The Study of the Prominent Medieval Islamic Castles of Lorestan Pprovince

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Member of the academic staff of the Department of History and Archaeology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Lorestan University

10.22103/jic.2025.23959.1357

Abstract

Castles are a type of architecture whose pattern and structure are affected by geographical conditions, climate and political-social conditions. Most of the research that has been conducted so far in the field of castles of the middle Islamic era of Iran is related to areas such as Khuzestan, Central Plateau, South Khorasan, and Alborz mountain range. Lorestan Lorestan province, have received less attention from researchers. Nowadays, in this province, much evidence of various castles has been obtained, which were also used in the Islamic Middle Ages. Many of these Castles have been well-preserved and are famous until now such as Falak Ol Aflak. Considering that no independent and targeted research has been done on this building, it is necessary to study them in an independent work. Therefore, the present research raises two questions: 1- In which important castles of the region have evidence of the Islamic Middle Ages been obtained? 2- These castles were generally managed by which social groups? The main purpose of the research is to investigate the comparative and relative history of medieval Islamic castles and to identify social groups that are somehow related to these castles in this era. The approach of the research is historical. The findings have been collected through library studies and fieldwork. The castles of this region can be divided into two governmental and non-governmental groups: Each group has differences in aspects such as positioning, size, and access path. The non-government castles were related to some social groups such as Ismailiyah.

Keywords


 
-Fehervari, Geza, (1973), Islamic pottery: A comprehensive study based on the Barlow collection, London: Faber and Faber limited.
-Mason, R. B. (2004). Shine like the Sun: Luster painted and associated pottery from the medieval Middle East, Ontario: Mazda publishers.
-Afsharfar, N., (1999). “Falak-ol-Aflak and Its Connection to the History of Lorestan”, Roshd-e Amoozesh-e Tarikh Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 52-55. (In Persian).
-Izadpanah, H., (1971). Ancient and Historical Monuments of Lorestan, 2 Vols, Tehran: National Works Association Publications. (In Persian).
Banakati, M. D., (2008). Tarikh-e Banakati, edited by Jafar Shoar, Tehran: Association of Cultural Heritage and Prominent Figures. (In Persian).
Bahrami, R. & Salah, M. (2011). “The Khorshidid Dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate: A Study of the Political Relations between the Atabegs of Lesser Lorestan and the Abbasid Court”, Journal of Historical Research, University of Isfahan, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 77-98. (In Persian).
Tatavi, Ahmad bin Nasrallah. (2003). Tarikh-e Alfi, edited by Gholamreza Tabatabai Majd, 8 Vols, Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Publications. (In Persian).
 Anonymous. (2016). Geography of Lorestan Pishkuh and Pushtkuh, edited by Eskandar Amanollahi Baharvand, Khorramabad: Shapurkhast Publications. (In Persian).
Javadi, Hassan & Floor, Willem. (2018). Three Travelogues of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, Antonio Tenreiro, and Miguel Membree from the Time of Sultan Sanjar and Early Safavid Period, Tehran: Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Publications. (In Persian)
Juvayni, Ata-Malik. (1996). Tarikh-e Jahan-Gusha, edited by Mohammad Qazvini, Tehran: Donyaye Ketab. (In Persian).
Hassanpour, Ata & Mirzaei, Reza. (2019). Water Treasury of Lorestan, Tehran: Ham-Pa Publishing. (In Persian).
Hosseini-Nia, Mehdi, Heidari, Mehdi & Hajizadeh, Karim. (2015). “The Architecture of Grit Castle: A Memoir from the Atabeg Period Using Archaeological and Geographical Sciences”, Proceedings of the Second National Conference on Iranian Archaeology, Birjand: University of Birjand Publications, pp. 1-16. (In Persian).
Hamavi, Yaqut. (1977). Mu'jam al-Buldan, edited by Wüstenfeld, Beirut: Dar Sader Printing House. (In Persian).
 Heidari, Ahmad. (2007). Report on the Survey and Identification of Cultural and Historical Sites in Pishkuh Dalki District, Besharat Section, Aligudarz County, Archive of the Lorestan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization, unpublished. (In Persian).
-Heidari, Mehdi, Hosseini-Nia, Mehdi & Bahrami, Amir. (2015). “Study of Changari Castle, Proceedings of the Second National Conference on Iranian Archaeology”, Birjand: University of Birjand Publications, pp. 1-16. (In Persian).
-Khosravi, Leila. (2016). “A Study of the Historical Tomb Known as Haji Bektash in the Shineh Qalaei Region of Lorestan”, Quarterly Journal of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Research Institute, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 59-77. (In Persian).
-Khodgoo, Sa'adat. (1999). the Atabegs of Lesser Lorestan, Khorramabad: Aflak Publications. (In Persian).
-Dehghan, Ebrahim. (1954). “Farzin Castle”, Yaghma Journal, No. 70, pp. 85-86. (In Persian) Ravandi, Mohammad. (1954). Rahat al-Sudur and Ayat al-Surur, edited by Mohammad Iqbal, Tehran: Amir Kabir Publications. (In Persian).
-Rahmati, Mohsen. (2017). “The Battlefield of Sultan Muhammad Khwarazmshah and the Mongol Army”, Iran History Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 1-23. (In Persian).
-Rahmati, Mohsen. (2018). “The Barsiqi Family and the Developments of the Seljuk Era”, Journal of Historical Research, Vol. 54, New Series, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Issue 37), spring 2018, pp. 111-127. (In Persian).
-Rafiei, Hassan Reza. (2016). “Locating the Last Battlefield of Sultan Muhammad Khwarazmshah against the Mongols”, Historical Research Journal, Vol. 11, No. 42, pp. 111-128. (In Persian).
-Sabzi, Mousa; Hemmati Azandarani, Esmaeil & Omidi, Kazem. (2019). “The Role and Importance of the Sassanid Castle of Shah Joghali (Jeqleh) in Borujerd in Securing the Roads of the Central Zagros Region”, Islamic and Iranian History Quarterly, Al-Zahra University, Vol. 29, New Series, No. 44, Issue 134, Winter 2019, pp. 35-54. (In Persian).
-Sotoudeh, Hossein Gholi. (1968). History of the Muzaffarids, Tehran: University of Tehran Publications. (In Persian).
Sajjadi, Ali. (1998). Kogan Cave in Lorestan, Archive of the Lorestan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization, unpublished. (In Persian).
-Sedighian, Hossein & Gholami, Hossein. (2012). “Unpainted Islamic Pottery of Iran (Prehistoric-like)”, Journal of Iranian Archaeological Research, Vol. 3-4, No. 6-7, pp. 134-142. (In Persian).
-Safakish, Hamid Reza & Hatamian, Homayoun. (2017). “Lor: The Establishment of the Ilkhanate”, Parseh Archaeological Studies Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 105-114. (In Persian).
-Utbi, Abu Nasr Mohammad bin Abdul-Jabbar. (1955). Tarikh-e Yamini, translated by Abu Sharaf Nasih bin Zafar bin Sa'd Jarfaqdani, Tehran: Mohammad Ali Ferdin Printing House. (In Persian).
-Ghasemi, Farid. (2015). A Small Encyclopedia of Khorramabad, Tehran: Seyyed Farid Ghasemi Publishing. (In Persian).
-Ghobadizadeh, Hamzeh. (2024). Report on the Stratigraphy of Falak-ol-Aflak Castle, Archive of the Lorestan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization, unpublished. (In Persian).
-Qazvini Razi, Nasir al-Din Abul Rashid Abdul Jalil. (1979). Al-Naqz, edited by Mir Jalal al-Din Mohaddes, Tehran: Zar Printing House. (In Persian).
-Qalavand, Mostafa & Alipour, Amin. (2015). “A Study of Mangerah Castle: An Example of Ancient Castles on the Jundishapur to Shapurkhast Route”, Proceedings of the Second National Conference on Iranian Archaeology, Birjand: University of Birjand Publications, pp. 1-12. (In Persian).
- Ibn al-Athir, Ali bin Muhammad. (1965). Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, 13 Vols, Beirut: Dar Sader. (In Arabic).
-Ibn Hawqal, Muhammad. (2013). Surat al-Ard, edited by Yousef Beig Babapour, Qom: Islamic Treasures Assembly Publications. (In Arabic).
-Ibn Miskawayh, Ahmad bin Muhammad. (1909). Tajarib al-Umam, 5 Vols. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Printing House. (In Arabic).
-Ibn al-Wardi, Zain al-Abidin bin Umar. (1970 CE / 1389 AH). Tarikh Ibn al-Wardi, Najaf: Al-Haidariyah Printing House. (In Arabic).
-Al-Idrisi, Muhammad bin Muhammad. (1989 CE / 1409 AH). Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq, 2 Vols, Beirut: Al-'Alam al-Kutub Printing House. (In Arabic).
-Istakhri, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Muhammad. (n.d.). Masalik al-Mamalik, Beirut: Dar Sader Printing House. (In Arabic).
-Hamdani, Abu al-Hasan Muhammad bin Abdulmalik. (2008). Fragments from the Book "Unwan al-Sir fi Mahasin Ahl al-Badu wa al-Hadar", Tunis: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami. (In Arabic).