Qal'eh Dokhtar, Firuzabad

🕰️When was it built?

The castle is attributed to Ardashir, the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, and was probably built before his victory over the last Parthian king. It was added to Iran's National Heritage List on 3 March 1937 as number 269, and in 2018 it became part of the World Heritage listing of the Sasanian sites of Fars.

🏛️What was it built for?

The building was both a fortification and a palace. The entrance started at the lowest level, and a spiral stairway led up to the middle courtyard. The main palace stood on the highest level, so reaching it meant passing through several stages.

👀What you will see

• Three sides of the middle courtyard were lined with square, vaulted rooms, and the fourth side led to the upper level.
• The palace's great iwan was about 14 metres wide and 23 metres long and opened onto the central domed room.
• Squinches in the corners carried the dome over a square room and are one of the castle's main architectural features.
• The facing stones are dressed, but the foundations and the inside of the walls are built of large river cobbles.

💡Something interesting

Some locals say the mouth of the cave beside the castle once led through an underground passage to the Palace of Ardashir on the plain, so that food and men could be brought in during a siege. It is a local tale, and there is no confirmed passage you can visit.

🎒Good to know before you go