The Nader Palace (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: کاخ نادر), the Kalat Palace (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: کاخ کلات) or the Sun Palace (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: کاخ خورشید) is a palace in
Kalat (Nader Dejh),
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 ...
. Built in 1738-1739, it is one of the few buildings that were built during the reign of
Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...
. Its construction was cut short after the assassination of the Shah.
It is currently used as a museum of
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
.
History
Returning from his
Indian campaign, Nader Shah brought many Indian architect and engineer captives, whom he ordered to construct a palace in Kalat. The palace was meant to house the Shah's treasury, and the jewels he had taken from India. The namesake of the palace was apparently a wife of Nader, who was named "Khorshid", meaning "Sun". After Nader's demise the construction process was halted, which is clearly visible from the state of the building and the calligraphies and paintings.
Located in the middle of a large garden, it used to be 25 meters tall in 3 floors, but the third floor was ruined over time and the current height of the building does not exceed 20 meters.
There is evidence that the place was used as a residential headquarter in the early
Qajar era
The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...
.
It was listed in
the Iranian national heritage sites list in 10 February 1940 with the number 329.
References
{{coord, 36.9951, 59.7669, type:landmark_region:IR, display=title
Kalat County
Buildings and structures in Razavi Khorasan province
Afsharid Iran
18th-century establishments in Iran
Buildings and structures on the Iran National Heritage List
Qajar houses
Museums in Iran
Tourist attractions in Razavi Khorasan province