Zibad Castle is one of the four historical monuments of Zibad, Iran, located in the Kakhk district of

Gonabad Gonabad () is a city in the Central District of Gonabad County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is best known as the home of the Gonabadi Dervishes and also for its '' qa ...

County, in the Razavi Khorasan Province. It is believed to be the last refuge of

Yazdegerd III Yazdegerd III (also Romanized as ''Yazdgerd'', ''Yazdgird'') was the last Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar (son of Khosrow II), Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne a ...

, whose death signaled the collapse of the Sasanian Empire and the conquest of pre-Islamic

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 ...

. In 2001, the castle was registered as a national heritage property. Zibad Castle has also been nationally registered under the name of Shahab Castle since 2002.

Last shelter of the last Sasanian emperor

In 651,

was defeated by the Muslim Arabs in the city of

in the province of

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

. His heavy

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 ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

was too sluggish and systematized to contain them; if he had employed lightly-armed Arab or East Iranian mercenaries from

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 and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...

and

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

he would have been much more successful. Shortly after this, Yazdegerd III was murdered, leaving several different and contradictory narratives about his death. One source reports he sought refuge with a miller, who killed him to obtain his jewelry on the orders of Mahoe Suri. The narration of

Al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī () was a 9th-century West Asian historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the caliph al ...

Kitab Futuh al-Buldan ''Futūh al-Buldān'' (), or ''Kitāb Futūḥ al-Buldān'' ("Book of the Conquest of the Countries/Lands"), is the best known work by the 9th century Muslim historian Ahmad Ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri of Abbasid-era Baghdad. Written in Arabic, the ' ...

suggests that Yazdgerd was killed in Gonabad. The main text of Blazeri's book ''The Fate of Yazdgerd III'': The death of Yazdegerd marked the end of the Sasanian Empire, the last Persian imperial dynasty before the arrival of Islam (224-651). All of

was soon conquered by the Arabs, who would use it as a base to attack Transoxiana.

Sufeh Pir

Sufeh Pir is a cave believed to be the tomb of

Piran Viseh Piran e Viseh () is a Turan, Turanian figure in Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran. Beside Shahnameh, Piran is also mentioned in other sources such as History of the Prophets and Kings, Tabari and Al-Tha'ālibī, Tha'ālibī. He is the ki ...

in Kūh-Zibad mountain. He was a

Turanian Turanian is a term that has been used in reference to diverse groups of people. Many of the uses of the word are obsolete. It may refer to: *An Iranic ethnic group mentioned in the Avesta **See Turanian (Avesta) **See Turan *The Turanid race *Any ...

figure in

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

, the

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks to or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group wi ...

Greater Iran Greater Iran or Greater Persia ( ), also called the Iranosphere or the Persosphere, is an expression that denotes a wide socio-cultural region comprising parts of West Asia, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and East Asia (specifica ...

. Beside Shahnameh, Piran is also mentioned in other sources such as

Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present-day ...

and

Tha'ālibī Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Thaʿālibī () (961–1038), was a writer famous for his anthologies and collections of epigrams. As a writer of prose and verse in his own right, distinction between his and the ...

. He was the king of

Khotan Hotan (also known by #Etymology, other names) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region in Northwestern China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an ...

and the

spahbed ''Spāhbad'' (also spelled ''spahbod'') is a Middle Persian title meaning "army chief" used chiefly in the Sasanian Empire. Originally there was a single ''spāhbad'', called the , who functioned as the generalissimo of the Military of the Sasani ...

Afrasiab Afrasiyab ( ''afrāsiyāb''; ; Middle-Persian: ''Frāsiyāv, Frāsiyāk'') is the name of the mythical king and hero of Turan. He is the main antagonist of the Persian epic ''Shahnameh'', written by Ferdowsi. Name and origin ''Afrā'' is the po ...

, the king of

Turan Turan (; ; , , ) is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical region, or a culture. The original Turanians were an Iranian tribe of th ...

. According to the book of Dr Abas Zamani

was buried in the cave of Sofe

Zibad Zibad () is a village in, and the capital of, Zibad Rural District, of Kakhk District, Gonabad County, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the village's population was 868 in ...

now called DarSufa Pir

References

Sources

* * * * *
Report of a Persian magazineCastle of Shah Nesheen ZibadDr Ajam, Geography of the 12 Rokh War in Zibad Gonabad, Mashahd University Magazine Simorgh No9 year9. 953942
شابک ۹۵۳۹۴۲
''3 historical Places in Zibad''
Persian book
Geography of GonabadPangereh Magazine 2012 Castle of Zeibad by Dr AjamPhoto of the castleZibad history by Dr Ajamshahname/12rokh warBook by Dr Zamani and Ajam 1972 no 41 magazineArticle in Persian language. ''Parssea'' magazine, 2011
*Geography and tribe and minority in Khorasan, Mohammad Ajam, research published 1992, University of Imam Sadegh, Tehran.

Gallery

File:Darb Soufeh.zibad a sassanid castle.JPG, DarSoufeh.Zibad File:Zibad Castle.jpg, Zibad Castle زیبد File:Zibad Castle 1.jpg, Zibad Castle قلعه زیبد File:Zibad Rheum or red Rheum Iran.jpg, Zibad Rheum File:KarizZibad.jpg, Kariz Zebad File:ZibadTirMahi.jpg, zibad Mountain File:Komay Zibad.jpg, Ferula Zibad File:Zeebad.jpg, Sassanian Castel File:Darb Soufeh. a sassanid castel.JPG, Soufe Zibad File:Saffron Field.JPG File:RivasIranZibad.JPG, Rivas zibad File:تیرمهیtirMahiZibad.jpg, Kūh-ZibadZibad Gonabad File:YaldaZibad.jpg, A photograph of

Yaldā Night Yaldā Night () or Chelle Night (also Chellah Night, , lit. "fortieth night") is an ancient festival in Iran, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan that is celebrated on the winter solstice. This corresponds t ...

. File:Ancient water clock used in qanat of gonabad 2500 years ago.JPG, Ancient water clock used in

qanat A qanāt () or kārīz () is a water supply system that was developed in ancient Iran for the purpose of transporting usable water to the surface from an aquifer or a well through an underground aqueduct. Originating approximately 3,000 years ...

of gonabad 2500 years ago File:میرآب.JPG, Reconstruction of the scene with a real manager of the water clock, Iran گناباد 16.jpg, گناباد 17.jpg, گناباد 18.jpg, گناباد 19.jpg, گناباد 20.jpg, گناباد 21.jpg, {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuh-e Tir Mahi Populated places in Gonabad County Tourist attractions in Razavi Khorasan province Castles in Iran

Last shelter of the last Sasanian emperor

Sufeh Pir

See also

References

Sources

Gallery