Darabgerd: One Of The Oldest Cities Dated To Achaemenid Era

A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com  - Remains of the ancient historical city of Darabgerd (Darabjerd) are situated six kilometers southwest of the modern town of Darab in Fars province, Iran.

Mentioned in very ancient literary works of this country, Darabgerd was one of the oldest and most prominent cities of the Achaemenid Empire.

Left: Ruins of Darabgerd, source; Right: Darius The Great, source

A legend ascribes the foundation of the city to Darius the Great (550–486 BC), the third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC).

Other medieval sources suggest that Dara, either an Achaemenid king or one of the Frataraka "maker of fire" or "keeper of fire" rulers of Arsacid Persis, could be the founder of the city.

It was even proposed that Darius III was the last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia.

The place's earlier name was Darabgerd (Daráb-gerd (Darius-town or the land of Darius) - and now, Darab was not the only town founded by Darius I.

It might have been the first circular structure built by the third king of the Empire and is among old Persian cities having a circular plan and four gates.

The idea of planning circular cities is old and dates back to the time of the Assyrians, whose famous military camps were circular-shaped enclosures.

Position of the gates of Darabgerd, which is visible on satellite photo (adapted from the Google Earth site). source

However, in Persia, the design of round cities also has a long tradition. According to Herodotus (I. 98), Ecbatana, the Median capital in the late 8th century BC, was designed as a circular system; encircled by seven rings of walls. Since the Parthian period, several circular cities such as Hatra and Darabgerd have been noteworthy.

Darabgerd is among old Persian cities with a circular plan and four gates, but so is an ancient town in Media in western Iran – Ecbatana.

According to Herodotus, the city was chosen as the Medes' capital in the late 8th century BC by a Median king, Deioces.

The governmental citadel was located at the top of the dome-shaped mountain. A very high circular rampart and a deep trench protected the city.

Today, in the vicinity of the city, there are some remains of the citadel in the form of earthworks arranged in a circle around an isolated rock and a giant bas-relief carved on the vertical face of a stone, representing the victory of the Sasanian king Shapur I over the Roman emperor Valerian in 260 AD.

There are also three fortresses north of the Darabgerd archaeological site.

Drawing after engraving The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 3. (7). Shapour cave is located in the Zagros Mountains in southern Iran, about 6 km from the ancient city of Bishapur. This cave is near Kazerun in Chogan valley, the site of polo/chogan in the Sasanian period. In the cave, on the fourth of five terraces, stands the colossal statue of Shapur I, the second ruler of the Sasanid Empire. The statue was carved from one stalagmite. The height of the figure is 7 m. high and its shoulders are 2 m. wide, and its hands are three m. long. source

Around this ancient city is a vast conical wall (originally more than 10 m high) built of stone, lime, and clay. Today, the erosion process damaged the wall, which is only 7 m tall, but the construction survived over 2,000 years.

The salt dome of the ancient city of Darabgerd is surrounded by a round wall standing at the center of the vast, green plain of Darab. Once, it had a prominent place at the center of the ancient town.

During the Sasanid period (considered the peak of ancient Iranian culture), Darabgerd was a vital capital city of Darabgerd-Khurreh, widely known for manufacturing jasmine oil, textiles, famous carpets, and valuable mineral salts.
However, the most famous and valuable product of Darabgerd was a highly unique bituminous mineral oil, probably collected in the city or the nearby mountains and used as medicine.

Other ancient sources say that the original shape of Darabgerd (probably more than 2,500-plus-year-old)  was triangular, not circular. However, archeological evidence indicates that Darabgerd was neither perfect geometrically nor did it have a concentric or radial system of streets.

In the 12th century, Darabgerd was abandoned.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

Updated on January 20, 2024

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