Takht-e Rostam (

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī � ...

: تخت رستم) or Stupa of Takht-e Rostam is a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

Buddhist

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

complex 2 km south of the town of

Haibak Aybak (Aibak or Haibak; previously Eukratidia ( grc, Εὐκρατιδία); historically known as Samangan) is a provincial town, medieval caravan stop, and the headquarters of the Samangan Province in the district of the same name in the north ...

, Afghanistan. Built in the 3rd-4th century AD while the area was part of the

Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom (also called Kushanshahs, KΟÞANΟ ÞAΟ ''or Koshano Shao'' in Bactrian, or Indo-Sasanians) is a historiographic term used by modern scholars to refer to a branch of the Sasanian Persians who established their rule in ...

the complex is carved entirely from the bedrock and "consists of five chambers, two of them sanctuaries. One of them has a domed ceiling with an elaborate lotus leaf decoration. On an adjacent hill is the stupa, surmounted by a harmika, with several more rough caves around the base. A hoard of Ghaznavid coins was found by chance in one of the caves."

Cultural significance

Following the

Muslim conquests of Afghanistan The Muslim conquests of Afghanistan began during the Muslim conquest of Persia as the Arab Muslims migrated eastwards to Greater Khorasan, Khorasan, Sistan and Transoxiana. Fifteen years after the Battle of Nahāvand in 642 AD, they controlled ...

the original purpose of the monastery was lost. Instead the site was incorporated into

Persian mythology Persian mythology or Iranian mythology (Persian:اساطیرشناسی ایرانی) is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, and a genre of Ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the origi ...

in the story of

Rostam and Sohrab The tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab forms part of the 10th-century Persian epic ''Shahnameh'' by the Persian poet Ferdowsi. It tells the tragic story of the heroes Rostam and his son, Sohrab.Ebrahimi, Mokhtar & Taheri, Abdollah. (2017). The Tragedy i ...

which forms part of the 10th-century Persian epic

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...

by the Persian poet

Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...

. In the story it is said that

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a wel ...

supposedly traveled to the Kingdom of Samangan and stayed with the king at Takht-e Rostam. In 2021, the Afghan government renovated the site and built a hall for tourists.

Gallery

File:CH-NB - Afghanistan, Haibak (Samangan, Aybak or Aibak)- Landschaft - Annemarie Schwarzenbach - SLA-Schwarzenbach-A-5-21-049b (cropped).jpg, Harmika in 1939 File:Buddhist stupa, stupa and monastery at Samangan.jpg, A new bridge added to the site. File:Cave system, stupa and monastery at Samangan.jpg, The cave system inside Takht-e Rostam

References

5th-century Buddhist temples Arts in Afghanistan Central Asian Buddhist sites Archaeological sites in Afghanistan Buddhism in Afghanistan Buildings and structures in Afghanistan Aniconism Mountain monuments and memorials Rock art in Asia Buddhist art World Heritage Sites in Danger {{afghanistan-hist-stub