Iran's Pyramid the Ziggurat of Choghazanbil

Ziggurat of Choghazanbil

Majestic and Beautiful

Ziggurat of Choghazanbil 

The large Choghazanbil ziggurat is one of the ancient monuments in Iran registered on the World Heritage List.
Built by the Elamites in approximately 1250 BCE, it resembles the architecture employed in the Egyptian pyramids and Mayan edifices, Cais.soas.com reported.
Background
The ziggurat of Choghazanbil is a sacred building of ancient times. The pyramidical edifice was originally five stories high, but at present only three floors remain.
The Elamite Dynasty built many such edifices in ancient Persia, the most important of which is the ziggurat of Choghazanbil in Khuzestan province.
The Choghazanbil edifice is the only surviving ziggurat in Iran and one of the most important remnants of the Elamite civilization, which thrived in Iran. The earliest known presence of Elamites has been recorded at Awan (now called Shoushtar, a town in Khouzestan province).
According to the chronicles of the Old Testament, an ancient king named Kedor Laomer in Elam succeeded in extending his domain as far as Palestine (Genesis, Chapter 14).

Ziggurat of Choghazanbil

Location
Choghazanbil is located in Khouzestan province 30 km southwest of Shoush (Susa), the famous capital of Elam near Dez River which bifurcates from the large Karoun River. The edifice and the town bearing the same name have been built on a natural earth mound, as it overlooks the adjacent plains. When the sky is clear, the two important Elamite cities, namely Shoush and Shoushtar, were visible from that elevation.
The ziggurat was located at Choghazanbil because of the region’s proximity to Shoush, trade routes and Mesopotamia.
Nomenclature
The original name of this town and its ziggurat was Dur-Untash which, according to the inscriptions discovered at the foundations of the ruined building in that town, derived its name from Untash-Gal, the Elamite king (1275-1240 BCE) who was the founder of that town. This name has been repeatedly mentioned in Elamite and Assyrian inscriptions.
The word `Dur’ in the Akkadian and Elamite languages means a town or an enclosed and distinct region. Ziggurat in Sumerian language means ascending to heaven and has its root in the Elamite word Zagratu.
The highest story of the ziggurat was called Kukunnu or Kizzum which name was ascribed to all the stories.
Choghazanbil means a hill-like basket (Zanbil), because in the Dezfouli or Lori dialect Chogha means a hill.
Significance
Based on surviving records, the money for building that town and edifice was not procured from military victories and plunder or from collection of tributes and taxes but through trade with other regions.
Choghazanbil was the religious capital of that time and the main residence of Untash-Gal.
The architectural method used by the Elamite architects focused on making the best use of sunshine in winter and profit from the local winds and shadow in summer.
The significance of the scientific and cultural achievements of Elamites and their contribution to other civilizations can be better understood when we learn that the first wheeled pitcher (the first wheel) was apparently invented by human beings at Elam.
Also, the first arched roof and its covering, which involve a very important technique in architecture, were invented by the Elamites and used in the mausoleum of Tepti-Ahar around 1360 BCE (unearthed in the excavations made at Haft Tappeh) nearly 1,500 years before such arches were used by the Romans.

Excavations
Based on a contract signed with Nassereddin Shah, the Qajar king, with France, a French archeological team was sent to Khuzestan in 1895. But this team had based its headquarters in Shoush. However, in 1935, Brown, a New Zealand citizen who was seeking oil, while flying over that region was surprised to spot a huge earthen pile.
During the same period, one of the geologists of the oil company discovered an inscribed brick that referred to Choghazanbil and took it to the French archeological team in Shoush. Thus the Iranian government permitted R. de Mecquenem, the representative of Louvre Museum in Paris and head of the French archeological team in Shoush, to excavate the Choghazanbil area for five years. De Mecquenem started his investigation during 1936-39, but the main excavation was commenced by R. Ghirshman in 1951.
Until 1962, Ghirshman succeeded in conducting nine stages of consecutive excavations with 150 workers and removed 200,000 sq. meters of earth from the site by wagons and rail in34 months. He succeeded in unearthing the ziggurat from the depth of the earth.
Recently, an Iranian archeologist said evidence indicates the existence of a ziggurat older than the 3,000-year-old counterpart at Choghazanbil and Haft-Tappeh in Khuzestan province.
The Persian daily Toseh reported geophysical studies are underway in the area.
“The second stage of seismic studies at Choghazanbil and Haft-Tappeh will resume from September 22,“ archeologist Hamid Fadaei said.
He noted that the theory of other ziggurats around Choghazanbil and Haft-Tappeh, put forward by renowned Professor Negahban before 1979, has gained strength in light of the current studies.
“Deh-e No is a hill where ancestors of Ontash Nepirisha, the ruler of Orantash had been living 6,000 years ago or 4,000/5,000 years before Christ,“ he said.
A brick has been unearthed from the hill with inscriptions indicating that there are ziggurats at Deh-e No preceding the one at Choghazanbil.
The ziggurat’s beauty and majesty attract thousands of local and foreign visitors every year.

Iran exhibits Parviz Tanavoli artworks

Iran exhibits Parviz Tanavoli artworks Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:39:24

Parviz Tanavoli Iran's Persian Art museum has mounted an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by the celebrated artist Parviz Tanavoli in Tehran. The event, Tanavoli's first solo exhibition in six years, displays some 54 artworks dating from 1963 to 2001. Parviz Tanavoli has held numerous international solo exhibitions in Austria, Britain, Germany, Italy and the US. His works adorn the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Seoul Olympic Park and the cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. 'The Wall (Oh Persepolis)' by Parviz Tanavoli Tanavoli's 'Wall (Oh Persepolis)' fetched 2.84 million dollars at Christie's international auction of modern and contemporary art in Dubai, breaking the record for a Middle Eastern artwork. Tanavoli's Tehran exhibition will run until Aug. 3, 2008. TE/HGH

Mamasani , Fars, Iran

Mamasani Down
History Lane

Throughout history, Mamasani has hosted different civilizations and nations. Located in the highlands of Fars province, it lies strategically between empires that existed in the region, notably Elam and Persia .
Mamasani was also part of the capital city of the Achaemenid monarch, Cyrus the Great.
Situated 158 km from Shiraz , it is bound by Sepidan in the north, Bushehr and Kohkilouyeh-Boyerahmad in the west, Kazeroun and Bushehr in the south and Shiraz in the east, CHTN reported. The name Mamasani goes back to the ancient Mohammad Hassan’s tribe. Since Lori dialect is prevalent in the region, the name has changed to Mamdhassan, Mamasan and Mamasani.
Historians believe that the ancient name of the district was Anzan or Enshan that transformed into Anbouran and Shulestan. Finally, the name changed to Mamasani during the rule of Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736).
Artifacts and manuscripts remaining from 8000 BC to 3000 BC reveal that Iranian civilization originated in Mamasani. Abundance of forests and rangelands, rich water resources and soil, fertile plains and diverse climatic conditions led to the establishment of prehistoric civilizations in the district.

Language
The language spoken by most inhabitants of Mamasani is Lori, which goes back to the Sassanid period.
Some of the nomadic tribes of Mahour Milati region speak Turkish. These tribes belong to the Qashqaei tribe.
However, the residents of Arab Khanimeh and Kakhak villages speak Arabic while they can also speak Lori fluently.

Major Finding
At the end of the second season of archeological excavations at Saravan in March, it became evident that a major center of Achaemenid Dynasty (648-330 BC) was situated in the area.
The Iranian head of the Iran-Australia archeological team, Alireza Asgari, said the major accomplishment of the second season of archeological diggings was discovery of an edifice extending over an area of 1,500 square meters and 14 meters in height.
Asgari noted that studies conducted in the vicinity of the edifice show that at least two other buildings existed next to it during the Achaemenid era. One building was situated south of the edifice and the other to its east.

Prehistoric Times
Throughout history, Mamasani was the link between Khuzestan, Kohkilouyeh, Zagros, Bushehr and the Persian Gulf . In fact, the prehistoric cultures and civilizations of the neighboring provinces can be sought in Mamasani through scientific research.
The prehistoric sites remaining in the area date back to 8000 BC to 3000 BC. They are mostly hills, such as Nourabad, which belongs to 4500 BC and has been registered as national heritage.
Other sites include Tall-e Bakhtiyari, which is located 3 km from Nourabad and belongs to 5000 BC, and Dimeh Meel that dates back to 4000 BC and Kouzehgaran.

Historical Era
Some of the historical sites of Mamasani include Goornegoon bas-relief dating back to 2400 BC, Fahlian Silent Tower built in 700 BC, Davood Dokhtar Silent Tower of 650 BC, Achemenid palaces of Saravan Village belonging to 500 BC, Meel-e Ejdeha Fire Temple of 120 BC and Mansourabad Dam of Sassanid era (226-650).
There are sites and edifices belonging to the period marking Islam’s advent in various parts of Mamasani, among which one could cite Khafrak City in Shuseni and the city of Chahar Bazaar.
Historians consider Mamasani as an important center during the Islamic period.

Tourist Attractions
In addition to hosting historical and religious sites, Mamasani has beautiful natural attractions, such as the evergreen valley of Bouvan, which is covered with oak and almond trees, and Haft Berom lakes.
It has temperate weather and is verdant during February, March and early April.
Farmlands enhance the natural beauty of the region. Even nomadic tribes who live in the area add to the colorful landscape of the region.
One of Mamasani’s tourist attractions is the tomb of Imamzadeh Seyyed Alaeddin Mohammad in northeast Nourabad. It is the burial place of one of the sons of Imam Mousa Kazem (AS) and his daughter. The tomb consists of an old and new building.
Another tourist attraction is the Goornegoon bas-relief in Se-Tolen Village , which belongs to the Elamite Era (2700-539 BC). This rocky bas-relief depicts two figures, one ’God’ and one ’Goddess’ sitting among their worshippers. Meel-e Ejdeha or Dimeh Meel is a square-shaped stone tower on the slopes of Shirmard Mount in a region called Dimeh Meel, 10 km west of Nourabad. The tower, which was apparently a fire temple, is 7 meters in height and 3 meters wide.
Furthermore, relics remaining from the Achaemenid era in Saravan Village , 12 km from Nourabad include pillars with lotus decorations and resemble those of Persepolis .

Khansar Land of Inverted Tulips

Khansar Land of Inverted Tulips

Khansar in northwest Isfahan province is located about 150 kilometers from the city of Isfahan. The name Khansar comes from the Avestan language. Khun means spring and sar means place, so khansar means place of the spring.
Its geographical location is 33¼13’ north latitude and 50¼19’ east longitude while its altitude is 2,250 meters above the sea level. According to Isfahanportal.ir, it’s area is 900 kmÃ, and it includes 18 towns, 3 villages and one central city. This city is located to the northwest of Esfahan, to the east is Golpayegan, and to the southwest it is within the limits of Faridan. It is situated on both sides of a narrow valley through which the Khansar River, some 4 meters wide at this point, flows in a north-easterly direction to Qom. The town and its gardens and orchards straggle some 10 km along the valley which has a mean breadth of scarcely 1 kilometer. Khansar is a small county with a population of about 40,000. It is situated in a green valley. Snowy in winter and mild in summer, it enjoys many natural sights. It also is a religious city and has good weather.
The city has diverse flora, the most important being the inverted tulip. Average maximum temperature of Khansar during summer is 31¼ centigrade and the average minimum on summer nights is 24¼ centigrade.


Attractions
The most important places worth seeing in this city are hot springs and mineral waters in Golestan Kooh, Sarcheshmeh park, Cheshmeh (Spring) Omid, east of Khansar, the Zoroastrian temple in Tir Kooh, Baba Pir , Baba Mohamed Castle, Shahzadeh Ahmad, Jame Mosque, House of Abharis and Mariam Beygom School in Khansar city.
An attraction of Khansar is Golestan Kouh (literally ’flower mountain’) which is very pleasant in May when the area is covered by inverted tulips. Golestan Kouh is located on the Khansar-Isfahan road some 15 kilometers from Khansar. Hiking and skiing in the nearby mountains is very popular.
Another place of interest is Sarcheshmeh Park with beautiful mountain springs. Many tourists visit the area each year.
Khansar is also among the cities with a long history. Religious sites in the city include Shazdeh Ahmad and Emamzadeh Seyyed Saleh. It has many districts such as Vadasht, Payehtakht, Bidhend, Sonqan and Chaharbagh.
Khansar is located not far from the Iran’s Central Kavir (desert). It is surrounded by the Zagros Mountain range which is the source of Anarbar River (Qom River).
History
The city’s heyday dates back to the Safavid reign (1501-1722/1736 AD) when Isfahan was the capital of Iran. It is famous for carpet-weaving and other handicrafts. Carpet weaving was very popular in Khansar during the Safavid era when Persian art reached its zenith in Isfahan. Other handicrafts of the city include pottery, textile and dye industry.
The city’s fabric industry produces high quality cloth. The inlaid works of Khansar Grand Mosque is exemplary.
Khansar has been a scientific and educational center since the time of the Safavid dynasty and many great Shi’ite scholars were educated there. It has been a centre for training thinkers, poets, and especially theologians for centuries.

Sassanid Rise & Fall

Sassanid Rise & Fall

Many legends surround the origins of the Sassanid dynasty (226-650 AD) and the role of its eponymous founder in ancient Persia. One tradition relates that Sassan was a prince who married the daughter of the king of Persis and whose son, Papak, the father of Ardeshir I, overthrew his grandfather to claim the throne. According to Iranvisitor website, another tradition states that Sassan was a shepherd working for King Papak who was given the king’s daughter’s hand in marriage after the king had a dream that their son would grow up to rule the world. Still, another has Sassan as a high-ranking Zoroastrian priest in the city of Istakhr near Persepolis. It is, therefore, unclear what relation Ardeshir I (226-241 AD), the first Sassanid king, bore to the founder of the dynasty.

Expansion
On claiming the kingship of Fars after the death of his father, Ardeshir I quickly began to expand his territory by taking over the surrounding provinces like Isfahan, Kerman, Susiana and Mesene in quick succession.
This brought him into conflict with the Parthian suzerain king, Artabanus IV, and war began between the fading Parthians and the invigorated Sassanids. In 224, Artabanus was killed in the fighting and it was only left for Ardeshir to begin taking over the territories of the now-defunct Parthian Empire. Ardeshir moved west, intending to reunify the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids from whom he claimed direct descent. He successfully captured Mesopotamia and made Ctesiphon his winter capital, but his progress was eventually halted by the Romans at the Euphrates River. Like Darius before him, the rule of Ardeshir was occupied with protecting his borders from powerful enemies and putting down the internal strife that had resulted from the fall of the previous monarch.
The son of Ardeshir, Shapur I (241-272 AD), continued his father’s work in battling the Romans. In 244, Shapur signed a very advantageous peace treaty with the usurper Emperor Philip of Syria, but war resumed in 251 and Shapur conquered Armenia, invaded Syria and plundered Antioch.

Dynastic Struggles
The period between the death of Shapur I in 272 and the accession of Shapur II in 310, saw a series of dynastic struggles with the Romans, which culminated in the three sons of Hormizd II (302-309 AD) being respectively murdered, blinded and imprisoned.
The throne was reserved for an unborn child being carried by one of his wives. The child king Shapur II (310-379 AD) was therefore crowned in utero and born king.
Once the young Shapur II was old enough to rule, he began wars that both expanded and strengthened the empire. In the west, the Romans were pacified and Armenia was once again under Persian control. In the east, the Kushans had been defeated and Persian rule extended to the borders of China.

New Order
Further centralization occurred under Khosro I (531-579 AD), also known as Anurshirvan, the Just. Khosro was perhaps the greatest of the Sassanid kings, his rule ushering in the second period of Persian greatness under the Sassanids.
Through systematic taxation, town building, and military and bureaucratic reform, Khosro brought new order to the empire. With the Roman Emperor Justinian, Khosro struck a very profitable deal by which he received a large quantity of gold in return for peace, though he was, it would appear, genuinely in favor of ending the war which he considered to be senseless in any case.
Peace enabled the intellectual life of the empire to flourish and many learned men of different nationalities enjoyed the patronage of the king, who himself had a keen interest in history and philosophy.
By the time Khosro II (591-628 AD), grandson of Khosro I, had ascended the throne, war with the Romans (now Byzantium) had restarted. His army captured Syria and Beit-ul-Moqaddas.
Khosro also went on to campaign successfully in Egypt and these initial successes won him the title of Khosro Parviz (Khosro, the Victorious). It was during this period that the monumental reliefs at Taq-e Bostan were carved on such a confident scale.
However, Khosro II lacked the wisdom of his grandfather and his court was characterized by wastefulness and pomp. Though it is true that Firouzabad and Ctesiphon were magnificent cities and the arts were flourishing as never before, his despotism and indolence had aroused much opposition.
Toward the end of his reign, Byzantium retaliated under the emperor Heraclius and made deep inroads into Persian territory. Khosro II fled from the advancing armies without offering resistance and a subsequent palace revolt led to his imprisonment and murder at the hands of his son and heir Kavadh II.
Kavadh II died within months of ascending the throne after having put his father and 18 brothers to death. The fratricide in the royal family had by then reached such proportions that there were no men left to succeed the throne. This paved the way for two Sassanid princesses, Pouran-Dokht and Azarmi-Dokht, to rule the declining empire.
The last Sassanid king, Yazdegerd III (632-652 AD), was no more than a boy when he came to power and was dominated by his powerful advisers. It was now no longer the Romans who threatened his tightly organized armies. The Arab army pressed Yazdegerd III to flee northeast to what is now Turkmenistan. He was murdered in 652 while on the run.
The victories of Arabs at the decisive battles of Qadisiya and Nahavand in 642 signaled the end of the Sassanid dynasty and the beginning of Islam’s inroad into Persia.

Qajar Dynasty

Qajar Dynasty

Agha Mohammad Khan

The Qajars belonged to a Turkman tribe that held ancestral lands in present-day Azerbaijan, which was formerly part of Iran. In 1779, following the death of Karim Khan Zand, the Zand dynasty ruler of southern Iran, Agha Mohammad Khan, a Qajar leader, set out to reunify Iran.
According to Perspolis website, Agha Mohammad Khan established the Qajar dynasty by defeating numerous rivals and controlling all of Iran.
By 1794, he had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf ’Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty, and had reasserted Iranian sovereignty over the former Iranian territories in Georgia and the Caucasus. In 1796 he was formally crowned as shah and established his capital at Tehran, a village near the ancient city of Rey (now Shahr-e Rey).
Agha Mohammad was assassinated in 1797 and succeeded by his nephew, Fath Ali Shah.

Fath Ali Shah (1797 to 1834)

Fath Ali Shah (1797 to 1834)
Fath Ali Shah ruled from 1797 to 1834. Under Fath Ali Shah, Iran went to war against Russia, which was expanding from the north into the Caucasian mountains, an area of historical Iranian interest and influence.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, Iran recognized Russia ’s annexation of Georgia and ceded to Russia most of the north Caucasian region. A second war with Russia in the 1820s ended even more disastrously for Iran, which in 1828 was forced to sign the Treaty of Turkmanchai acknowledging Russian sovereignty over the entire area north of the Aras River (territory comprising present-day Armenia and Azerbaijan ).
Fath Ali was succeeded in 1834 by his grandson Mohammad Shah, who fell under the influence of Russia and made two unsuccessful attempts to capture Herat. When Mohammad Shah died in 1848, the succession passed to his son Nassereddin.

Nassereddin Shah (1848-1896)

Nassereddin Shah (1848-1896)
During Nassereddin Shah’s reign, western science, technology, and educational methods were introduced into Iran at the behest of his advisor Mirza Taqi Khan Amir Kabir.
Nassereddin Shah tried to exploit the mutual distrust between Great Britain and Russia to preserve Iran ’s independence, but foreign interference and territorial encroachment increased under his rule. He was not able to prevent Britain and Russia from encroaching into regions of traditional Iranian influence. He took huge foreign loans to finance expensive personal trips to Europe.
In 1856, Britain prevented Iran from reasserting control over Herat, which had been part of Iran in Safavid times but had been under non-Iranian rule since the mid-18th century. Britain supported the city’s incorporation into Afghanistan, a country Britain helped create in order to extend eastward the buffer between its Indian territories and Russia ’s expanding empire. Britain also extended its control to other areas of the Persian Gulf during the 19th century.

Constitutional Revolution
When Nassereddin Shah was assassinated in 1896, the crown passed to his son Mozaffareddin Shah who was a weak and ineffectual ruler.
Royal extravagance and the absence of revenues exacerbated financial problems. The shah spent two large loans from Russia, partly on trips to Europe. Public anger fed on the shah’s propensity for granting concessions to Europeans in return for generous payments to him and his officials. People began to demand curbs on royal authority and the establishment of the rule of law, as their concern over foreign, and especially Russian, influence grew.
The shah’s failure to respond to protests by the religious establishment, the merchants, and other classes led the merchants and clerical leaders in January 1906 to take refuge in mosques in Tehran and outside the capital to avoid any arrest. When the shah reneged on a promise to permit the establishment of a “house of justice“ or consultative assembly, 10,000 people, led by the merchants, took sanctuary in June in the compound of the British legation in Tehran.
In August, the shah was forced to issue a decree for establishing a constitution. In October, an elected assembly convened and drew up a constitution that provided for strict limitations on royal power, an elected parliament or Majlis with wide powers to represent the people, and a government with a Cabinet subject to confirmation by the Majlis.
The shah signed the constitution on December 30, 1906. He died five days later. The Supplementary Fundamental Laws approved in 1907 provided, within limits, for freedom of press, speech, and association, and for security of life and property. The Constitutional Revolution marked the end of the medieval period in Iran.
Mozaffareddin’s son Mohammad Ali Shah (1907-09), with the aid of Russia, attempted to rescind the constitution and abolish the parliamentary government. After several disputes with members of the Majlis, in June 1908 he used his Russian-officered Persian Cossacks Brigade to bomb the Majlis building, arrest many of the deputies, and close down the assembly. Resistance to the shah, however, coalesced in Tabriz, Isfahan, Rasht, and elsewhere. In July 1909, constitutional forces marched from Rasht and Isfahan to Tehran, deposed the shah, and reestablished the constitution. The ex-shah went into exile in Russia.
Ahmad Shah, who succeeded to the throne at age 11, proved to be incompetent and was unable to preserve the integrity of Iran or the fate of his dynasty. The occupation of Iran during World War I (1914-18) by Russian, British, and Ottoman troops was a blow from which Ahmad Shah never effectively recovered.
With a coup d’Žtat in February 1921, Reza Khan (ruled as Reza Shah Pahlavi, 1925-41) grabbed political power. Ahmad Shah was formally deposed by the Majlis (national consultative assembly) in October 1925 while he was in Europe, and that assembly declared the termination of the Qajar rule.

Iranian Head Coverings for All Seasons

Head Coverings for All Seasons

In ancient Iran , a head covering represented the profession, race and social rank of the person. Used for ornamentation or one’s comfort, head coverings or hats include the crown, including closed, open or integrated crowns, which were worn by kings, diadem or Deihim, Basak (the straight cap), Dastar (turban-like cap), Bashlogh (hood), and egg-like felt caps.
Hats also distinguish a social class, tribe or nationality, Cais-soas.com reported.
Early Uses
A head covering had special significance for Iranians in ancient times. Its use dates back to cavemen who used it to protect themselves from the vagaries of weather.
Different types of hat and cap were developed, modified and perfected with the growth of human civilizations to suit geographical and social conditions.
Hat was used as an ornamentation device to beautify the body and satisfy one’s aesthetic cravings and religious beliefs.
The hat was used in special religious rites and ceremonies as a sign of devotion and humility.
The head cover used by the bride is a striking example. Symbolizing modesty and chastity, it is currently used mainly for decorative purposes.
Certain professions also call for a special type of cap, dress or uniform to provide for the worker’s safety and meet the specific needs of a profession.
Ancient Times
The ancient Medians or Persians resorted to simple decorations as symbolic images. A careful examination of such images leads us to divide them into human, plant, animal, abstract images or a mixture of such elements.
The ancient world was a mysterious world of celestial and terrestrial wonders mixed with human fear, hopes and myths.
Ancient images were symbolic in nature and represented authority, rank, religion, ritual, gild, or features such as bravery.

Designs
Hats in ancient times incorporated images and designs that signified specific meanings.
Water Lily (Niloufar): Water lily is considered an eternal and sacred flower, and represents Mehr (the sun) and Mithra (worship). As a result, the flower and the stalk or the simple lily with its petals in a circle or hoop has been used in Iranian fabrics during the Parthian, Sasanid and even Islamic periods.
Image of Sun: The sun (Mehr) enjoyed a special symbolic significance in ancient Iranian religious rites. An example of use of sun is its round disk with rays divided into three directions all of which were placed in a hoop. One most famous symbol was the sun chariot.
The importance of the sun (Mehr) in religious rites was such that many experts consider the crown (and even the wedding ring) as its manifestation.
Serrated (toothed) Towers: Serrated towers were other symbols used in ancient times, and such designs represented ancient temples. An example of serrated tower is shown in the mosaic bas-relief Khozi soldiers’ dress in the Louvre Museum . In these images, one can see quadrangular images. Inside the quadrangle, one can see three serrated towers rising from a mound. These three towers represent Varjavand or a combination of Ahura Mazda (Zoroastrian), Mithra and Anahitian religions.
Geometric shapes included a pyramid or round checkered additions which were either used in the margin or as the background, and also used to adorn ritual hats.
In the decoration of hats in ancient Iran , one does not see human or animal images.

Types of Hats
An examination of images of bas-reliefs in ancient buildings and objects leads us to divide Persian hats into crowns, diadems (Deihims), Basaks, straight caps, Dastars, Bashloghs and egg-like felt caps.


Crown
Crown was a special head cover used by governors. The crown represented special power bestowed to the king from heaven and each part of its ornaments symbolized the beliefs and religions of the time.
A majority of crowns were serrated and the serrations were in the curves and symbolized towers, battlements or perhaps Mehr (the sun). The crown was so respectable that the court would hardly thrust its upkeep to everyone.
The crown was divided into three groups: closed, open and integrated crowns. The closed crown (a crown covered at the top) was composed of a headstall and an arch and its edges and sides were decorated by gold. The closed crowns were either wholly made of metal or non-metal material.
In non-metal crowns, the frame was made of non-metal matter and a metal part was mounted on it. The metal crown was either fabricated by casting or by engraving the metal.
Sivaris was a type of crown used during the Achaemenid period. This was a tall and serrated golden crown decorated by gold leaves and colorful jewels. The Achaemenid crowns were either closed or open crowns and were excessively worn by kings. The king’s crown was taller than other crowns and its walls had symbols of the temples of the time.

Basak
Basak is a circular ring made of flowers and branches or metal ring made of flowers. It might be considered as a special sort of diadem. So far, the real application of Basak has not been discovered, but in the past there was a sort of Basak that looked like a rope from distance. Such Basaks were mostly used by military officers. Many bas-reliefs of soldiers in Persepolis adorn the Basak.
Basak was either made of metal or felt. The non-metal felt Basak was worn during hunting and war to prevent the hair from being disturbed. The Basak was worn by the king, his courtiers, military officers and even ordinary people.

Straight Cap
This was an inverted cone cut at the base and made of felt and scented by gums and other fragrant material. These were either split or simple caps. The simple straight cap was used as replacement for the crown for daily affairs of kings.
The difference between split and simple straight cap was in the shears on the body of the cap. Apparently, the split sheared caps were worn by soldiers. What is particular about this cap is the image of Ahura imprinted on it.
A comparison of the straight caps known as Parsi caps with those worn by the Assyrians shows that the Achaemenid straight cap was a modified version of the Assyrian one.

Dastar (Turban-like cap)
The real purpose of Dastar is not known. This was a pointed felt cap or hood or shawl which was wrapped over the head and neck or a sort of felt cap. Its true rank is not known because the Dastar was worn by servants and maids. Right now in many places, including Kurdestan, the natives wear a sort of cap on which the Dastar is wrapped.

Bashlogh Hood
This is a felt cap which has special strings hanging behind the ear and back, which narrows as it descends lower. Behind the arch of the Bashlogh, there was an additional piece which was folded in the front. It was worn by Median armor wearing officers. The Bashlogh with slight modifications is still woven in Kurdestan.

Egg-Like Felt Cap
This cap was known as Median cap. The only ornament on the egg-like felt cap is a lace at the edge of the cap. The images surviving in Ghalayechi Hill in Bukan from Manayian period as well as crowns from the Sassanid period has revealed that a diadem was worn on the felt cap. The felt cap was worn by Achaemenid warriors and Median officers. A similar cap is still being worn by Iranian nomadic tribesmen.

Head-Scarf
This headscarf worn by women in ancient times reaches as far as the ankles. The Dastar was worn by Achaemenian women and is still used by Zoroastrian women.
The corners of this shawl-like Dastar were not wrapped under the neck. It was placed on the lady’s head in a manner that covered all her hair or it was hung like a tail at the back. The Dastar was generally worn with a diadem or Basak, and was the scarf popularly used by the Iranian women in the past.