Kuh-e Khwaja
 
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Situation in Iran
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Kuh-e Khwaja (also Kuh-i Khwaja , Persian كوه خواجه Kuh-e Chādscheh , DMG Kūh-e Ḫ w āǧe , 'Mountain of the Wise') is a basalt mountain in present-day Iran in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan , about 30 km southwest of Zabol . It reaches a height of about 600 meters and formerly formed a prominent island in the now almost dry Lake Hamun when the water level was higher. An archaeological site is located on its south-eastern flank.
The remains of the facilities were discovered by GP Tate , then examined by Aurel Stein . In 1925 and 1929 Ernst Herzfeld worked here , who also recorded a plan and parts of the architecture. Further investigations took place in 1962 by Giorgio Gullini .
These are the ruins of a large Ghaga Shahr palace , overlooked by a citadel with a fire temple . The buildings are made of adobe bricks, whereby two construction phases could be distinguished. Parts of the building were richly decorated with stucco work and wall paintings , some of which are in an almost classical Greek style. Other paintings, on the other hand, are done in a more oriental style, while there is also a mixed style.
The dating of the complex is not entirely certain, Herzfeld wanted the first construction phase to be in the first century AD, under the Parthians . He saw the second phase as Sassanid . Today, both phases of construction are classified in the Sassanid period.
Kuh-e Khwaja was probably a station on the southern Silk Road . According to a Persian legend, this was the home of the founder of the religion, Zarathustra .
literature
- Ernst Herzfeld : Sakestan. Historical studies of the excavations at Kūh-e Khwādja. In: Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran , 4, 1931–32, pp. 1–116.
- Mahmoud Rashad: Iran. History, culture and living tradition - ancient sites and Islamic culture in Persia. Dumont, Ostfildern 2001, ISBN 978-3-7701-3385-7 , p. 347.
Web links
- Nersi Ramazan-nia: The treasures of Lake Hamun. In: The Iranian, February 1997.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Siegfried Frorie: Sistan - an ancient cultural landscape in southwest Afghanistan. In: Central Asiatic Journal, Vol. 34, No. 1/2, 1990, pp. 48-82, here p. 68
Coordinates: 30 ° 56 ' N , 61 ° 15' E