Shapur cave/ Shapour cave ( fa, غار شاپور) is located in the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgro ...

, in southern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, about 6 km from the ancient city of

Bishapur Bishapur (Middle Persian: ''Bay-Šāpūr''; fa, بیشاپور}, ''Bishâpûr'') was an ancient city in Sasanid Persia (Iran) on the ancient road between Persis and Elam. The road linked the Sassanid capitals Estakhr (very close to Persepolis) ...

. This cave is near

Kazerun Kazeroon ( fa, کازرون, also Romanized as Kāzerūn, Kāzeroūn, and Kazeroon; also known as Kasrun) is a city and capital of Kazeroon County, Fars Province, Iran. In 2016, as the fifth big city in the province, its population was 96,683. ...

in the Chogan valley, which was the site of polo (Persian ''čōgān'' چُوگان), in the Sasanian period. In the cave, on the fourth of five terraces, stands the statue of Shapur I, the second ruler of the

Sasanid Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

. The statue was carved from one

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

. The height of statue is 7 metres and its shoulders are 2 m wide, and its arms are 3 m long. About 1400 years ago, after the

Muslim conquest of Persia The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. Th ...

and collapse of the Sasanian Empire, the statue was pulled down and a part of one of its legs was broken. About 70 years ago, again, parts of his arms were also broken in an earthquake. The statue had been lying on the ground for about 14 centuries until 1957 when

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...

, the last

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

of Iran, had a group of Iranian military to raise it again on its feet and repair the broken foot with iron and cement. The project of raising the statue, building the roads from Bishapur to the area and paths in the mountain, stairs and iron fences on the route to the cave took six months in 1957. The length of cave entrance is about 16 metres, with a height of less than 8 m. Behind the statue, in the depth of the cave, are three ancient water-basins. At both sides of the statue, the rock-walls of the cave were prepared for reliefs by leveling, but the reliefs were never made. It is said that in addition to the Shapur I statue the tomb of Shapur I is also located somewhere in this cave. Another legend holds that Shapur, being defeated in a battle, ran into this cave and became lost and his body/remains have never been recovered. There are two inscriptions in the cave, one translates Shapur's own inscription on the

Naqsh-e Rajab Naqsh-e Rajab ( fa, نقش رجب, ) is an archaeological site just west of Istakhr and about 5 km north of Persepolis in Fars Province, Iran. Together with Naqsh-e Rustam, which lies 2.5 km away, the site is part of the Marvdasht ...

. The other is about the restoration of the statue by the army.

Gallery

Shaapoor Startrail.jpg, File:Shapur statue with a man standing in front of it.JPG, Image:Shapur cave - description.JPG, File:Shapur cave from below.JPG, File:Shapur cave inside.JPG, File:Shapur statue back.JPG, File:Shapur cave outside view.JPG, File:Shapur cave - Naghsh e Rajab translation.JPG, File:Shapur cave - story of reerection of the statue.JPG, File:Shapur cave - Pahlavi crown.JPG,

References

Shapur I Caves of Iran Show caves in Iran Sasanian architecture Tourist attractions in Fars Province Kazerun County Landforms of Fars Province {{Kazerun-geo-stub

Gallery

See also

References