نشریه پژوهش های باستان شناسی ایران
پیاپی 3 (پاییز و زمستان 1391)

Southern Baluchistan so-called Mokran is a varied land naturally and geographically. Especial geographic situation of the region as the natural pathway of Indian subcontinent has attracted people from old times and had been mentioned as “Makka” in the cuneiform inscription of Darius the Great in Bisotun. The Mokran district is divided into two main parts includes two cities, as Nikshahr in north and Chābahār in South lying along the northern beach of Oman Sea which has been of the most important cities of Mokran state for a long time commercially. Based on the study of 889 sherds taken from archaeological surveys in Nikshahr and Chābahār under the the supervision of Rouhollah Shirazi, the existing historical settlements indicates the splendor and glory of the region and show the significant presence of Iran in the beaches of Mokran Sea during the Parthian period. This article has analyzed the comparison results of their diagnostics typologically. According to the Statistical analysis reports of this results and comparing them to typical samples in Southern Baluchistan with adjacent regions, it can be said that beaches of southern Makkoran (Iranian Baluchistan) in Parthian period had extensive Cultural communications with adjacent regions over Persian Gulf beaches and Oman sea such as: U.A.E (Ed Dur, Sharjah, Dibba), Oman (Suhar), Hormozgan in southwest and Pakistan in southeast as well.

The current land named modern Iraq has called Del-e Iranshahr by the Sassanid kings. The special geographical situation of the region has caused to be selected as the Capital and political center by the Sassanid kings especially Khosrow Anou Shirvan, which have led to build many building and constructions with different proposes. Of the key-way accessing to the detail of such monuments, regarding to the shortage of documents and monuments which have destroyed over time, are Historical Texts mentioning them. The article will try to re-analysis some of given historical texts reported by Mohammad Malayeri to identify a type of those Monuments. The current research is trying to answer some Questions such as: Where is Del-e Iranshahr and what kinds of constructions has been reported from there, via Qualified Research Plan of Historical Interpretation and gathering data from Arabian first-class texts translated to Persian. The results shows that the majority of the Sassanid constructions in Del-e Iranshahr can be divided to 3 main categories: Defensive (military camps and castles), Royal (palaces) and Water-related (dams, parand, Shallow and deep canals); of them, there are some remains of which their location and positioning can be traced from historical texts and documents aiming to provide suitable condition for archaeological excavations.

Archaeology has faced with different schools such as Processual and Post-Processual Archaeology in the last decades. These, have always attempted to change the traditional school of archaeology, using other sciences to gain new and different achievements; one of these interdisciplinary sciences is literature. It is clear that the literature has played a key role in the history, culture and architecture of Iran. Regardless to using inscriptions and tiles in architecture decorated by poems of the greatest Iranian poets, since their notions includes thoughts and beliefs of the societies in which the poet had lived, it is possible to study the practical and spiritual applications of architectural elements via their poems. Therefore, the current study is trying to find out the practico-spiritual notions of the elements of the Islamic architecture of Iran in Hafez’s poetry using the Processual school and interdisciplinary sciences. Aiming to do so, all of professional words and idioms related to architecture have extracted, and then have interpretated as includes practico-spiritual architectural elements concepts.

Prior to 2008, simply a single Neolithic site was known from the southwestern Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province. Therefore, there was too few data on the nature of sedimentary settlement and development of nomadic subsistence in the region. Three seasons of survey programs carried out from 2008 to 2011 in the Miankuh region in the southwest of Ardal County, which represents one of the most mountainous parts of the province, produced significant results. In particular, a total of 600 sites dating from the Paleolithic up to the Qajar period were recorded, of which nine belonged to the Neolithic period. The recorded Neolithic sites lie for the most part in Sar Khun and Holusa’d valleys. The identified sites are mainly located in large and small valleys and on slopes. They show all the morphological characteristics of the modern nomadic settlements except that some contain evidence of continued settlements. Analysis of the Neolithic sites reveals that all of them were simply transient settlements, i.e. either was abandoned after this short period or was used for another short period. The Neolithic pottery from this region, with little few similarities with materials from Mushki and Jari in Fars and Neolithic ceramics of Khuzestan, finds closest parallels among the assemblage from Qale Rustam, which probably has had a local origin. Among the early Neolithic cultures of Southwest, ceramics from Qale Rustam I and II show the closet similarities with Early Neolithic sites of Miankuh.

During the March of 2010, the archaeological survey of the Mehrān Plain aiming to review the previous surveys, identifying and recording the Prehistoric sites was carried out. The main question and aim of the survey was to identify and mapping of the Prehistoric sites and to survey and analysis their distribution pattern making the suitable condition for more precise and extensive archaeological investigations. As expected, however, the prehistoric potential was great and high, as 36 sites, including open-air site, Rock- shelter and Mound were identified and recorded; of them, 15 sites were attributed to the Prehistoric times(Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the Urbanization Period) of which, the Initial Urbanization and Urbanization sites being discussed. Generally, 6 sites are attributed to the Initial Urbanization and 9 sites to the Urbanization Period. The undertaken investigations have revealed the strong interaction with the Prehistoric societies of the Khuzestan, Deh Luran and Mesopotamia. The settlement pattern of the sites by the Initial Urbanization has proved the existence of big center for the first time on the Plain. The identified sites have contains strong evidence on the mass production, craft specialization and highly-organized societies by the time. This article will introduce the sites attributed to the Initial Urbanization and Urbanization Periods, meanwhile their main characteristic, distribution pattern and function has been noticed. Finally, by studying and assessing of the identified sites, some directions and notes aiming to do more accurate investigations in the near future have proposed.

Some of the Mazandaran Cities have developed economically, due to the Safavid Kings Economic Policies especially during the Shah Abbas kingship (996-1038 A.H.) Farah Abad of Sari and Ashraf Al-Belad cities are the most important examples of such policy for commercial splendor of given approach in the Eastern part of Mazandaran province. This research attempts to answer this question that, what are the key-factors of the formation, development and collapse of Farah Abad by applying the role and importance of the dominant pattern of the Safavid Urban-planning in Mazandaran, here the case study of Farah Abad. The research methodology is Historical Analysis Approach. Data-gathering method includes library and field studies. The result shows that Farah Abad city had three main evolutionary stages during the sixty years of its own dynamic life (1021-1078 A.H) in which, evolution of Urban Structure has been depended on various politico-economic factors.

The public Bathhouses (hammams) were considered as one of the most significant elements of forming and expanding the cities and Quarters and also as a symbol of habitability of Cities and villages; depends on the economic ability and position of their founder they have different quality. These important buildings were as a social foundation except their cleanness. Therefore, their comprehensive survey would be helpful to understand the unclear points of the past societies of Iran and their social history. Qazvin as a major commercial center of Iran during the Qajar period in which some and trusted merchants have lived, has 25 old public bathhouse dated from Safavid and Qajar periods which have been preserved nowadays as some of them are still in use; so, Qazvin has special situation among the other cities regarding to bathhouses investigations, so it can led us to make a suitable situation enlivening the Iranian bathhouses. One of the most important bathhouses of Qazvin is “Haj Mohammad Rahim bathhouse”, which has known as Safa bathhouse as well. The construction of the building was in1259 H. /1843 A.D and during that time was not only the best in Qazvin, but also one of the best Iranian bathhouses. The founder was Haj Mohammad Hassan the brother of Haj Mohammad Rahim son of Haj Abdullah Tabriz i’s 5 sons who had migrated to Qazvin during the kingship of Fath Ali Shah, aiming to have trade with his sons. Due to Haj Mohammad Hassan’s interest to his Brother, he called his own made bathhouse as Haj Mohammad Rahim. The family of Abdullah Tabrizi, who has named Amini later, had close relation to the Qajar Kingdom family as they had a special socio-political position over the Qajar period and of them were famous merchant. This family has many endowmentsin Qazvin of which is the understudying bathhouse. It seems that its architect has inspired from ancient architecture of Iran and the founder has ordered to make a suitable bathhouse as his socio-economic position.

Seymareh was one of the most important cities in Southwest of Iran by the Early Islamic period which destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 4th Hijri (11th A.D) and then been disappeared from texts. Because of its especial geographical situation, it has always been involved in the Irano-Mesopotamia interactions. Based on the cultural material were discovered from the archeological investigations, it seems that would be possible to try reconstructing the given interaction. In this paper we studied the decoration motives of the Non-glazed potteries of Early Islamic Seymareh, clarifying their cultural interaction with adjacent Islamic cities. Aiming to do that, we studied each decoration by determining the cultural origin and continuity from its birth up to the Early Islamic period. Thus the direction of cultural interactions in the region and the relations between the decoration motives and use of pottery can be clarified. The study on the decoration of Early Islamic non-glaze pottery of Seymareh indicates that the long term cultural continuity has originated from prehistoric times to the Islamic period. The most cultural processes are as follow: The 4th millennium as Irano-Mesopotamia trade had expanded in Uruk period; The 3rd Millennium and the Early Islamic Period when Seymareh has started the extensive cultural interaction with other contemporary Islamic cities.

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.

During the kingship of Fath-Ali Shah-e Qajar numbers of mosques were built in some of the Iranian cities which named “Soltani mosques”, on behalf of the king’s name. One of these mosques was built in Borujerd which replaced with the Jame’ Mosque and became the most important building in the city during Qajar period. This had strong relation with Bazaar as placed in the middle of Bazaar with three main gates opened to the biggest trade center of the city. Of the most important features of the mosque are numerous inscriptions of which 19 samples were studied. These studies show that 7 samples of inscriptions provides comprehensive information about the city of Borujerd such as Muslim conflicts with other minority residents of the city; 2 samples are about the function of the mosque as a religious school. 4 samples are about the exact construction date of the monument in 1209 Hijri and the others are about different subjects including the repairing procedure of the mosque during 1291-1293, praise and admiration of Holy Imams and the importance of the mosque in salvation of the people as well.