mehrdad malekzadeh

Qareh Tepe in Sagzabad is the only Iron Age site in the Qazvin Plain that has been extensively excavated. Unfortunately, due to the destruction of the upper layers of this mound, the information from the end of the second and first millennia BC of the area is insufficient. A new cemetery, in the east of Qareh Tepe, was found in the archeological excavations during 2016. The graves in this cemetery belonged to the first half of the first millennium and the end of the second millennium BC. Since cemeteries are valuable archaeological contexts to study various social aspects, the finds from this new cemetery could provide valuable information on the social structure of the resident society in the area during the timeframe mentioned. According to the existing theoretical models about social evolution, the present study aimed to evaluate the archaeological findings and compare them with the information obtained from the Neo-Assyrian accounts. The results revealed the existence of a hierarchical society with the transmission of hereditary social status at least since the end of the second millennium BC in the area. Furthermore, the finds from the first half of the first millennium BC indicated evidence of the separation of the cemetery space, emphasis on genealogy, population growth, sizeable mud-brick buildings, extensive trans-regional relations, and the intensification of metal production in the area. These findings indicated the increasing social complexities at the beginning of the first millennium BC. In addition, in their accounts, some Neo-Assyrian kings mentioned a place called “Bit- Kapsi”; this place was probably in the Qazvin Plain. “Bit- Kapsi” was a kind of regional polity or chiefdom during the 8th century BC in the area. The archaeological evidence indicates increasing social complexities at the beginning of the first millennium BC in the area, which could be associated with the emergence of “Bit- Kapsi”.

The last years of Urartu's rule due to the unrest in the middle of the 7th century BC. Despite the existence of many works and deposits from that period, it has some ambiguities and in some cases it has caused disagreements between researchers in this field. Cimmerians due to lack of resources or other social problems, in the late 8th and early 7th century BC. From the Caucasus and the north of the Black Sea to the south, followed by the Scythians, who ruled the Caucasus, entered the Anatolian plateau. Culturally and linguistically, they are the same race as Iranians. The arrival of these tribes changed the balance of power in the seventh century BC. broke up and finally in this century the collapse of great governments such as Urartu and Assyria and the emergence of the Medes as a new power in Western Asia occurred. Due to the existence of writing and access to the Urartu and Assyrian inscriptions, we have valuable information until the middle of this century, but this information in the Urartu area from 640 BC. is interrupted, the only contemporary source is the Assyrian inscriptions, which were also written for a short time, around 612 BC. It disappears. The Babylonian government is the only government that owns script, language, and inscriptions close to that era, so part of the information of the period that is in the dark is illuminated by the Babylonian inscriptions. In this research, by examining the sources of this period using the historical, analytical and descriptive method, the final years of Urartu were carefully examined and by stating the documents and signs in the texts, this hypothesis has been proposed that it seems that ethnic groups The Medes ended the rule of Urartu as well as Assyria.

Studies on the Urartu Civilization took a serious form from the beginning of the 19th century when Schulz was sent by the Asian Society around Lake Van. As a result of Schulz’s discoveries and other studies, Urartu rose from silence for centuries. Decoding cuneiform lines helped researchers in other fields read Urartu inscriptions. Urartu research in Northwest Iran, with the discovery of an inscription related to the second rulers (680-646 BC) near the village of Bastam, located in the north of Lake Urmia, drew the attention of the Urartu research community to Iran. Archaeological excavations by Wolfram Kleiss started in 1967 and continued until 1978. The study of the post-Urartian deposits in the Bastam area and its comparison with the Urartian deposits in other Urartian sites, including eastern Anatolia, indicate the Urartian collapse from the time of the collapse of Assyria by the Medes, and even before that. The Urartian lands in Northwest Iran were occupied by the Medes at that time. The impact of the post-Urartian deposits found in the investigated sites is one of the objectives of this research. Historical, analytical, and descriptive methods were used for this research, and the information collection method was the library. Finally, based on the investigation of the post-Urartian deposits and historical analysis, it was concluded that the collapse of Urartu started in about 635 BC, and according to the cultural and architectural works found from Bastam and Sansem Along with other sites in eastern Anatolia, the eastern lands of Urartu were occupied by Medes and Iranian tribes.

The Medes are known as the first unified and central government of Iran. The historiography of this government faces many uncertainties, but there is no doubt that they were able to establish a unified government in Iran for the first time. The Median period is one of the least well defined periods of Iranian Archeology and Architecture. To speak of Median Art means, first of all, mentioning the huge gaps in our knowledge of Median history. However, architecture in the Medes Dynasty is surrounded with ambiguity due to limited explorations and ambiguous dates. An important part of the Medes architecture is devoted to places of worship. The central shrine of Noushijan Tappe is one of the most important ritual spaces of the Medes, and as a result of excavations and observation of the fillings, it was found that this shrine was sealed without the slightest damage. Further excavations in the territory of the Medes, revealed other sites with the same conditions as Noushijan Tappe. It was believed that these shrines had a similar fate as the central shrine of Noushijan Tappe. In this research, which is based on a descriptive-analytical method and a case study, with the aim of studying architecture from the concept of design to the function of ritual spaces of the Medes, an architectural comparison is made between  the central shrine of  Noushijan in Malayer, Zarbolagh shrine in Aliabad Qom and Ozbaki shrine in Nazarabad, in order to reach a design pattern specific to  these places of worship. The research concludes that most of the religious buildings built at the time of the Medes Empire were blocked during the Achaemenid rule. The Achaemenids only hindered access to the Medes places of worship and did not destroy them. It seems that the (XPh) inscription of Xerxes and the law against atheistic religions in the Achaemenid period caused these shrines to be blocked. We find that these religious buildings used a special architectural pattern and this pattern is repeated in different forms in most of the religious buildings constructed under the rule of the Medes. It is understood that while the function and architectural concepts remain the same in these buildings, each shows a different architectural design. The architects of that period designed the building in such a way that the sacred space is separated from the main building. Not everybody was allowed into the sacred parts, and those who wished to enter had to wait beforehand in a spare room.  Some constructs had a window built in the spare room that gave the person-in-waiting a view to the sacred room.  Unfortunately, some of the religious buildings of this historical period were destroyed after many years, which made it difficult to identify this architectural concept in them. Finally, the paper will highlight similarities between the western shrine of Noshijan Tappe and Vasun stone building in Kahak and Takhcharabad shrine in Birjand and Hajikhan shrine in Famenein with the above sites.

Due to the construction of the Ibn Sina Petrochemical Company in Hamadan province, Haji Khan Tape is located in the middle of this complex. As a matter of fact, it was necessary to carry out archaeological researches in this area. The first exploration season in the Haji Khan area in the vicinity of the Ibn Sina Petrochemical was conducted under the supervision of Esmail Hemati Azandaryani in the winter of 2016 and the spring of 2017. The Haji Khan Tape, 17 km from the city of Famenin in Hamadan province, is located at geographical coordinates of N 35˚01 '58.11 "and E 49˚01'16.85", and is considered a part of the cultural domain of western Iran. The site is at 2 km from Zaraqan, a village close to the walls of the Ibn Sina Petrochemical Complex. In the following excavations, traces of architectural remains with a 165 cm wide wall was discovered, which led to several extended trenches in varying sizes and in the west, east and south of the above trenches. The site is at 2 km from Zaraqan, a village close to the walls of the Ibn Sina Petrochemical Complex. In the following excavations, traces of architectural remains with a 165 cm wide wall was discovered, which led to several extended trenches in varying sizes and in the west, east and south of the above trenchesThese all help identify several architectural spaces and findings including, a systematic and coherent architecture with chelepa (cross) plan with 7 spaces. Likewise, among other architectural elements of Haji Khan Temple, including the upright stepped fireplace (altar), the middle of the altar, the partition wall, niches in the walls (in Spaces 1, 2 and 3), and gateways between spaces, have a very close similarity with the other sites of median period such as: Nush-i Jan Tape, Gunepan Tape, Yalfan Tape, Moush Tape, Baba Jan Tape and Godin Tape.

One of the main parts of the Great Khorasan Road is the road leading through the Pataq defile. The Great Khorasan and Mesopotamia were origin and destination of the travelers who passed the defile. Archaeological evidence and historic sources about the defile point out its high importance through history. Pataq Defile is the same Median (Μηδικὴ πύλη or Zagros Gates (Ζάγρου πύλαι) of classic historians. There are evidences from passengers’ traffic at Pataq Defile. Heavy traffic and strategic position of the Defile made a context to construct a monument as Garra Arch. Thorough look at Pataq Defile and Median Gate lead us to better understanding of application of Garra Arch, which is unknown and should be discussed in another place. Pataq Defile. Path 1: it is compared to pre Islamic to Safavid road. Evidences of pavement (stone blocks), hand dug path, foundation and so on, imply the significance and activities for ultra-regional road. As the evidences imply connections between Garra Arch and the road, it is probable that the arch is a structure in relation to road, traffic, or a borderline of to land. Path 2: as conclusion, considering Flandin’s scheme, there is a caravan passing in front of the arch. As mentioned earlier, remained evidences indicate pre Islamic and even Islamic road (before Flandin) passes from lower part of the arch. Path 3: it is not seen in aerial photos of geographical Organization of armed Forces at 1956, however it is obvious Corona’s photos of 1969. Considering photos of Jalili Kirmanshahi and Golzari, and Kleiss’s documentation one can conclude that the road constructed between 1956 and 1965 at Pahlavi II’s reign. Finally, there are millennia’s efforts of Iranian people at Pataq Defile of constructing road in order to political, economic, and cultural exchanges between east and west.

One way immortalizing the works and deeds of the king in the ancient world, especially in Western Asia, was to erect memorial stones or rock and stone inscriptions in visible and notable places. The erection of stone steles and the carving of rock reliefs at strategic locations to commemorate military conquests and to assert claims of political and/or economic control over on area is a tradition well attested in the ancient Near East. The Neo-Assyrian kings (605-934 B.C.) frequently led military campaigns into Western Iran and at times into the places located in central and eastern parts; creating numerous memorial stones to depict their conquests in the process. Currently, there are five Neo-Assyrian Steles and rock reliefs are known from Iran. Two memorials in the Museums of Iran and Jerusalem and three reliefs in the mountains. The first memorial, attributed to Luristan, is from Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727 B.C.) and its origin is unknown, and currently lies in the Museum of Jerusalem. The second, from Sargon II (721-705 B.C.), called Najafehabad memorial, was discovered in Najafehabad village, Hamedan province and is kept in the National Museum of Iran. The third, the relief of Sargon II, was first discovered in 1347 in the Tang-i Var pass near the village of Tang-i Var in the district of Sanandaj. The fourth, called the relief of Shikaft-i Gulgul, was first discovered in Pusht-i Kuh and the last, the newly found Mishkhas relief, was discovered by Sadjad Alibaigi in 1387 in Southeast of Ilam Province. In the two mentioned stone memorials, from Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon depict a royal and qualified artistic style. In the three mentioned reliefs, one from Sargon II and the two others from later Assyrian kings-possibly Esarhaddon (680-669 B.C.) or Ashurbanipal (668-627 B.C.), we see mountain-carved reliefs with a local style with differences regarding their execution. These five memorials are not at all equal to one another in their artistic level. Tiglath-Pileser’s memorial has the royal artistic level of that era with very fine details. Based on the fact that Tiglath-Pileser had two major military campaigns to the East, the fine detail of this stone memorial reflects the importance of the conquest of this area through the king’s eyes. Sargon’s Najafehabad memorial has a high level of artistic execution as well, reflecting the political and administrative importance of its place of erection, the conquered region. But in the reliefs of Tang-i Var we encounter a coarse and rudimentary style, showing us that this cannot be a royal and standard work of art.The low quality of Tang-i Var reliefs reflects their secondary importance. This relief, regarding artistic aspects like details and execution, in not comparable at all to any other Assyrian works of art in Iran or any other region. It can be theorized that this work has been executed by local artists without any superb artistic ability. The Tang-i Var relief, with its low artistic quality, narrates an unimportant event- the conquest of the small kingdom of Karalla. The two other works are not artistically important- they are not as magnificent as Tiglath-Pileser’s Luristan and Sargon’s Najafehabad memorials, and not as low quality as Tang-i Var relief; they are something in between, a sign of the artistic fall of Neo-Assyrian Empire. Shikaft-i Gulgul is a royal declaration, but no effort has been carried out to make it magnificent; and Mishkhas has no text at all and seems to be no more than a visual coding attempt. They clearly demonstrate the fading of the military and artistic resources of Assyria for holding these territories. In this study, the artistic quality of these five works has been assessed to reconstruct the concerns and motivations of Assyrians for their conquests, as they have been reflected in their stone memorials and reliefs.