Iran
Ashraf Hall dates from the Safavid period and is located in Isfahan, on Sepah Street; it was registered on 6 January 1932 under registration number 106 as one of Iran's national monuments.
Ashraf Hall is one of the historic buildings of Isfahan which, during the Safavid period, was the king's residence and the royal harem, and in the Qajar period became the house of Sarem al-Dowleh (commander of the Isfahan military), later serving as a fodder store and lodging for Russian soldiers, and at various times was repurposed for the health and vital-records office, the education office, the office of culture and art, the education and training office, and the protocol office of the provincial governorate. Ashraf Hall was built under Shah Abbas II of Safavid and completed under Shah Suleiman; it stood within the historic precinct of the Safavid Dowlatkhaneh, near the Rikab-khaneh, the Timurid Hall, the Tohid-khaneh and the Chehel Sotoun Palace, and is now located west of Ostandari Street within the grounds of the Isfahan governorate garden.
The building is constructed entirely with timber framing, and its flat roof rests on tall, thick columns covered in gold.
At the start of the First World War it was used as a storehouse by military units and later became the stand for a military band.
About 80 years ago, after the buildings to the left and right of the hall were demolished, the archaeology office prevented its ruin by restoring the building, and the building was then set aside to house the general education office.
The building called Ashraf Hall is what remains of the Safavid-era palaces which, in the Dowlatkhaneh area, together with other palaces such as the Covered Hall, the Hasht Behesht Palace, the Posht-e Matbakh Palace, the Rikab-khaneh and the Timurid Hall, formed a set of the magnificent palaces of that era.
Machine-translated from “تالار اشرف” on the Persian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ashraf Hall ranks #7,786 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #81 of the 173 mapped in Iran. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Isfahan, 1 km away. See how Iran compares in the castle statistics.
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