Shusha fortress is a fortress wall surrounding the historical center of Shusha city and was named Panahabad fortress in honor of its founder Panahali khan.
In later times, the city was simply called Gala (fortress). After a while, the people called the fortress Shusha fortress, and later only Shusha. The name Shusha is probably taken from the name of Shushakend near the place where the fortress was built. The area where the Shusha fortress was built is a mountain plateau with numerous hills and ravines in the form of an amphitheater from the west. The highest area of the plateau is 1600 m above sea level, and the lowest area is 1300 m. The basic principles of urban planning of the architecture of the feudal period in the architecture of the Shusha fortress are reflected in the selection of the city location, structural planning, as well as the external artistic appearance of the fortress. Shusha fortress had three main gates: Ganja, Irevan and Agoghlan gates. The names of all three gates are often mentioned in historical sources, as well as in all the master plans of Shusha drawn in the XIX century.
