Space Organization, Form and Operation of Mountain Castles, Tehran Province; Case study: Castle-City of Firuzkooh

Castles are one of the most amazing innovations of Iranians in the field of architecture and one of the most numerous remnants of the past. These buildings, which have been formed in most areas with the aim of securing the inhabitants of this land, have been developed and developed with the passage of time and in accordance with the existing needs and according to the construction location, performance and objectives of its builders. the two main types of plain and mountain castles, mountain castles, commonly known as fortresses, have a more diverse space organization and form and its construction location determines the type of its map. Tehran province is one of the regions that due to its special geographical location and located in the path of highways connecting the central areas of the country with other parts of the country, as well as the existence of the ancient and historical city of Ray, which was at some point in the history of the Capital of Iran, countless castles can be searched in its plains and mountains. field studies of authors, a considerable number of these castles were identified, some of which are based on alborz heights overlooking tehran plain. Therefore, determining the spatial organization, form and function of these castles is the subject of research and its results are presented in this paper. In achieving this goal, answering questions about spatial and temporal distribution, the governing model of space organization, form and function, as well as the focus of these defense fortifications were necessary. In field studies, which were carried out by reviewing and documenting all samples, 159 fortresses and defensive buildings from pre-Islamic times and various Islamic periods were identified these, 69 castles and defensive buildings (about 40%) are located in mountainous areas and more than 50% of them are located in the east of Tehran in Firuzkooh city, most of which were founded in pre-Islamic times and have been exploited in various Islamic periods. One of the prominent examples of mountain fortresses located in the center of Firuzkooh city is a castle called Firuzkooh or Firuz Shah, which is the largest and most important mountain tin in Tehran. In this paper, we have tried to introduce this highly prominent and identified sample by relying on reliable historical documents and sources and archaeological field researches.