The Continuity and Persistence of Iranian Urban Planning Traditions in the Islamic Era: From Ardashir-Khwarrah, the Sasanian Ideal City, to Baghdad, the Abbasid Capital

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 university of tehran.

2 university of Tehran

10.22103/jic.2026.26423.1491

Abstract

Although the fall of the Sasanian Empire is considered a major political-ideological rupture, the fundamental patterns of Iranian civilization and governance, especially in urban planning, were transmitted and continued from the Sasanian period into the Islamic era. Focusing on two symbolic cities—Ardashir-Khwarrah (3rd century CE) as the Sasanian ideal city and Baghdad (8th century CE) as the Abbasid capital—this research seeks to answer the question: Which key components of the urban planning model of Ardashir-Khwarrah continued in the design and construction of Baghdad, and what were the reasons for this continuity? This study employs a historical-comparative method, examining the content of ancient historical and geographical texts alongside contemporary archaeological and numismatic data. The findings indicate that the observed continuity went beyond a mere circular plan and is traceable across three main layers: 1. The Cosmological-Symbolic Layer: The idea of the "city as a symbol of the ideal world" with circular geometry and the absolute centrality given to the symbol of rule (the Terbal in Ardashir-Khwarrah and the palace-mosque complex in Baghdad). 2. The Spatial-Administrative Organizational Layer: The model of the city divided into four sectors around intersecting axes, as a tool for imposing order, control, and hierarchical management of the territory. 3. The Infrastructural-Livability Layer: Shared engineering wisdom in the centralized management of water resources and the selection of settlement locations at the intersection of major trade routes. This research argues that the observed continuity resulted from the efficacy of a "paradigmatic model" in urban planning for centralized, vast empires.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Civilization Research
Volume 7, Issue 2 - Serial Number 14
December 2026
Pages 126-148

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