Bam Citadel 1st, 16-17th cent - History of Islamic Architecture (sitios de interés)
Descripción del sitio
Bam, Iran
Citadel, Arg-e-Bam
originally built 224-637, rebuilt 1502-1722
Mosque 866-903
Sassanid, Saffanid, Safavid
This marker is for a castle and a lost city not a religious building. The excuse for including it is that it is a formidable place - with excellent documentation in Archnet.org
The ruined city of Arg-e-Bam is made entirely of mud bricks, clay, straw, and the trunks of palm trees. The city was originally founded during the Sassanian period (224-637 AD) and while some of the surviving structures date from before the 12th century, most of what remains was built during the Safavid period (1502-1722).
During Safavid times, the city occupied six square kilometers and had between 9000 and 13,000 inhabitants. Bam prospered because of pilgrims visiting its Zoroastrian fire temple (dating to early Sassanian times) and as a commercial and trading center on the famous Silk Road. Upon the site of the Zoroastrian temple the Jame Mosque was built during the Saffarian period (866-903 AD). Adjacent to the mosque is the tomb of Mirza Naiim, a mystic and astronomer who lived three hundred years ago.
Bam declined following an invasion by Afghans in 1722 and another by invaders from Shiraz in 1810. The city was used as a barracks for the army until 1932 and then completely abandoned. Intensive restoration work began in 1953 and continued through 2003.
On 26 December 2003, an 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Bam and claimed more than 40'000 lives. Over 70% of the buildings were completelty destroyed.
Model of the Safavid city
Photograph from the crenalleted mud walls into the reconstructed city (1996)
Children playing soccer in the ruins (1996)
Text and photos from Archnet.org