The Arg-e Karim Khan in Shiraz A Legacy of Zandieh Era

Arg-e Karim Khan A Legacy of Zandieh Era

Arg-e Karim Khan (Citadel of Karim Khan) was the palace of Karim Khan, a king of the Zandieh Dynasty. Built in 1180 AH, it is located to the northeast of Shiraz near the Shohada Square. For building his palace, Karim Khan invited the most skilled stonecutters, architects and artists of his time. He also bought the best type of construction materials from different cities of the country and also from abroad.
According to Tachar website, the citadel has an area of 4,000 square meters and is in the center of a compound extending over an area of 12,800 square meters. The architectural style used in this edifice is both military and residential, as the citadel was the residence of the king and had to have high security. Hence, the exterior walls, which essentially resemble the walls of a garrison, are quite tall. The citadel consists of four high walls connected by four 14 meters round brick towers. The lower section of the exterior walls is three meters in width. It is shaped like an incomplete cone and its width at the top reaches 2.8 meters. In the upper section of the wall, there is a small chamber, which housed soldiers and guards.
The palace’s entrance hall is rather large. It has one door which opens to the horse stable and another door, which opens toward the roof. Compared to similar buildings, the hall does not have many decorations. There were special rooms for the groom, which were destroyed throughout centuries.
There is a small courtyard adjacent to each of the four towers of the building. In one of them, there is a special room for the king’s servants. In the main courtyard, which covers an area of 93.6 meters by 12.8 meters, there is a stairway to the second floor. The citadel is rectangular, on each side of which is a 15-meter brick tower. Between the northern, southern and western sides is a large balcony, which consists of a hall and two large chambers. In front of each of the three balconies there are two sturdy stone columns, each of them nine meters high. As is customary in the architectural style of the Zandieh era, a four-sided pond was constructed in front of each of the balconies.
The eastern side of the citadel is a high wall in the middle of which the entrance door is located. On top of the entrance gate there is a beautiful painting depicting a scene from the battle between Rostam and the White Demon (mythical personalities of the masterpiece of poet Ferdowsi, ’Shahnameh’ or ’book of the kings’). Colorful enameled tiles are used in the painting. This is a feature added during the Qajar era. The shah’s private bath and the residence of his bodyguards are situated behind the eastern wall.
The walls of the quarters are made of stone and baked clay is used in other parts of the building. Interior decorations include marbles of Yazd and Tabriz and large mirrors bought from Europe. Herbal colors are used in the ceilings’ ornaments.
During the Qajar period, the citadel was used as the governor’s seat. It was converted to a prison during the reign of Reza Shah, the first Pahlavi monarch. Renovation of the building in contemporary times started in 1977.