A proposal on the Identification of Charqapi Monument of Qasr-e Shirin (1): Historical Study

The Charqapi which is located at the northeastern margin of the Qasr-e Shirin city, has tetra-pylon /squared-base plan, whereas has some differences compared to other well-known cases. The most important difference is the existence of some structural units in the eastern side of the Monument. Some of Muslim historians have mentioned the monuments of Qasr-e-Shirin (i.e. Khosrow/ Charqapi Monument). This has attracted many researchers who have introduced it as a monument dating back to the Late Sassanid era. They believes that it can be a fire-temple, whereas some other researchers thinks that it is a royal palace complex; finally, a minority of them has made some doubts as the monument can be attributed to the Early Islamic period. The most important questions regarding the monument, however, are its construction date and function. Considering the architecture of the monument and historical investigations, it seems that the Charqapi has had religious function; while, Investigating the history of Christianity and its developments in Iran which has experienced in late Sassanid specially, it can be proposed that the Charqapi is a church which has not been finished ever.