Shahdad And Mahnaz
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Shahdad () is a city in, and the capital of,
Shahdad District Shahdad District () is in Kerman County, Kerman province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Shahdad Shahdad () is a city in, and the capital of, Shahdad District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Iran. Demographics Population At ...
of
Kerman County Kerman County () is in Kerman province Kerman province () is the largest of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Kerman. The province is in the southeast of Iran. In 2014 it was placed in Region 5. Mentioned in anc ...
,
Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...
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 ...
.


Demographics


Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 4,097 in 1,010 households. The following census in 2011 counted 5,942 people in 1,612 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 5,217 people in 1,621 households.


Geography


Location

Shahdad is the center of
Shahdad District Shahdad District () is in Kerman County, Kerman province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Shahdad Shahdad () is a city in, and the capital of, Shahdad District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Iran. Demographics Population At ...
, which includes smaller cities and villages such as
Sirch Siroch () is a village in, and the capital of, Siroch Rural District of Shahdad District, Kerman County, Kerman province, Iran. Despite its proximity to the city of Shahdad Shahdad () is a city in, and the capital of, Shahdad Dist ...
, Anduhjerd, Ebrahimabad, and Deh-e Seyf. The driving distance from the city of
Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...
to Shahdad is 95 km. The local climate is hot and dry. The main agricultural produce is dates.


Climate

Shahdad has a hot desert climate (
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BWh''). The city is located at the edge of the Lut desert, which is one of the hottest and driest places in the world. The summers are long and extremely hot, though not as hot as the center of the Lut desert, usually being a few degrees lower, while the winters are short and mild.


Historical monuments

There are many
castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
s and
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
s at Shahdad and the vicinity. Examples are the Shafee Abaad castle and the Godeez castle. The shrine of
Imamzadeh An imamzadeh () is a Persian term with two related meanings: a type of holy person in Shia Islam, and the shrine-tomb of such a person. Descendant An imamzadeh is an immediate descendant of a Shi'i Imam. The term is also used in Urdu and ...
Zeyd, in the south of the town, is a respected religious site. There is also the main mosque ''Masjed-e-Rasool'' (''Mosque of the Prophet'') where people go to offer
namaz ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as ''rak'ah'', include a specific se ...
.


Archaeology


Background

Shahdad was a major Bronze Age center discovered in 1968. Around 1970, Ali Hakemi of Archaeological Institute of Iran investigated the site. He conducted excavations for seven seasons.
"By the early third millennium B.C., Shahdad began to grow quickly as international trade with Mesopotamia expanded. Tomb excavations revealed spectacular artifacts amid stone blocks once painted in vibrant colors. These include several extraordinary, nearly life-size clay statues placed with the dead. The city's artisans worked lapis lazuli, silver, lead, turquoise, and other materials imported from as far away as eastern Afghanistan, as well as shells from the distant Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Evidence shows that ancient Shahdad had a large metalworking industry by this time."Andrew Lawler
The World in Between
Volume 64 Number 6, November/December 2011 archaeology.org


Environment

Shahdad is located in Shahdad Plain of Kerman province. To the east is the
Lut Desert The Lut Desert, widely referred to as Dasht-e Lut (, "Emptiness Plain"), is a salt desert located in the provinces of Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran. It is the world's 33rd-largest desert, and was included in UNESCO's World Heritage List ...
, and to the west are the Kerman mountains. Due to proximity of the Shahdad Plain to the Lut Desert, its climate is hot and dry; often there are strong winds blowing densely mixed with dust. The site of Shahdad was in antiquity located near the Shahdad River and some other streams flowing east. Shahdad shares many parallels with
Shahr-e Sukhteh Shahr-e Sukhteh (, meaning "Burnt City"), c. 3550–2300 BC,Ascalone, E., and P. F. Fabbri, (2022)"Demographic considerations regarding the settlement and necropolis of Shahr i Sokhta" in: E. Ascalone and S.M.S. Sajjadi (eds.), Excavations and R ...
. Many other ancient settlements are found in what is now empty desert. This is where the
Jiroft Civilization The Jiroft culture,Oscar White MuscarellaJiroft(2008), in: Encyclopedia Iranica. "For archeological accuracy the terms "Jiroft" or "Jiroft culture" employed to define a specific ancient Iranian culture and its artifacts should only be cited withi ...
flourished. The legendary
Aratta Aratta is a land that appears in Sumerian myths surrounding Enmerkar and Lugalbanda, two early and possibly mythical kings of Uruk also mentioned on the Sumerian king list. Role in Sumerian literature Aratta is described as follows in Sumer ...
of the Sumerian sources may have been located in this area. Also, according to Iranian archaeologist Hassan Fazeli Nashli, some 900 Bronze Age sites have been documented in the
Sistan Basin The Sistan Basin is an inland endorheic basin encompassing large parts of southwestern Afghanistan and minor parts of southeastern Iran. It is one of the driest regions in the world and an area subject to prolonged droughts. Its watershed is a ...
, which is located further to the east, mostly in Afghanistan. According to recent research, Shahdad increased in size from the middle of third millennium BC (2500 BC), and was flourishing for more than 500 years. The ancient site is located north of modern town. The oldest known metal flag in human history was found in this city.


See also


Notes


References

{{Kerman County, state=collapsed Cities in Kerman province Populated places in Kerman County Jiroft culture