Saqhez is one of the very old cities of the Middle East, which has many treasures and historical objects in its heart. One of the most important works and actually a masterpiece of the architecture of mankind before Christ is “Ziviyeh Fortress” or “Ziviyeh Castle”. This fortress is located on the top of Ziviyeh hill near Saqhez city and is one of the exquisite works of Iranians that is world famous. If you would like to know more about the hill of Zivieh Castle Hill In Iran, join us on the Hey Persia blog.
Where is the Zivieh Castle Hill In Iran?
The hill of Zivieh Castle or Zivieh Castle is located on top of a mountain 48 km east of Saqqez and 35 km from Diwandre city of Kurdistan province. To reach this castle, after climbing a thousand stone steps, you will reach a strong fortress dating back to 700 BC, which is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Iran.
How is the access to the hill of Zivieh Castle?
There are 2 routes to reach Dez Ziviye Palace, which we will mention below:
The first route: just drive 20 kilometers on the Saqqez-Sanandaj road to reach a city called Sahib. From there, you can easily find the continuation of the path according to the signpost of Tepe Zivieh. The second route: travel 35 km from the Saqez-Sanandaj road to reach the Chapan intersection. Therefore, Turn left at the intersection and go 20 to 30 kilometers to reach Ziviyeh village.
History of the hill of Zivie Castle
Zivieh fortress or Zivieh castle hill is located one kilometer from the village of the same name, Zivieh. This hill belongs to the 3rd and 4th centuries of AH and was in the national register on 10 Mehr 1380. At the top of this hill, a command center and government citadel was by the Medes and Scythians, which is as Ziviye Castle.
In the 1st millennium BC, the palace of Dej Ziviyeh was the seat of government of the Medes and Scythians. This architectural masterpiece dates back to 3500 years BC. The fortress of Ziviye Saqqez was the capital of Manae and was the center of wars and conflicts during the attacks of Assyrians and Scythians. Finally, after the defeat of the Manaites, the Ziviyeh castle was by the conquerors. Around 700 years BC, the Scythians used the Ziva fortress as their command center and the capital of their rule over the land of the Medes. In fact, this 3-story palace was the center of the first judiciary in ancient Iran.
How was Zivieh Castle discovered?
The ancient castle of Ziviyeh was by chance in 1323. In that year, there was a lot of rain and snow, and due to the heavy rain, a part of the top of the hill collapsed, and as a result, its works and objects revealed. Between the years 1325 and 1332, a Jewish person named “Ayoub Rabul Nuwa” excavated the region with the aim of discovering and looting the ancient objects, and in the meantime he caused serious damage to them and sold many valuable objects of the region to other countries!
The architecture of Ziviyeh fortress
Zivieh citadel consists of halls, courtyard, numerous rooms, pillared hall, granary, main entrance and stone staircase. In order to eliminate the natural slope of the hill, the architects of Ziwieh Castle built it on 3 different levels and built the so-called palace with 3 floors and used stone stairs to connect between the floors and built a colonnaded hall on the third floor with 16 columns. .
The architecture of this government citadel is adobe and stone is only for the walls and pavements. The diameter of the walls of the building is several times the diameter of the walls of today’s stilt houses. Due to the age of the construction of the Ziviye fortress palace, the building is completely modern and has windows, numerous and very large corridors, a porch or balcony, a pillared hall and 2 carved stone gates.
What is the meaning of the name Zive?
The word “Ziv” in the Kurdish language has two different meanings, which we will mention below: Ziv with the suffix (an) in the form of Zivan, means the guard and servant of the blessed tomb. Most likely, this is the reason for using the name Zivaye. One of the uses of Ziviye area is to refer to the burial place and tomb of a distinguished and famous person.
Objects and treasures of the Zivieh Castle Hill In Iran
The treasures that were in Ziviyeh Castle include a large collection of gold, bronze, clay, stone, and ivory objects. In the first excavations that took place in this area in 1325, a very exquisite bronze coffin and a masterpiece of metalwork and pottery discovered, which was unique in its kind. In addition, in this ancient treasure, a large bronze pan decorated with motifs of Assyrian warriors discovered, in which gold, silver and ivory were used. The most important objects obtained from this historical citadel are golden urns and golden necklaces.
Among the other exquisite works of Ziwieh Castle, we can mention 2 swords with golden handle and scabbard and an iron ax with gold handle, which were made in the style of the Scythian Iranian people. Additionally, On these ancient objects, you can see the combination of Scythian elements such as the sleeping deer with ancient Eastern elements such as the sacred tree among the goddesses and extraordinary animals.
Zivieh Castle Hill In Iran
Finally, Zivia Castle, Saqqez, is a three-story building and one of the architectural masterpieces of mankind before Christ. This building was in the national register in 1346. Unfortunately, most of the historical works attributed to this fort are kept in world-famous museums such as the Louvre Museum, Leningrad Museum, Metropolitan Museum, etc.. Some of them are in the Museum of Ancient Iran.
