فهرست مطالب جواد علایی مقدم

The palace of koh-e Khwajeh in Sistan is one of the most important archaeological sites on the east of the extensive territory of the Parthian and Sassanid rules. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the site of the Koh-e Khwajeh has attracted the attention of well-known and great archaeologists such as Stein and Herzfeld, and studies of this key site have been continued continuously to this day. One of the important and controversial issues in this area is the historical sequence and function of this magnificent monument. The purpose of this research is to achieve an accurate understanding of the chronology and function of this huge site based on the studies, surveys and excavations carried out so far as well as the logical conclusions made in this regard. The excerpt of the current research is focused on the stuccos, ceramics, paintings, and the coins obtained from this site and at the same time it is attempted to make the most use of architectural elements such as clay reliefs and also absolute dating experiments performed on this site. According to the research conducted, including the results of the absolute dating, clay reliefs and coins obtained from fieldwork suggest that this site has been of special value and importance in the Sassanid period. The site resembles the cities of the historical period in the Parthian-Sasanian eras in terms of physical and spatial structure; however, the space where was used was so limited that it could not have functioned as a city. This palace, according to the studies carried out, is very similar to Takht-e Suleiman monument in Azerbaijan and can be assumed to have functioned as a palace-temple.

During his lifetime, the Human has always been in a constant interaction with the environment, and the growth and development of human civilization have taken place in the context of the natural environment. Meanwhile, a manifestation of humans’s alignment with their surrounding environment is the technology of using natural phenomena in different regions. One of these technologies is the construction and operation of Persian windmills (Asbads), the earliest example of which has found to belong to the Iranian civilization to this day. Sistan is thought to be the place where Asbads were invented for the first time, and today numerous remains of historical Asbads are found in this region. Although the best-known windmills of Sistan are those of Hozdar complex, there are other Asbads in Rendeh region of Sistan, some of which can be regarded as the most representative examples of Iranian windmills. Unfortunately, despite the significance of this issue, no comprehensive research has been conducted on these windmills so far and questions regarding their age, architectural structure and typology as well as the position of the region during its lifetime have remained unanswered. The authors of the present paper have, therefore, made a comprehensive identification of this complex relying on field studies and archaeological surveys; and subsequently, using a descriptive-analytical method, they have extensively studied the architectural structure of windmills and other monuments of Rendeh complex. The results suggest that the Asbads and the sites of Rendeh complex are older than other windmills of Hozdar, dating back to the 6th-9th centuries AH. This collection includes the greatest number of windmills belonging to the mid-Islamic centuries, thus making this the largest flour production complex of Sistan. Among them, a windmill known as “Se Pareh” is the biggest known Asbad in eastern Iran, the architectural type and style of which have continued in the Safavid windmills of Hozdar during the subsequent periods by removing the side courtyard and its surrounding storage rooms. It was also found that this windmill is the oldest example of twin-windmills in Iran.

The palace of koh-e Khwajeh in Sistan is one of the most important archaeological sites on the east of the extensive territory of the Parthian and Sassanid rules. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the site of the Koh-e Khwajeh has attracted the attention of well-known and great archaeologists such as Stein and Herzfeld, and studies of this key site have been continued continuously to this day. One of the important and controversial issues in this area is the historical sequence and function of this magnificent monument. The purpose of this research is to achieve an accurate understanding of the chronology and function of this huge site based on the studies, surveys and excavations carried out so far as well as the logical conclusions made in this regard. The excerpt of the current research is focused on the stuccos, ceramics, paintings, and the coins obtained from this site and at the same time it is attempted to make the most use of architectural elements such as clay reliefs and also absolute dating experiments performed on this site. According to the research conducted, including the results of the absolute dating, clay reliefs and coins obtained from fieldwork suggest that this site has been of special value and importance in the Sassanid period. The site resembles the cities of the historical period in the Parthian-Sasanian eras in terms of physical and spatial structure; however, the space where was used was so limited that it could not have functioned as a city. This palace, according to the studies carried out, is very similar to Takht-e Suleiman monument in Azerbaijan and can be assumed to have functioned as a palace-temple.

Urban special structure is a complex of a main road and a connected mixed land uses and different parts which make a city as an integrated one. This complex is the foundation of special-physical of urban network and its inner parts. This present the major properties of the city and the other buildings cover other fields which are among the main parts. Considering the physical aspects of the city and the activities in them is one of the methods which increases the quality of life in the city through the improving the role of urban spatial structure. Therefore, this paper investigates re-knowing of urban special structure of Zabol as a case study. To this, after reviewing the literature of space syntax, the most effective criteria to determining the coherence of Urban special structure of Zabol are discussed. Depth map software is used to analyzing the data and making maps based on space syntax method. Connectivity, depth, global and local integration, control and controllability are the investigated criteria in this paper. Finally, the results of data analyzing by depth map are compared with Urban special structure map of Zabol which is created through field survey. The results show, on average, Zabol Urban special structure has a low numerical value in the index of connectivity and depth and a high numerical value in the indices of global and local integration, control and controllability. Totally it can be considered that Zabol has a coherence structure which was made by the shape of a checkered grid pattern long ago, which after the years although it has been developed horizontally, the role of the center of the city was powerful as a central center.

The mausoleums are one of the manifestations of art in the Islamic architecture and has always been noticed in world of Islam, especially in Iran; In such a way that they are noticeable in most of the cities in Iran and in different historical periods. In the east side of Iran, especially in Sistan province, in internal or outer cemeteries of every historical city we can find samples of mausoleums which are very important in the region’s architecture. One of these cities that date back to the late Teimuri and the early Qajari era, is Howzdaar in south of Sistan, located in the Ramrood region which due to the high health rate of the monuments in this area, it is one of the best samples of the late architectural studies. This city holds the remains of the outer cemeteries which each one of them hold a number of unique mausoleums within. These mausoleums, which are varied in structure comparing to other similar samples, have a special place in the history of architecture in Sistan; However, with such high ranking, these mausoleums have never been comprehensively and specifically studied. In this context, the introduction and the study of these valuable heritage are the priorities of archaeological and the Islamic architectural studies in the region. The purpose of this research is to introduce, study and classify the architectural style of the mausoleums in the historic city of Howzdaar in Sistan.

Laalvar region, as part of the great Qomrud River, is referred to a section that differs from the main bed of Qomrud River in topographical structure and geographical environment, and includes an inter-mountain plain and the high rolling terrains around it. This region has always been welcomed by humans due to its favorable environmental conditions, and settlement evidence of different periods can be observed in it. According to archaeological surveys conducted in Laalvar region during two periods in 2008 and 2014, one hundred and eighty five archaeological sites from the fifth millennium BC to the contemporary era were identified, each with one or more settlement periods. However, in terms of extent and importance of the sites, as well as the time span of each period, this region has been very important the historical period, especially the Parthian and Sassanid periods. This can be demonstrated with regard to the presence of monuments such as Khorheh temple, Atashkouh fire temple, Mil-e Milona, etc. One of the most important settlement periods of this region is the Parthian period that according to archaeological research, during this time, on the one hand, the region witnessed an increase in settlement and demographic evidence, and on the other, significant sites such as Khorheh and Jam were also formed. Unfortunately, despite the high importance of this period, no comprehensive and independent studies have been conducted on it so far, and issues such as the reconstruction of the Parthian settlement pattern structure and the factors affecting Parthian sites are still remained unclear. Therefore, based on the data obtained from archaeological activities in the region, and preparation of GIS maps, the authors managed to study and finally analyze and reconstruct the landscape of Laalvar region in Parthian period as well as the environmental patterns of the settlements in this period.

The ancient Sistan was a vast and prosperous territory considered as one of the most important Iranian states since the ancient times. This land is extended from the north of the Indus and Arghandab Rivers to Zahedan Mountains and its main part is a wide and flat plain including Sistan and Nehbandan in the Iranian territory and Nimruz, Farah and Helmand states in the Afghan boundaries. Throughout this region, remnants of ancient cities and towns have been remained as a collection of continuous ruins, mounds and embankments that each represents different features both in terms of time and location and also function and architectural structure. One of these important sites is Qala-i Sam. This castle, located in the center of Sistan, is one of the most significant and largest sites of the historical eras in the eastern Iran that to this date, despite its great importance, no scientific studies and research have been performed on this site as it deserves and questions such as the settlement period or periods, architectural structure, real identity, and position of this site in the political and social system of its time have still remained unanswered. Accordingly, a research plan based on a comprehensive and general survey was implemented on this site. In this research plan, while studying the architectural evidence, sampling was carried out based on collecting the significant surface samples for relative chronology on the basis of typological comparison so that all the features and characteristics of this place could be identified and recorded; and finally, by comparing the material evidence with the historical sources based on a historical approach, the real identity of this site was investigated. Based on the performed typology, the surface pottery samples existing on this site were categorized into three periods. The first category includes Seleucid pottery which is analogous with the Seleucid pottery of the sites such as Susa, Charsada, Laodicea and Kangavar. The second category includes some Parthian pottery which is comparable to the Parthian pottery of the sites such as Qala-i Kulak, Kuh-e Khajeh, , Kok-e Kohzad, Tape-i Gouri, Qumis, Bistun, Qala-i Yazdgerd, Qorveh, and Kelardasht, Nush-i Jan, Bardsir, Qeshm and MahNeshan. And the third category is consisted of Sasanian pottery that can be compared with Parthian pottery of sites like Bandian, Kush, Atashkuhe, Kaferun, Ramshahrestan, Qala-i Kulak and Mahneshan. The obtained results indicate that Qala-i Sam site has been constructed during the Seleucid period and its extensive settlement continued until the early Sassanid era. It is likely that, this site has been the remains of a city known as Agriaspi mentioned in historical texts which has been the seating place of the royal families during the Seleucid and Parthian periods as the central city of Sistan. According to the performed studies, it can be argued that Qala-i Sam is remains of a historical castle-city with an enclosed space which has more than 11 hectares area with a peripheral connection extended beyond a few dozen hectares. This site with a regular and trapezoid-shape structure has a hypodam plan and the remains of the buildings and constructions existing in it imply an orderly, regular, and coordinated architecture that attests to the principles of a hypodam architecture urbanism. Most likely, this site is the remains of a Seleucid-Parthian city known as Agriaspi, mentioned in the Greek texts, that during the Seleucid eras and afterwards, during the Parthian periods, was considered as the governmental seat of the Sistan Plain and has played a central role compared to its contemporary sites; and eventually, in the early Sassanian era, this site has lost its political position due to some reasons.

Plaster is among the building materials used by human whose extraction and application date back to several thousand years ago. The use of plaster in Iran, as one of the building materials, dates back to the middle Elamite period when it has been used in construction of Tabpti Ahar tomb on Haft Tappeh in Khuzestan where plaster coating has been applied in the crescent brick arches and the brick floor of the complex. It was after these eras that plaster was applied in decorations of different buildings so that some of its unique examples have been obtained from various periods including Achaemanian, Parthian, Sassanid, and Islamic eras. In archaeological survey of the large plain of Farahan which resulted in identification of 765 ancient sites related to a time period expanding from the late Neolithic to the Qajar periods, in one of these sites called Tappeh Qezel Qala remains of stucco art were found.
The ancient mound Qezel Qala is located on a natural hill with a northwest-south-easterly direction with dimensions of 700 to 400 meters that about a few dozen meters from it there are the remains of two seasonal rivers; however, determining the original boundaries and limits of these rivers is impossible according to the current situation and without scientific archaeological speculations. Unfortunately, a large part of this site has been destroyed during the last years due to unauthorized excavations and extensive diggings. In addition to the few architectural remains and surface pottery pieces, a number of broken and crushed pieces were discovered that some of them have remarkable patterns. According to the significance of these stuccos, as one of the first examples identified in the region, an independent research was considered aiming at the chronology of these remains, as well as the classification, typology, and comparative study of these samples that the obtained results are presented in the present paper. In the current paper, which relies on the studies resulted from archeological excavations, while documenting, introducing, and describing the stucco samples, using a comparative study method through the typological comparison of the obtained stucco samples and typological comparison of the surface pottery samples collected from the site in a systematic manner, the settlement period of the site was identified and scientific chronology (dating) for the stuccos was provided. The results of the performed research, indicate that the Tappeh Qezel site of Farahan plain is among the important Sassanid sites of the region, and the stuccos obtained from this site which contain various patterns including the wing figure of a mythical beast, twelve-pointed star, abstract figure of floras, and single and multiple panels are among the Sassanid representative identified sites, such as Bishapur in Fars, Hesar in Damghan, Chal Tarkhan and Tape Mill in Rey, Qala Yazdgerd in Kermanshah, Qala Zohak, Qala Gouri of Ramavand, Susa, Tesiphon, Qala Hezardar in Lorestan, etc. Although these stucco samples have been executed through molding, casting and pre-fabricated methods, most of the decorative panels are made of plaster produced using a molding method.

In the early 21st century, during an excavating of a village on Farahan plain, some remains of an important monument including part of a large brick column and several walls were discovered. For a decade, despite national registration, no scientific and comprehensive study was performed on these remains until the time when the remains captured the attention of the authors of this paper during their archaeological study of the Farahan plain. Therefore, considering two main objectives, the chronology of the discovered pieces and determining their real identity, initially, a comprehensive archaeological survey was carried out on the Fardaghan region and samples were collected from different areas of this plain; afterwards, the cultural data were typologically compared. At the next stage, historical evidence was sought in written sources using a historical approach in order to determine the identity of the site. The results indicate that the current building belonged to the Sassanid period that has been also used during the Islamic era after a functional change. It is highly probable that this building is the one mentioned in some written sources such as Ibn Yaghoubi’s Mokhtaser Alboldan. In early Islamic centuries, this fire temple was changed into a fortified castle.

Based on the historical texts from the Achaemenian Empire, there have been tribes living in Sistan known as Drangiana or Zaranka. According to the texts these tribes assisted Cyrus by sending food and since then they were called Givers (assisters). Archaeological studies in Sistan introduced some places such as (Dahaneh-ye Qolaman (the Slaves’ Valley) and Surkh Dagh) to be as the settlement site of Evergetáe but there have been no reliable evidence for such suggestions. By conducting an archaeological study in Sistan we tried to locate several new Achaemenian areas, by which we explored new data which enable us to identify the actual location of Evergetáes. In this research comparison made on the characteristics of Evergetáes as mentioned in the written sources on one hand and archaeological specifications of the sites across the different parts of Sistan on the other hand we suggest an alternative location for the Achaemenian Evergetáe in the Sistan plain.

Kuh-e Khajeh in Sistan, a mesa 120m height in respect of Sistan plain flat, is located 20 Km south-west of Zabol. This is one of most important historical area in Sistan. In account of its religious and political importance, a series remarkable of structures were built on its flat surface and eastern slight slopes since very ancient times. Despite of the studies of archaeologists and scholars, there have been provided no certain chronology about it and a few studies which have been done are merely based on the architecture of this site.
In this research, based on the pottery data it is tried to make a relative chronology on palace of Kuh-e Khajeh. In doing so, the required data was gathered under systematic survey method in the castle’s area. Considering that the recognizing the potteries’ specifications is an important task in the archaeological studies, therefore, the study of potteries’ specifications was given a specific priority. And in doing so, the collected remarkable potteries from the site were classified and typologically studied, accordingly.
According to the results obtained from the typology of potteries, Kuh-e Khajeh palace has had three different settlement phases: the first was Parthians, the second was Sassanids and the third was known to be the Islamic phase (6-8 AH centuries), respectively.

One of the most important issues in history and the archaeology of each period and everywhere is to understand the structure of the socio-political systems as well as the relationship between different places in a region which implies the interactive systems of the human societies in various aspects. On the other hand, it can be said that the socio-political systems are composed of various interactive systems which can be studied in three categories namely: sub-regional, regional and cross-regional. Although complete achieving the mentioned structures in a region through the archaeological studies is impossible but applying scientific and logic method to some extent we can reconstruct them in a given region which its results could be largely applied to different regions. Given to the horizontal settlement system of the region, the Parthian era and the areas belonged to it in Sistan is featured to have a relative high quantity and quality, and in some regions we can identify all areas of one Parthian set. One of these regions is Kolak castle region in Maal, Sistan. On one hand, the most important challenges debated on such settlements is to study the hierarchy between the existing settlements in the region, and on the other hand, the relationships between them which can be fundamentally questioned as “how is the relation structure of the sub-sets in one settlement set dated back the Parthian era?”. I order to respond the above question, firstly, by conducting archaeological studies applying step-by-step survey in an area with 44. Square kilometers, leading to identify some 76 archaeological sites dated back the Parthian era, then study the characterizations of every area, cultural material, the settlement period, the distance, the distance with main areas and the placement location towards the reconstruction of the relation structure of the sub-sets in any settlement set were studied. In the present research, on one hand, it was specified that the arrangement of the existing areas in a region is in form of small-size subsets consisting of 9 to12 archaeological sites in distances less than 400.meters that every sub-set has been formed in a specific boundary and can be easily separated from other sub-sets existing in the main set. It was cleared that in every sub-set most of the areas are similar in terms of area and only one or some sites have larger area. Ultimately, it can be concluded that the settlement set of Koolak region indicates a type of social structure relying on feudalism and small and large serfdom villages in which the main sub-set and Koolak Castle are located. In other word, it was the main core and set of government of the region’s governor. In this structure, other settlement sub-sets represent small and large villages which according to the area and distance from the main core have had different significance and functions but on the basis of a well-organized pattern they were all directly or indirectly linked to the main core and other sub-sets. In the above-mentioned social structure, the governor in order to administrate the region under his governorship tried to maintain his monopoly of important and leading industries, on one hand, and he indirectly tried to make the relationships between the satellite villages with each other so as to control the region easily on the other hand. But it should be mentioned that the governor of the region was regarded as the subordinate of the great governor or feudal lord of Sistan who in a higher power hierarchy was governing and controlling all the region’s subservient rulers.

Pottery is the most important and abundant cultural material of the archeological sites enjoying enormous importance; as large numbers of historical chronologies are based on potteries and its typological comparisons. As such، in terms of structural properties، the pottery identification of each period and region is one of the fundamental aspects of archeological studies. The historical pottery unlike prehistoric one has noticeable decrease in decoration meanwhile the other decorations techniques such as slipping were not common (Regardless of the Sassanid dynasty glazed pottery، quantities are negligible) and these potteries has special complexity as we need more broad studies to be done on the various regions. Regarding to the presence of local styles during the Parthian period as a longest period of the ancient Iranian kingdoms، the potteries have special importance; in other words، diverse pottery types in different regions are indicator of a particular style and advancement of the given period. One of the specific Parthian pottery samples of Sistan region is burnished pottery which has special quality and elegance and is rarely known from other Iranian parts. This pottery type has desirable quality both in its manufacturing phase and the firing process. The Parthian burnished wares are the most elegant and luxurious in the east، especially in Sistan rarely noticed by apart researches. Regarding to the importance of Sistan burnished ware in archeology of the region and its role in the chronology of the Parthian era، this article is trying to study this particular type of pottery of Sistan، its formation process and time-domain spreading، transition and its impact on neighboring areas. Here، the authors are trying to review the studies on the Parthian era Sistan burnished ware apart from complete introduction of this pottery type، to focus on its regional dispersion. The Sistan burnished wares are enjoying much desirable condition in terms of their quality. Most of them are wheel-made with suitable firing and the fabric compaction is high as there is no visible porosity. Burnished designs often applied with horizontal lines on both sides of potteries whose place depends on its function; burnished lines with irregular vertical، irregular horizontal، mixed or zigzag lines as well as in geometrical forms were applied. The potters have applied these decorations on variety of pottery types and forms، such as pitcher، cup and bowl. All given types have burnished both sides of bowls which is mainly cross and regular lines. Although pottery cannot be the only indicator of social hierarchy in a region، but the existence of Burnished ware on the most important sites of Sistan area could shed light on this truth that this type of pottery have produced by experts at the most important sites of Sistan having luxury aspects. Typological comparisons were also found that this type of pottery in the central and western areas of Afghanistan during the Kvshanyan mandatory has been very common.

Historical city of Zahedan-Kohne is located at km20 of south east of Zabol, and at the north part of Zahak basin in Sistan. This city is comprised of 5 (five) separate parts named Ghale, Arg Aval or Arg Zirin, Arg Dovom or Arg foroudin, Sharestan and Rabath. Historical city of Zahedan-e-kohne at its life and prosperity time was considered as one of the largest cities of Iran, and was the centre of Sistan in the centuries of 5 up to 9 Hejri Gamari, but there is no accurate information about the exact area of this important city of Sistan because the existing man made features and monuments have been destroyed with passing the time and intervention of different natural and human factors, but the total area of Ghale,Arg and Sharestan reaches to 3,248,272 m 2. The results of field studies n this city which are performed during 2002-2007 by the writers of this study, clearly confirms that designers, city developers and architectures of historical city of Zahedan-e-Kohne before constructing the city and the buildings inside it, have dominated firstly on the natural geography of the area through performing scientific and professional studies, and considering all the related aspects have established a city which had comfort and peace for his residents due to having all climatic provisions and environmental adaptation.