The City of Darabgerd in Iran in Fars province is one of the first round cities in the world and the oldest cities in Iran, dating back to 2600 years ago and the Achaemenid period. This historical city was the first capital of the Sasanian dynasty. If you want to get more information about the location of the city, the ancient monuments of the city of Darabgerd, its name, stay with us on the Hey Persia blog.
Where is the city of Darab?
When we hear the name Darabgerd, the first thing that comes to mind is the city of Darab. This city with more than 100 historical and natural monuments is located in the southeast of Fars province. Around this city, there are 300 ancient sites and 30 thousand-year-old settlements. Darab is located at a distance of 240 km from Shiraz and 315 km from Bandar Abbas, and it borders Kerman and Hormozgan provinces.
Where is the ancient city of Darabgerd?
The historical city of Darabgerd in Fars province is located 6 kilometers from Darab city.
What do you know about the ancient city of Darabgerd?
As we said, Darabgerd is 2,600 years old and was in the Achaemenid era in a vast and fertile plain called “Hashivar”. This city was one of the 5 cities of Pars state in old Iran and was in a round shape by Darius I for security reasons and by the old cities of Mesopotamia. The area of Darabgerd is about 32 square kilometers and walls of clay, stone and lime mortar have formed around it. This mortar is so strong that after 2,600 years its 10-meter wall destroyed only due to erosion, and a 7-meter high conical wall still remains standing around this city.
In addition to this conical wall, there is a moat 10 meters deep and 50 meters wide around the city, which was permanently with water from the Rodbal River. In the water of this moat, there were plants that wrapped around people’s hands and feet while swimming in it and took away the possibility of swimming and in fact, the presence of these plants in the water was another defensive shield around the city. The historical city of Darabgerd was very prosperous during the Achaemenid period.
The gates of the ancient city of Darabgerd
Darabgerd city had 2 main gates and 2 secondary gates, all these 4 gates were located in 4 main directions. The 2 most important gates were located in the west-east direction and the other 2 gates were in the north and south-east direction. The north and south gates were to enter the required water and exit the waste water. The eastern gate, which was as Khorshid Gate, was located on the side of the road that ended at Azarakhsh Fire Temple. The western gate was the most important of all the gates and was to contact the outside of the city.
The rulers and the kings
This city was under the rule of Aryamene. During the Seleucid and Parthian periods, Darabgerd had a semi-independent government and its king obeyed the ruler of Persia. The last emir who ruled in Darabgerd was a person named “Piri” who belonged to the Parthian period. After him, Ardeshir Babakan, the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, gained control over this city and after controlling the whole of Iran, he chose Darabgerd as the capital of the Sasanian government.
This city was very important during the Sasanian period and most of the ancient works of Darabgerd city date back to this historical period. In this city, like the ancient city of Astakhar, a mint built, which was operating in this city until the Islamic era and was economically active. According to what historians and chroniclers say, the ancient city of Darabgerd was prosperous and thriving until the 5th and 6th centuries of the Hijri-Lunar period, but after the attack of the Seljuks, this circular city was to the ground, and people first moved from Darabgerd to “Tang Rembe” and then to Darab. Currently moved.
What is the meaning of Darabgerd?
Darab means a place with a lot of water or a source of water. About Darabgerd, historians say that the name of the region was originally “Darabgerd” or “Darabjard” and the reason for this name was that this province was governed by “Darab” or Darius the Great. Lafat “Gard” or “Jared” means city and Darabgerd means the city of Darab! Others believe that because Darius the Great built this city in a circle, they called it “Darabgerd”.
But some others think that the corrected word “Kord” means to make. Therefore, Darabgerd means the city that Darab built. Malek al-Shaarai Bahar believed that the name of this city was actually “Dara Abad Kord” and it means the area that was settled by Dara Abad and this word was shortened and became Darabkord or Darabgerd.
The City of Darabgerd in Iran
The ancient city of Darabgerd is one of the ancient monuments of Darab city. It is in a round shape in an area of about 32 square kilometers. This circular city was the first capital of the Sassanids and is one of the few historical cities in the world that was built by Darius the Great Achaemenid with the inspiration of Assyrian structures.
There is a wall with a height of 7 meters around this circular city, due to its high-quality mortar during 2600 years, only 3 meters of it was destroyed and it still remains standing. If you plan to travel to Shiraz and see its historical monuments and places of interest around Shiraz, just join us at Hey Persia Travel Agency. Hey Persia is a safe and different choice for middle-aged people, which helps them experience a different and desirable trip with different interests. It is enough to join us once in Iran tour trips to become our constant companions. So register and join us.
