“The
seals will shed light on the administrative, legal, trade,
and economic systems of the Sassanid dynasty,” the
director of the archaeological team, Yusef Moradi, said.
“In
addition, the seals will be helpful in the identification
of Sassanid era cities, most of which are still
unidentified, because the seals were used on parcels,
letters, and merchandise sent to other cities. The names
of the cities receiving the parcels, letters, and
merchandise from Takht-e Soleiman have been inscribed on
the seals,” he explained.
The
archaeologists are currently classifying the seals for an
in-depth study.
Located
45 kilometers northeast of Takab, Takht-e Soleiman used to
be a fire temple called Azargoshasb in the Sassanid era,
when the temple was at its apogee.
Azargoshasb
was one of the three main fire temples built around the
lake located in the region, at the order of Khosrow
Anushirvan, who ruled the Sassanid Empire from 531 to 579
CE. Associated with Jesus’s childhood in Christian
legends, the lake is called “Chichast” in the Avesta,
the Zoroastrian holy book.
According
to studies carried out by Iranian and foreign
archaeologists over the past few decades, Takht-e Soleiman
saw four stages of construction during the Sassanid era.
The Ilkhanids, a Mongol people who ruled eastern Iran from
1256 to 1349, also added some structures to the monument
in five stages.
Studies
indicate that Takht-e Soleiman had been converted into a
township comprised of a bazaar, a mosque, a bath house,
and housing units after the Ilkhanids devastated the royal
monuments of the site. Abagha, Hulegu's successor,
expelled people from the township, but they returned after
his death in 1282.
The
Takht-e Soleiman ruins complex is also attributed to the
Prophet Solomon.
Takht-e
Soleiman was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in
2003.
