Takht-e Sōleymān, Sasanians, Romans, & Mongols: Reflections on the Life & Afterlife of Sacred Place

May 20, 2022 The most venerated fire temple of the Sasanian empire was located at the present-day site of Takht-e Sōleymān. Built in the course of the fifth and sixth centuries CE, Takht-e Sōleymān, considered the holy place of the empire on account its association with the sacred fire Ādur Gušnasp, was plundered in 642 by an East Roman army, an event that put an end to the use and importance of the place as a fire temple. However, the sack of the sanctuary marked the beginning of the site’s afterlife. An interval of six centuries separates the site’s Sasanian period from its transformation under the Mongols—when it was known as Saturiq—in the course of which a variety of legends became associated with the mysterious ruins. Prominent historians such as Abu Dulaf, Ibn Khordādbeh, Masʿudi, Tabari, and Yaghut refer to the ruined fire temple and its importance while the site’s symbolism influenced Armenian and Christian legends. Chosen as a summer residence by the Ilkhans of Persia in the thirteenth century, it experienced a short period of revival and architectural activities, followed by centuries of abandonment until the archaeologist’s spade revealed its less fabulous but still engaging history as the site of the royal fire Ādur Gušnasp. The present survey of Takht-e Sōleymān attempts to show to what extent legends and realities are therein intertwined. Mousavi, Ali. "Takht-e Sōleymān, Sasanians, Romans, and Mongols: Reflections on the Life and Afterlife of a Sacred Place." Pourdavoud Center: The World of Ancient Iran and the West (May 20, 2022). https://pourdavoud.ucla.edu/media/vid...