Takht-e Soleyman
Located in northwestern province of West Azerbaijan in the city of Takab, Takht-e Soleyman (literally means Solomon’s Throne) is the ancient city and historic Zoroastrian temple complex of Iran’s Sassanian dynasty (226–650 AD), where the Sassanian kings were crowned.
Lying in a broad and remote mountain valley and in a shape of a fortified oval platform rising about 60 meters above the surrounding plain, the site manifests the glorious Persian civilization and was the principal sanctuary and foremost site of Zoroastrianism, the Sassanian state religion.
Registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, The citadel includes a Zoroastrian fire temple, a temple dedicated to Anahita (the divinity of the water), and a Sassanian royal sanctuary, the Jail Mountain, and remains of the only castle dating back to the Ilkhanid period (1256-1353 AD).
In addition to historic monuments, Takht-e Soleiman offers an absolutely eye-catching artesian lake spouting from underground wellsprings with special features such as changing colors and having the same temperature in the summer and winter in front of Khosrow’s portico, surrounded by massive stone walls and 38 towers.
Having been archeologically excavated the remains of the Achaemenid and Median eras, this ancient site is most known for its Sassanian monuments. In archeological surveys around the area of the fire-temple a variety of coins, tiles and a huge copper cooking vessel have been discovered.
The site has important symbolic significance. The designs of the fire temple, the palace and the general layout have strongly influenced the development of Islamic architecture.
As an outstanding ensemble of royal architecture, Takht-e Soleyman is a place of historic significant and a monument that shows the ancient pre-Islamic cultural and religious history of the entire greater Persia. This site was destroyed at the end of the Sasanian era during the Roman conquest, but it was revived and partly rebuilt in the 13th century, showcasing a magnificent complex which enthralls visitors.
