Takht-e Soleyman

Takht-e Soleymān (Persian: تخت سلیمان, lit. 'Throne of Solomon') is an archaeological site in West Azerbaijan, Iran dating back to the Sasanian Empire. It lies midway between Urmia and Hamadan, very near the present-day town of Takab, and 400 km (250 mi) west of Tehran.

The fortified site, which is located on a hill created by the outflow of a calcium-rich spring pond, was recognized as a World Heritage Site in July 2003. The citadel includes the remains of Adur Gushnasp, a Zoroastrian fire temple built during the Sasanian era and partially rebuilt (as a mosque) under the Ilkhanate. This temple housed one of the three "Great Fires" or "Royal Fires" that Sassanid rulers humbled themselves before in order to ascend the throne. The fire at Takht-i Soleiman was called Adur Gushnasp and was dedicated to the arteshtar or the warrior class of the Sassanid. The foundations of the fire temple around the pond is attributed to that legend. Takht-e Soleyman appears on the 4th century Peutinger Map.

This site got its biblical name after the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Folk legend relates that King Solomon used to imprison monsters inside a nearby 100m deep crater which is called Zendan-e Soleyman "Prison of Solomon". Solomon is also said to have created the flowing pond in the fortress.

Archaeological excavations have revealed traces of a 5th-century BC occupation during the Achaemenid era, as well as later Parthian settlements in the citadel. Coins belonging to the reign of Sassanid shahs, and that of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II (AD 408–450), have also been discovered there. There is a small museum exhibiting artifacts from the site.

Text adapted from “Takht-e Soleymān” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Takht-e Soleyman ranks #130 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #3 of the 169 mapped in Iran. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 18,181 times in the last 60 days, more than 97% of the atlas. See how Iran compares in the castle statistics.

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