The Sassanid Palace at Sarvestan (Kakhe Sasan) is a Sassanid

Sassanid Empire

The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...

-era building in the Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

ian province of Sarvestan

Sarvestan

Sarvestan + estan; also Romanized as Sarvestān and Sarvistān) is a city in and the capital of Sarvestan County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,846, in 4,094 families....

, some 90 km southeast from the city of Shiraz

Shiraz

Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...

. The palace was built in the 5th century AD, and was either a gubernatorial residence or a Zoroastrian fire temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

.

History

The Sarvestan

Sarvestan

Sarvestan + estan; also Romanized as Sarvestān and Sarvistān) is a city in and the capital of Sarvestan County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,846, in 4,094 families....

 Palace was built by the Sasanian king Bahramgur

Bahram V

Bahram V was the fourteenth Sassanid King of Persia . Also called Bahram Gur or Bahramgur , he was a son of Yazdegerd I , after whose sudden death he gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of Mundhir, the Arab dynast of al-Hirah.- Reign and war with Rome :Bahram V...

 (r. 420-438), and dominates an immense, empty plain. The name "palace" is a bit misleading, because the monument's function is not really understood. It may in fact have been a hunting lodge or even a sanctuary. The problem is complicated by the fact that there appears to have been a small building, just north of the palace; its function is unknown.

Palace court

A visitor who would have arrived from the south, would have seen three iwan

Iwan

An iwan is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called pishtaq, a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and...

s. After entering the central one, he would have reached a large square hall under a large dome, made of baked brick. After this, a visitor would have found himself on a rectangular courtyard, surrounded by the residential quarters. The building reminds one of the Ghal'eh Dokhtar

Ghal'eh Dokhtar

Ghal'eh Dokhtar or Qala-e-Dokhtar, also known as The Maiden Castle, is a castle made by Ardashir I, in present day Fars, Iran, in 209 AD. It is located on a mountain slope near the Firouzabad-Shiraz road....

 and the palace of Ardashir, both near Firuzabad

Firuzabad

Firuzabad may refer to:*Firuzabad, Azerbaijan, a village in Azerbaijan*Firozabad, a city in Uttar Pradesh, India*Firuzabad, Ardabil, a village in Ardabil County, Ardabil Province, Iran...

; the difference is that the Sarvestan palace is open to all sides. The building, made of stone and mortar, must have had fine decorations, which partly survive.

Reference

• History of Sarvestan, J Homayooni, (1996)