The Anahita Temple ( fa, پرستشگاه‌ آناهیتا) is the name of one of two archaeological sites in

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 ...

popularly thought to have been attributed to the ancient Iranian deity

Anahita Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associate ...

. The larger and more widely known of the two is located at Kangāvar in Kermanshah Province. The other is located at

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) ...

. The remains at

Kangavar Kangavar ( fa, كنگاور, ''Kangâvar''; also Romanized as Kangāvar) is a city and capital of Kangavar County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 48,901, with 12,220 families. Kangavar is located in the easte ...

display Persian architectural designs. The

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

's enormous dimensions for example, which measure just over 200m on a side, and its megalithic foundations, which echo

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

stone platforms, "constitute Persian elements". This is thought to be corroborated by the "two lateral stairways that ascend the massive stone platform recalling Achaemenid traditions", particularly that of the

Apadana Apadana ( peo, 𐎠𐎱𐎭𐎠𐎴) is a large hypostyle hall in Persepolis, Iran. It belongs to the oldest building phase of the city of Persepolis, in the first half of the 6th century BC, as part of the original design by Darius the Gre ...

Palace at Persepolis. Another Iranian construction is the Khurra mausoleum in Markazi Province.

Dispute on identity

Dispute exists among scholars on the correct identity of the main structure at the site. The ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encycl ...

'' in this regard concludes: :"Until detailed further excavations are carried out, no definite judgments may be declared on the function of Kangava platform" Excavation first began in 1968, by which time the "large structure with its great

Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

set on a high stone platform" had been associated with a comment by

Isidore of Charax Isidore of Charax (; grc, Ἰσίδωρος ὁ Χαρακηνός, ''Isídōros o Charakēnós''; la, Isidorus Characenus) was a Greco-Roman geographer of the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, a citizen of the Parthian Empire, about whom noth ...

, that refers to a "temple of Artemis" (''Parthian Stations'' 6). References to Artemis in Iran are generally interpreted to be references to

, and thus Isidore's "temple of Artemis" came to be understood as a reference to a temple of Anahita. Consequently, it has been commonly believed that the site was a "columnar temple dedicated to Anahit." Karim Pirnia, one of the proponents of this theory, believes that the construction belongs to the

Parthian style The Parthian style is a style (') of historical Iranian architecture defined by Mohammad Karim Pirnia. This architectural style includes designs from the Seleucid (310–140 BCE), Parthian (247 BCE – 224 CE), and Sassanid (224–651 CE) eras, ...

, which underwent renovations in the

Sassanid 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 ...

period.

Warwick Ball Warwick Ball is an Australia-born Near-Eastern archaeologist. Ball has been involved in excavations, architectural studies and monumental restorations in Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. As a lecturer, he has been involved wit ...

considers the structure "one of the greatest works of Parthian architecture" which has an "eastern Roman Temple form", with the architectural emphasis being on the

temenos A ''temenos'' (Greek: ; plural: , ''temenē''). is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy gro ...

. As with

Arthur Upham Pope Arthur Upham Pope (February 7, 1881 – September 3, 1969) was an American scholar, art historian, and architecture historian. He was an expert on historical Persian art, and he was the editor of the ''Survey of Persian Art'' (1939). Pope was also ...

(1965, 1971), Ball (2001) also agrees that the temple architecturally "recalls Achaemenid traditions". These and a number of other scholars continue to examine the site as being possibly attributed to the deity

. In 1981, a report by an excavator of the site, Massoud Azarnoush however contended that the construction "did not have the necessary characteristics that could identify it as a temple". Ali Akbar Sarfaraz, former head of the archaeology team of the

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

, shares this opinion. The popular theory held by this group is that the ruin is of a "late Sasanian palace." Finally, a third group contends that the site was originally constructed in the

period, and underwent several phases of construction. Of this group, one can mention archeologist Seifollah Kambakhshfard.

Dispute on date of construction

Originally, 200 BCE was proposed as the date of the site's construction. "Under the

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

ns any observable western influence can just as well be a survival from the Hellenistic period, which is why the monument at Kangāvar was once acceptably dated as early Parthian while recent investigations proved it to be late

Sasanian 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 ...

." In this regard, Warwick Ball however states: :"Earlier studies favored a Seleucid date, with some suggesting an Achaemenid date for the platform. A date in the Parthian period has since been more generally favoured on stylistic grounds, but recent excavations found evidence for major Sassanian construction. However the colonnaded

is different in almost every respect to Sassanian architecture. Probably, the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

underwent numerous major reconstruction periods, with perhaps a 2nd-century AD date for the colonnaded temenos, and major Sassanian reconstruction of the sanctuary building inside."

Anahita Temple at Bishapur

The Temple of Anahita, Istakhr at

, "was probably built by Roman prisoners, is well masoned of ashlar blocked walls, and with trapezoid shaped doorways." Ball, Warwick. ''Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire'', London, New York, Routledge, 2000, p.117

References

External links

Kangavar Times Broadcast

Anahita Temple Photos ****BROKEN LINK ****
{{Iranian Architecture Architecture in Iran 2nd-century BC religious buildings and structures Buildings and structures in Kermanshah Province Tourist attractions in Kermanshah Province Anahita Religious buildings and structures in Iran Temples by deity Parthian architecture

Dispute on identity

Dispute on date of construction

Anahita Temple at Bishapur

See also

References

Further reading

External links