Divankhana, 15th century monument in Baku, Azerbaijan

Divankhana is a 15th century monument in Baku featuring an octagonal rotunda-pavilion with pointed arcades, a stone cupola, and a three-sided gallery surrounding a closed courtyard. The structure spreads across multiple levels that include an octahedral hall, an underground vault, and a five-meter deep well carved into the rock base.

The building was constructed during the reign of Farrukh Yasar, with construction halted around 1500-1501 following the arrival of Safavid armies in Baku. This interruption marks a significant shift in local rule and the region's architectural development.

The building's present name reflects the most widely accepted theory: that it served as a reception or council hall. A crown carved among the rich carpet-like ornaments of the west portal supports this, as a symbol of statehood. The hall's plan, an underground vault and Quranic verses (10:26–27) at the entrance also point to a memorial function.

Visitors can explore multiple chambers spread across different levels, including an octahedral hall, an underground vault, and a well set into the rock base. Wear sturdy footwear and be prepared for narrow passages and stairs that appear throughout the interior spaces.

The sources do not mention a 'milky well' or any link to women's health. Instead, they record five wells in the courtyard, from 3 to 15 metres deep, and a staircase in the centre of the hall leading down to a basement whose purpose is debated—possibly a tomb. The historian Sara Ashurbeyli also suggested that cup-shaped pits on the site, from a pre-Islamic sacred area, were used to hold the blood of sacrificed animals.