Takhte Soleyman
Azar Goshnasp Fire Temple is the name of a large historical area near Takab and Nosratabad village. This historical site in Safavid period, also known as Takhte Soleyman. It is located in West Azerbaijan Province and 45 kilometers northeast of Takab. It is an ancient area consisting of some Sasanid palaces and Azar Goshnasp fire temple. Near this area, there are two other ancient complexes named Zendane e Soleyman (Prison of Solomon) and Takht e Bilkis. The remarkable Sassanid and Ilkhanid archeological site sits on a sacred mountaintop and is surrounded by a mountain chain with a height of more than 3000 meters.
History
Some evidence of Medes and Schytians has been found around Zendan e Soleyman which prove that this area dates back to 1000 years before Christ. Some historians call this area "Shiz Ancient City". Shiz has been accepted by UNESCO as the world heritage and it is going to be reconstructed in the near future. In recent years, during research on Paleolithic Era, two ancient areas were discovered in this site. Also, Chal Tappeh, the temporary residence in Middle Paleolithic Era, and Chaqmaq Li area with some evidence of tool-making has been discovered in this area.
It is mentioned that , the oldest pre Islam discovered remains of Takhte Soleyman world heritage complex belong to Paleolithic, and Chalcolithic Eras, Iron Age 1, 2, and 3, and Sasanid historical period. Although this area had various names such as Ganzak, Ganjeh, Ganjak, Gazka, and Shiz in the past. In addition, it was the biggest religious, educational and social center in the Sassanid era. This archeological ensemble represents five historical eras of the ancient Persia, especially the Sassanid architecture. However, it also suffered from various attacks during the history, especially by the Byzantine Emperor, Heraclius, in 628. As a consequence of this war, Takht e Taqdis, the first monument in this area built by Khosrow II in 618, was completely destroyed.
Architecture of Takhte Soleyman
This fire temple is a Chahartaqi (four arches) structure which used to be surrounded by corridors in which the ritual of praying was held. It contained a central square hall crowned by a big brick dome and a fire altar placed at the center of the fire temple. The evidence shows that in the Sassanid era there were two gates for entering the fire temple, one on the south, for the royals and one on the north, for the normal pilgrims.