The Round Mardakan Fortress, also called the Small Mardakan Castle, stands in Mardakan settlement in Baku. According to the inscription on its donjon, it was completed in 1232 at the order of Shirvanshah Fariburz III, and the architect was Abdulmajid ibn Masud. It belongs to the Shirvan-Absheron architectural school and is built of local limestone and lime mortar.
The central cylindrical tower is about 52 feet (16 meters) tall and 25 feet (7.6 meters) across, with lower walls about 7 feet (2 meters) thick. It has three tiers, each covered by a flat stone dome with a central opening. A high entrance to the second floor made attackers' access harder. Surrounding walls about 23 feet (7 meters) high have sides about 82 feet (25 meters) long.
The upper platform was defensive, and the second and third floors were residential. It is now a museum.
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