Castle
The Palace of Ardashir
28°53′53″N
52°32′22″E
/
28.898091°N 52.539314°E
/
28.898091; 52.539314
The
Palace
of Ardashir P?pakan
(in
Persian
:
??? ?????? ??????
,
K?kh-e Ardashir-e P?pak?n
), also known as the
Atash-kadeh
??????, is a castle located on the slopes of the mountain on which
Dezh Dokhtar
is situated. Built in AD 224 by King
Ardashir I
of the
Sassanian Empire
, it is located two kilometers (1.2 miles) north of the ancient city of
Gor
, i.e. the old city of Artakhsher Khwarah/Khor Adashir/Gor Adesheer (Glory of [king] Ardasher) in
Pars
, in ancient
Persia
(
Iran
). The ancient city where the palace is located, was renamed "Peroz" (lit. victorious) after Ardashir established the
Sassanian Empire
by overthrowing
Ardavan
, the last
Parthian
king. After the Arabian conquest, Peroz was called Firuz, and the name remained. The modern city of
Firuzabad
is hence, of important significance in
Persian history
.
Description
[
edit
]
Exterior elevation, Palace of Ardashir, at
Sarvestan
, 1905
Interior elevation, Palace of Ardashir, 1905
The structure contains three domes, among other features, making it slightly larger and more magnificent than its predecessor, the nearby castle of
Dezh Dokhtar
. However, it seems that the compound was designed to display the royalty image of
Ardashir I
, rather than being a fortified structure for defense purposes. That is why perhaps it would be best to refer to the structure as a "palace" rather than a "castle", even though it has huge walls on the perimeters (twice as thick as Ghal'eh Dokhtar), and is a contained structure. From the architectural design, it seems the palace was more of a place of social gathering where guests would be introduced to the imperial throne.
What is particularly interesting about this palace is that its architectural design does not exactly fall into that of the
Parthians
or even
Sassanian
category; the design is a unique design particular to architects of
Fars
.
The palace was built next to a picturesque pond that was fed by a natural spring, perhaps in connection with the Persian goddess of water and growth,
Anahita
. The spring is thought to have fed a royal garden, in the same way that Cyrus had his garden (bustan) built at
Pasargadae
. The pond was tiled on its sides, surrounded by pavement for guests of the royal court to enjoy the evenings by.
The structure is 104 m (340 ft) by 55 m (180 ft). The
iwan
is 18 m (60 ft) high, although it has partially collapsed. The structure was built of local rocks and mortar with plasterwork on the insides. The style of the interior design is comparable to that of
Tachara
palace at
Persepolis
.
[
citation needed
]
In modern times
[
edit
]
The Palace of Ardashir
Jane Dieulafoy
visited the site with her husband,
Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy
, and described it in
La Perse, la Chaldee et la Susiane
.
[1]
Robert Byron
was there in February 1934, and wrote about his visit in
The Road to Oxiana
. Byron considered the Palace to include the prototype of the
squinch
. In his view, buildings such as
St. Peter's Basilica
and the
Taj Mahal
would not have existed without the squinch and the
pendentive
.
[2]
Iran has tentatively listed the Palace of Ardashir and other sites in and around Firouzabad as a possible
UNESCO World Heritage Site
since 1997.
[3]
Gallery
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]
See also
[
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]
Notes and references
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Periods
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Types
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Elements
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Traditional cities
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Theory and analysis
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Lists
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East Azerbaijan
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West Azerbaijan
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Isfahan
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Ardabil
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Alborz
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Bushehr
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Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad
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Golestan
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Gilan
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Tehran
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Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari
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North Khorasan
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Razavi Khorasan
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South Khorasan
|
- Arg of Kolah Farangi
- Arg of Tabas
- Chehel Dokhtar Castle, Qaen
- Bidesgan Castle
- Shahdiz
- Birjand Castle
- Howgend Castle
- Howz Gholam Kesh Castle
- Rostam Castle
- Rostam Castle, Khusf
- Furg Citadel
- Khvor Castle
- Khanik Castle
- Kol Hassan Sabbah Castle
- Kuh Qaen Castle
- Kuh Zardan Castle
- Qal'eh Dokhtar, Ferdows
- Qal'eh Kuh of Ferdows
- Qadamgah Castle
- Qala Castle, Shadan
- Qala Castle, Nowzad
- Qala Castle, Mud
- Qala Castle, Chahkand
- Qala Castle, Sarayan
- Qala Castle, Ark
- Azizabad Castle
- Raqqeh Castle
- Yahn Castle
- Nowferest Castle
- Nughab Castle
- Masen Castle
- Kuh Shakhen Castle
- Kamar Qala Castle
- Aliabad Castle, Birjand
- Dezh Estakhr Castle
- Qal'eh Dokhtar, Mark
- Qal'eh Dokhtar, Asiab
- Khorashad Castle
- Chahkanduk Castle
- Babuk Castle
- Asu Castle
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Khuzestan
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Kurdistan
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Semnan
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Sistan and Baluchestan
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Fars
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Qazvin
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Qom
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Kerman
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Kermanshah
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Mazandaran
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Markazi
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Lorestan
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Ilam
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Hormozgan
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Hamadan
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Yazd
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Zanjan
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