Bastam () is a city in, and the capital of,

Bastam District Bastam District () is in Shahrud County, Semnan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia ...

Shahrud County Shahrud County () is in Semnan Province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Shahrud. History After the 2011 National Census, the village of Ruyan was elevated to city status as Rudiyan, and was renamed Ruyan again in 2021. After the 2016 ...

, Semnan province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

History

Bastam was founded in the 6th century in the

Greater Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. It is north of

Shahrud The Shahrud (, from , DMG ''šāh-rūd'' or ''šāh-i-rūd'') was a short-necked lute, illustrated in the '' Surname-i Hümayun'', resembling an oud or barbat, but being much larger. The larger size gave the instrument added resonance and a de ...

. The town is known for its Islamic monuments from the

Ilkhanid The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

period and its association with the mystic

Bayazid Bastami Bayazīd Ṭayfūr bin ʿĪsā bin Surūshān al-Bisṭāmī (al-Basṭāmī) (d. 261/874–5 or 234/848–9), commonly known in the Iranian world as Bāyazīd Basṭāmī (), was a Sufi from north-central Iran.Walbridge, John. "Suhrawardi a ...

. The

Alborz The Alborz ( ) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merge ...

are to the north of the town. The 19th-century poet,

Abbas Foroughi Bastami Abbas Foroughi Bastami (: 1798–1857) was a poet in Qajar Iran. Early life Foroughi was born in the city of Karbala. He was the son of Aqa Musa, who worked as an accountant at the court of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (), the Qajar shah (king) of ...

, lived in Bastam for a time and thence acquired its name as his own. The early Bábí leader and martyr

Mullá ʻAlíy-i-Bastámí Mullá ʻAlí-i-Bastámí (died 1846) was the second Letter of the Living in the Bábí movement. He is also probably the first and one of the best known martyrs of the early Bábí period. Biography Early life He was born near the small cit ...

was also raised in Bastam, and was a significant figure in the

Shaykhi Shaykhism () is a term used by Shia Muslims for the followers of Shaykh Ahmad in early 19th-century Qajar Iran. While grounded in traditional Twelver Shiʻi doctrine, Shaykhism diverged from the Usuli school in its interpretation of key ideas s ...

movement and later became the first person known to have died for their allegiance to Bábism. A tradition says that the town was founded by

Vistahm Vistahm or Bistam (also transliterated Wistaxm, wsthm), was a Parthian dynast of the Ispahbudhan house, and maternal uncle of the Sasanian king of kings of Iran, Khosrow II (). Vistahm helped Khosrow regain his throne after the rebellion of a ...

, uncle of the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

king

Khosrau II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; and ''Khosrau''), commonly known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran, ruling from 590 ...

. The historical town of Bastam embraces the holy shrine of Mohammad Ibn Jafar Sadegh (AS), Bayazid Bastami tomb, Bayazid Monastery, Bayazid Mosque, Eljaito Iwan, Ghazan Dome, Jame Mosque,

Kashaneh Tower The Kashaneh Tower ( Persian: برج کاشانه) is a 14th-century structure in Bastam, Iran. It is located to the south east of the Jama mosque of Bastam. History The inscription on top of the entrance of the tower attributes the building t ...

, and Shahrokhieh School, which were built in different eras from

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

era (1037–1194) to Qajar period (1789–1925).

Demographics

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 7,382 in 1,997 households. The following census in 2011 counted 8,609 people in 2,713 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 8,609 people in 2,713 households.

Notes

References

External links

*Bayazid Shrine Complex at

ArchNet Archnet is a collaborative digital humanities project focused on Islamic architecture and the built environment of Muslim societies. Conceptualized in 1998 and originally developed at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning in co-operation ...