchikh v vuzy i samoobrazovaniya), Nauka, Moscow. (In Russian).
Kraszewski I. I. (1930), “Descrierea Cetăţii Albe”, in Călători poloni in Ţările Romane, Editura Cultura naţională, Bucureşti, pp. 245–251.
Bir А. (2008), “Principle and Use of Ottoman Sundials”, in Muslim heritage, available at: https://muslimheritage.com/principle-and-use-of-ottoman-sundials/?fbclid=IwAR1qumhB8eK0ZDmNyCJ8CkVAS29bchON5DPwrZzbZSpDXzcldcy0y95LxE4 (accessed June 1, 2025).
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (ВOA), D. BŞM. BNE. d. no. 16070.
Çelebi Evliyâ (2010), Günümüz Türkçesiyle Evliyâ Çelebi Seyahatnamesi: Akkirman-Belgrad-Gelibolu-Manastır-Özü-Saraybosna-Slovenya-Tokat-Üsküp, No. 5 (1), Yapı Kredi Yayınları, Istanbul.
The Encyclopedia of Islam (1993), C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs and the late Ch. Pellat (еds), Vol. VII, E. J. Brill, Leiden and New York.
Ostapchuk V. and Bilyayeva S. (2009), “The Ottoman Northern Black Sea Frontier at Akkerman Fortress: The View from a Historical and Archaeological Project”, in A. C. S. Peacock (ed.), The Frontiers of the Ottoman World, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, pp. 137–170.
Özdemir Y. (2013), “Anadolu Güneş Saatleri”, Acta Turcica (Çevrimiçi Tematik Türkoloji Dergisi), Yıl V, Sayı 1, Ocak “Kültürümüzde İklim ve Mevsimler”, pp. 1–27.
Yazici S. (2021), Tarihi güneş saatleri ve çalişma prensipleri, Karadeniz teknik üniversites, Trabzon.
Красножон А. В. (2012), Крепость Белгород (Аккерман) на Днестре: история строительства, Stratum Plus, Кишинев.
Красножон А. В. (2013), “Эпиграфические памятники XV в. из Белгородской крепости”, Stratum plus, Кишинев, № 6, с. 177–212.
Красножон А. В. (2016а), Крепость Белгород (Аккерман) в исторических изображениях, Stratum plus, Кишинев.
Красножон А. В. (2016b), “Історична топографія фортеці та міста Аккерман у 1770–1793 рр.”, Чорноморська минувшина, № 2, с. 16–24.
Красножон А. В. (2018), Фортеці та міста Північно-Західного Причорномор’я, Чорномор’я, Одеса.
Красножон А. В. (2021), “О дате модернизации Аккерманской крепости Франсуа Кауффером”, Stratum Plus, Кишинев, № 6, с. 255–267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp216255267
Красножон А. В. (2023), “Епіграфіка та декоративне кам’яне різьблення на пам’ятках Аккермана XV–XVIII ст.”, Східний світ, № 2, с. 53–74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2023.02.053
Красножон А. В. (2024), «Одеські трофейні експонати в колекції Національного музейного комплексу “Молдова” (Ясси)», Старожитності Лукомор’я, № 2, с. 33–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33782/2708-4116.2024.3.270
Надеждин Н. Н. (1839), “Прогулка по Бессарабии”, в Одесский альманах на 1840 г., Одесса, с. 308–457.
Российский государственный военно-исторический архив (РГВИА), ф. 418, оп. 1, д. 702, л. 1.
Свиньин П. П. (2001–2002), “Описание Бессарабской области”, Stratum plus, № 6, с. 342–413.
Тесленко І., Богуславський Г., Красножон А. & Теліженко С. (2019), “Дослідження на території Білгород-Дністровської фортеці”, Археологічні дослідження в Україні 2017, ІА НАН України, Київ, с. 179–180.
Тютюнджи М. & Красножон А. В. (2019), Місто Ізмаїл та його фортифікація (за джерелами XVI–XIX ст.), Чорномор’я, Одеса.
Челеби Эвлия (1961), Книга путешествия. Земли Молдавии и Украины, Наука, Москва.
Шлапак М. Е. (2001), Белгород-Днестровская крепость (исследование оборонного средневекового зодчества), ARC, Кишинев.
Яворский Б. М. & Селезнев Ю. А. (1975), Справочное руководство по физике (для поступающих в вузы и самообразования), Наука, Москва.
Kraszewski I. I. (1930), “Descrierea Cetăţii Albe”, in Călători poloni in Ţările Romane, Editura Cultura naţională, Bucureşti, pp. 245–251.
Bir А. (2008), “Principle and Use of Ottoman Sundials”, in Muslim heritage, available at: https://muslimheritage.com/principle-and-use-of-ottoman-sundials/?fbclid=IwAR1qumhB8eK0ZDmNyCJ8CkVAS29bchON5DPwrZzbZSpDXzcldcy0y95LxE4 (accessed June 1, 2025).
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (ВOA), D. BŞM. BNE. d. no. 16070.
Çelebi Evliyâ (2010), Günümüz Türkçesiyle Evliyâ Çelebi Seyahatnamesi: Akkirman-Belgrad-Gelibolu-Manastır-Özü-Saraybosna-Slovenya-Tokat-Üsküp, 5 (1), Yapı Kredi Yayınları, Istanbul.
The Encyclopedia of Islam (1993), C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs and the late Ch. Pellat (еds), Vol. VII, E. J. Brill, Leiden and New York.
Ostapchuk V. and Bilyayeva S. (2009), “The Ottoman Northern Black Sea Frontier at Akkerman Fortress: The View from a Historical and Archaeological Project”, in A. C. S. Peacock (ed.), The Frontiers of the Ottoman World, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, pp. 137–170.
Özdemir Y. (2013), “Anadolu Güneş Saatleri”, Acta Turcica (Çevrimiçi Tematik Türkoloji Dergisi), Yıl V, Sayı 1, Ocak “Kültürümüzde İklim ve Mevsimler”, pp. 1–27.
Yazici S. (2021), Tarihi güneş saatleri ve çalişma prensipleri, Karadeniz teknik üniversites, Trabzon.
REFERENCE
Bogoslavskiy S. (1876), “Gorod Akkerman i ego pravoslavnyye tserkvi”, Kishinevskiye eparkhial’nyye vedomosti, No. 9 (May 11–15), Chișinău. (In Russian).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2012), Krepost’ Belgorod (Akkerman) na Dnestre: istoriya stroitel’stva, Stratum Plus, Chișinău. (In Russian).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2013), “Epigraficheskiye pamyatniki XV v. iz Belgorodskoy kreposti”, Stratum plus, No. 6, pp. 177–212. (In Russian).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2016a), Krepost’ Belgorod (Akkerman) v istoricheskikh izobrazheniyakh, Stratum plus, Chișinău.
Krasnozhon A. V. (2016b), “Istorychna topohrafiia fortetsi ta mista Akkerman u 1770–1793 rr.”, Chornomorska Mynuvshyna, No. 2, pp. 16–24. (In Ukrainian).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2018), Fortetsi ta mista Pivnichno-Zakhidnoho Prychornomoria, Chornomoria, Odesa. (In Ukraine).
Krasnozhon A. V. (2021), “O date modernizatsii Akkermanskoy kreposti Fransua Kaufferom”, Stratum Plus, No. 6, pp. 255–267. (In Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp216255267
Krasnozhon A. V. (2023), “Epihrafika ta dekoratyvne kamiane rizblennia na pamiatkakh Akkermana XV–XVIII st.”, Shìdnij svìt, No. 2, pp. 53–74. (In Ukrainian). https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2023.02.053
Krasnozhon A. V. (2024), “Odeski trofeini eksponaty v kolektsii Natsionalnoho muzeinoho kompleksu ‘Moldova’ (Iassy)”, Antiquities of Lukomorie, No. 2, pp. 33–52. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.33782/2708-4116.2024.3.270
Nadezhdin N. N. (1839), “Progulka po Bessarabii”, v Odesskiy al’manakh na 1840 g., Odessa, pp. 308–457. (In Russian).
Rossiyskiy gosudarstvennyy voyenno-istoricheskiy arkhiv (RGVIA) [Russian State Military History Archive], Fund 418, Inventory 1, File 702, Page 1. (In Russian).
Svin’in P. P. (2001–2002), “Opisaniye Bessarabskoy oblasti”, Stratum plus, No. 6, pp. 342–413. (In Russian).
Teslenko I., Bohuslavskyi H., Krasnozhon A. and Telizhenko S. (2019), “Doslidzhennia na terytorii Bilhorod-Dnistrovskoi fortetsi”, in Arkheolohichni doslidzhennia v Ukraini 2017, IA NAS of Ukraine, pp. 179–182. (In Ukrainian).
Tiutiundzhy M. and Krasnozhon A. V. (2019), Misto Izmail ta yoho fortyfikatsiia (za dzherelamy XVI–XIX st.), Chornomoria, Odesa. (In Ukrainian).
Chelebi Evliya (1961), Kniga puteshestviya, Part 1: Zemli Moldavii i Ukrainy, Nauka, Moscow. (In Russian).
Shlapak M. E. (2001), Belgorod-Dnestrovskaya krepost’ (issledovaniye oboronnogo srednevekovogo zodchestva), ARC, Chișinău. (In Russian).
Yavorskiy B. M. and Seleznev Yu. A. (1975), Spravochnoye rukovodstvo po fizike (dlya postupayushchikh v vuzy i samoobrazovaniya), Nauka, Moscow. (In Russian).
Kraszewski I. I. (1930), “Descrierea Cetăţii Albe”, in Călători poloni in Ţările Romane, Editura Cultura naţională, Bucureşti, pp. 245–251.
Bir А. (2008), “Principle and Use of Ottoman Sundials”, in Muslim heritage, available at: https://muslimheritage.com/principle-and-use-of-ottoman-sundials/?fbclid=IwAR1qumhB8eK0ZDmNyCJ8CkVAS29bchON5DPwrZzbZSpDXzcldcy0y95LxE4 (accessed June 1, 2025).
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (ВOA), D. BŞM. BNE. d. no. 16070.
Çelebi Evliyâ (2010), Günümüz Türkçesiyle Evliyâ Çelebi Seyahatnamesi: Akkirman-Belgrad-Gelibolu-Manastır-Özü-Saraybosna-Slovenya-Tokat-Üsküp, No. 5 (1), Yapı Kredi Yayınları, Istanbul.
The Encyclopedia of Islam (1993), C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs and the late Ch. Pellat (еds), Vol. VII, E. J. Brill, Leiden and New York.
Ostapchuk V. and Bilyayeva S. (2009), “The Ottoman Northern Black Sea Frontier at Akkerman Fortress: The View from a Historical and Archaeological Project”, in A. C. S. Peacock (ed.), The Frontiers of the Ottoman World, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, pp. 137–170.
Özdemir Y. (2013), “Anadolu Güneş Saatleri”, Acta Turcica (Çevrimiçi Tematik Türkoloji Dergisi), Yıl V, Sayı 1, Ocak “Kültürümüzde İklim ve Mevsimler”, pp. 1–27.
Yazici S. (2021), Tarihi güneş saatleri ve çalişma prensipleri, Karadeniz teknik üniversites, Trabzon.
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