In the Sassanid period, with the officialization of Zoroastrianism, Fire temples appeared in the society as an obvious manifestation of religious rituals and customs. Since Fire is a sacred element for Zoroastrians, it requires special conditions to maintain it, for this purpose, buildings called Fire temple (four vaulted) have been built. Due to its special strategic location, Mazandaran province is one of the regions of Iran that prevented the Arabs from penetrating this region until the first two centuries of Islam. For this reason, Muslim historians and geographers have been silent about this region, and this caused our information about the monuments The religious people of this region are very few. The purpose of this research is to investigate the remaining works in Mazandaran, which according to historical texts were Fire temples in the Sassanid period and then changed their use in the Islamic period, and also to introduce the Fire temples that were discovered after archaeological excavations in this area; Therefore, along with documentary studies, field method has been used to record, record and explain the current state of the works and based on the descriptive-analytical method to recognize the works. The results of the research show that the works attributed to the Fire temple in Mazandaran, which are mentioned as Fire temple in historical texts, have no connection with the Fire temple in terms of the type of plan and the date of construction, but a number of Fire temples and the foundation of the Fire temple were discovered in this area, which are with the places mentioned in the history texts. The mentioned are completely different in terms of geographical location and they are not mentioned in any historical source.

The historical site of Vigol and Haraskan is located near Aran and Bidgol city in the north of Isfahan province. The archaeological studies of the first season of this site led to the identification of the central part of a Fire temple and a small part of its circumambulation corridor. The second season of the archeological exploration in the Fire temple was to identify other spaces around the central part of the Fire temple. Archaeological studies revealed that since this Fire temple was built in the urban context, it is more important than the Fire temples that were built away from settlement areas. Beside architectural evidences, religious elements and decorative stucco relics found in this Fire temple, the identification of several Sassanid Pahlavi inscriptions on the walls of the eastern circumambulation corridor of the Fire temple and two Ostracons added to its importance. Pahlavi inscriptions founded on stucco plaster of the dado which are written in a beautiful handwriting. Unfortunately, except for a few inscriptions, most of them cannot be read and require extensive research. In this research data collection about Vigol Fire temple and its Pahlavi inscriptions was done by field methods and linguistic and descriptive-analytical studies. The main questions of the research are: What is the content of Pahlavi inscriptions and what themes do they include? What period of time does the estimated date of writing these inscriptions include? Given to linguistic and archeological studies, the placement of these inscriptions inside the Fire temple, the content and of them has religious themes, and according to their writing style, these inscriptions were probably written in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. According to the dating of the inscriptions, it seems that the Fire temple of Vigol had a high reputation until the early Islamic centuries and was probably abandoned forever in the first of 9th AD century. Introduction Vigol ancient site has located in near Aran and Bidgol County in central of Iran (fig1). That is a vast site which covers more than 120 hectares, is currently covered with a thick accumulation of flowing sand. Archaeological excavations in the year 2010 led to the discovery of Sasanian Fire temples in the site of Vigol and Hraskan, and the identification of four arches and a part of the circumambulation corridor was done in the first season of the excavation (Javari & MontazerZohouri, 2022). The second season of excavation in Vigol Fire temple began in May 2021, which was aimed at identifying other spaces around the central part of the Fire temple. One of the most important evidences is the discovery of several Pahlavi inscriptions on one of dados and two walls which covered with ocher in the western corridor. These inscriptions, in addition to providing some religious statements, help us to identify the existence of the Fire temple. In the procedure in the first stage, the found Pahlavi inscriptions were read, and along it, they were compared with archaeological and historical evidences. The number of inscriptions identified in this Fire temple are six, but three of them are readable. Also, two pieces of written pottery (Ostracons) were also identified, which are still not readable due to high erosion. The second season of the excavation of the Fire temple was dedicated to the four-arched doorways (char taqi) of the Fire temple on the north, east and west sides(fig2). In the next step, the exploration focused on identifying the spaces of ambulatory corridors in the north, east, west, and south sides around the four arches of the Fire temple. Archeological studies as well as historical evidence about the Fire temples led to the recognition of several architectural phases in this religious building. The second phase of the architecture of this Fire temple is related to the porticoes built in the east of the Fire temple and the third architectural phase is related to the period of the change of use of this Fire temple in the Islamic period, when some spaces of the Fire temple, such as the northern and western gates and the gates in the eastern corridor, were blocked with mud brick walls. Inscriptions A total of six inscriptions have been found on the walls of the eastern ambulatory corridor in the southern part, of which three inscriptions have been read. Among the six identified inscriptions, two inscriptions are on the eastern wall, one of these two inscriptions is written on the northern dado and the other is written on the upper part of the southern wall on which has an ocher cover. Four other inscriptions were written on the western of the southern part of wall of the eastern circumambulation corridor in front of the inscriptions on the eastern wall which all due to erosion are not readable (Fig3). Inscription No. 1 located on the western wall is considered the clearest inscription in this collection, which is written on the stucco plaster of the wall with a legible and well-written script that is in five lines(Fig5). The text of the inscription was read by Professor Dieter Weber, a specialist in ancient languages, which is as follows: The text of the first inscription, according to the transliteration and reading of the inscription, has repeated and practiced writing the word “wrote” (nwbšht), which can be fallowed this word in other Pahlavi inscriptions. A number of thin pieces of plaster of this dado of the eastern wall of the Eastern ambulatory Corridor, which contain Pahlavi letters, were identified during the excavation at the side of the floor of this corridor(Table1). These thin gypsum pieces are part of the dado of the wall and contain several connected words and part of a legible and sometimes indistinct letter, which are written on the plaster using black ink with a pen, just like the original upper inscription. In terms of the dating of inscription number one and other inscriptions, according to Professor Weber, who studied this inscriptions, this writing style of Pahlavi script belongs to the late Pahlavi script, in other wise, to the early Islamic period, almost equal to 7th 8th centuries AD are relate. Inscription No. 2, this inscription is written in one line, which probably reflects a religious theme(Fig 8 ). The text of the inscription says: “(donated) to šād ruy baxt Āzarmugh”,in another sense, “it was charmingly presented to Āzarmugh”. This inscription is of special importance because it contains the name of a Zoroastrian priest of this region in the Islamic period, “Āzarmugh”. This evidence also tells about the existence of Zoroastrian religion in the early Islamic centuries in this region and the insistence of the residents of this area to preserve this religion. ‘L š’tlwdbht ’clmwk ō šadrōybaxt Āzarmōg Inscription number three, which is written in two lines, is still not possible to provide a consistent reading and translation due to erosion and lack of clarity(Fig 8 ). 1 KR’ MNW wlt’ý Y ZNH … l’d 2 BYN …… k’lyt …-b’k wl t’ý Y ZNH The phonetic writing of this inscription is as follows. In this inscription, there are words that include some illegible words and some Huzvariš, which are as follows: (KR’) with the reading of “har”: (evry),(MNW) with the reading of “Ke, Keš”: (which),(BYN) with the reading of “andar”: (in, inner),and (ZNH) with the reading of “en”: (this). Conclusion The discovery of Pahlavi inscriptions in the Fire temple of Vigol, in addition to the linguistic and grammar value in the field of linguistic studies and the Pahlavi lines of archaeological importance, is a great help for further understanding of the Fire temple of Vigol as a Fire temple with the rank of Adran, which is in the rank of local Fire temples. The first important point is the place where these inscriptions were written in the Fire temple, all of them were written in the eastern circumambulatory corridor in the southern part, on the stucco plaster of the dado of the western wall and on the ocher cover of the upper part of the eastern wall. It seems that due to the location of the porticoes as places related to religious ceremonies in the east of the Fire temple and the role of the Eastern circumambulatory corridor between the interior of the Fire temple and the porticoes, this corridor has gained more importance and is a suitable place to insert religious inscriptions. In addition to including statements of religious nature and Zoroastrian tradition, the inscriptions help us in determining the historical and archaeological chronology of this Fire temple. Based on the studies, according to the writing method and the type of pen, these inscriptions were written in the early Islamic centuries, which prove the religious persistence of the Zoroastrian community in the region until the early Islamic centuries on the other hand, the inclusion of the name “Azarmug” as a Zoroastrian cleric (Mubed) in the early Islamic centuries in central Iran is of particular importance.

The significance of Fire and Fire temple in Iranian religion and subsequently in Zoroastrianism has always been considered as one of the prominent and well-known aspect of this religion. This being the case, Fire worshipping and its related rituals haven been firmly established as pillars of ancient Iranian culture and religion to the extent that external observers had no other choice than calling Iranians Fire-worshipers. In this regard, this research is a descriptive-analytical study based on library research method that is relying on historical documents and texts as well as using anthropological data to explain the reason and contexts that have provided such a prominent position for Fire and Fire temples in the culture of ancient Iran. As such, firstly, the study is dealing with the religious function of Fire and Fire temples and also discusses the role of Fire as a mediator between earthly humans and the heavenly gods. Furthermore, the study discusses the social function of Fire temples, especially Bahrā m’ s Fires (Ā taš Bahrā ms), in terms of their role in shaping social identity and strengthening the social unity and solidarity to better explicate some of the historical events in ancient Iran and Islamic times.

Qala Kohzad was built on the heights of Weyzenhar/Veyzenyar Mountain in the southwest of Roumeshgan plain (western Lorestan). The archeological excavation of the site in the late 1960s revealed a series of architectural units made of stone rubble and plaster mortar measuring 17x38m. These spaces consist of two domed chahar-taq rooms with a cruciform plan, a quadrangular hall with corridors on its northern and southern sides, and some other facilities. The use of features such as decorative columns, plasterwork with a rose pattern, some interventions in architectural elements and bronze sculptures of unknown origin, led the explorer of the area to believe that the building of the Qala-Kohzad could be categorized as among the “mithraeums left from the beginning of Parthian rule.” However, the structural characteristics and the arrangement of architectural spaces, along with other evidence obtained from the building (namely, ceramics), do not confirm this assessment. In the current research, by combining the information obtained from the field survey and library sources, an attempt is made to shed light on the uncertainties about the function and chronology of the building as much as possible. Research findings and existing archaeological evidence show that the monument of Qala-Kohzad is not particularly related to a Mithraeum or an Anahita temple. In fact, the remains of architecture or symbols and signs that can be used to prove the worship of the god Mithra or Anahita in Qala-Kohzad have not been found. The technical characteristics of the building, such as the use of curved arches and the use of conical philiposhes for erecting domes, along with the typology of the pottery samples, indicate that building belongs to the Sassanid period. The monument’s plan and the arrangement of architectural units, such as the combination of domed cruciform chambers with circular corridors and central hall, evokes the common pattern of Fire temples of the Sassanid period. The existence of the remains of the base of the Fireplace and the cubic-rectangular platforms in the interior of the chahar-taq of Qala Kohzad can be understood in the direction of performing religious ceremonies in connection with Zoroastrianism.

The highland county of Abdanan, located in south of Ilam province, Kabir-Kuh, covers north of this region like a wall. In 2001, a team from the Archaeological Expedition Department of Bu-Ali Sina University conducted a regional survey at this area. Totally, 51 sites were discovered during this survey, through which Julian is one of the most remarkable ones. The newly-found Julian Chahar-Taqi is a Fire temple belonging to the Sassanid era. Like many other Fire temples of that time, Julian was built with pieces of stone and plaster. This Chahar-Taqi, as the remaining part of the heart of a larger structure, consists of four stone walls of different sizes surrounded by a round passageway. This article seeks to describe this Chahar-Taqi as a Fire temple and show its similarities with other similar structures (Fire-temples) in Iran. Considering its vast area and specific architectural characteristics, the discovered Fire temple of Julian could be studied and discussed from different points of view. However, it is important to note that the study of Julian is in its preliminary basis, and the above subjects are particularly the results of the writer’s field research. More details about the structure and the city of Julian can only be obtained by future surveys and excavations.  It is worth mentioning that the Fire of Adoran was praised in Julian Fire temple. Preliminary studies enabled us to classify this structure along with some other discovered and excavated Fire temples in Iran such as Mil-Milgah, Shian, Negar, Farashband, etc. Also, it may be worth to look at the significant influence of the construction plans for Fire temples of this period, especially the ones that were built in the last years of the Sassanids. Examples of such Fire temples include Takht-e Soleyman Fire temple, which is one of the most important official temples of the Sassanid era. By Zoroaster’s teachings, the only people allowed to enter the sacred Fire temples were high-ranking Moubads (The Magi or the Zoroastrian priests). Beh-Dins, Moubads, and common worshippers would gather in passageways and in front of entrances, watching the ceremony held by the Moubad from apart. Our knowledge about the details of this ritual and the involved processes are based on common Zoroastrian ritual traditions. Even though such ceremonies of today have lost the magnificence of the Sassanid era but there might not be any major difference because of the fact that Zoroastrians always try to preserve the original tenets of their rituals. Another point about Julian is that it was occupied during the first centuries after the advent of Islam.This is mostly evident through discovered archeological signs specially clay pot pieces. However, it is not clearly understood whether the Fire temple were still used, abandoned, or changed during the Islamic era. In addition, the discovery of significant archeological structures belonging to the Sassanid and the early Islamic eras in Pishkouh and Posht-e Kouh regions shows that Lorestan and Ilam provinces may include important clues to describe and analyze this Fire temple and most others discovered in Western Iran.

The four arched of Qasr-e Shirin which is known as Chahār Qāpi with sides of 25 meters is considered as one of the biggest Fire temples of Sassanid era in Iran which was probably made above 14 centuries ago according to historical sources and archaeological artifacts. It is likely that Chahār Qāpi was made by the order of king as regards its dimensions, stability and beauty as well as supplied accessories. A further glory for this structure comes from the fact that it was located in the vicinity of Khosrow palace – what has already raised speculations that the temple was built so that the members of the king’s court would perform their rituals in a way befitting the royal dignity. This could be particularly true when considering that the Sassanid rule was deeply rooted in religion and the kings of this dynasty considered themselves as the guardians of Zoroastrianism. Therefore, making water and Fire temples was extremely important in the Sassanid dynasty. Chahār Qāpi has a strong and remarkable foundation and jamb, even though it was destroyed by the Romans and later abandoned when new rulers with new religions came to power in Iran. These elements are undoubtedly signs of its greatness in its days of architectural glory. Chahār Qāpi which has four thresholds is among Fire temples that have vendor corridor as well as very beautiful interior decorations. This structure was surrounded by a collection of rooms and facilities parts of which were discovered by archaeologists in recent years and then restored by them. The architecture style of this temple is completely Sassanid. Common materials of the era like rubble stones and gypsum mortar were used in its construction. There was also a lofty dome at its top.This article has tried to offer a clear picture of sites used to perform rituals of Zoroastrianism during the Sassanid era. The sites are commonly known as Chahār Tāqi each with the form, construction materials and decorations particular to a specific section of the Sassanid society. The Chahār Tāqis built for the royals were much stronger and bigger and had more decorations and corridors. The information presented in this article has been collected from observations of Muslim historians and geographers as well as the findings of archaeologists in order to provide a clear image of Chahār Qāpi. According to information obtained as the result of this research, the Fire temple of Chahār Qāpi was simultaneously constructed with the palace of Sassanid king Khosrow Parviz. The cruciform plan of this monument that comprises of two perpendicular axes recalls the style of some Sassanid palaces, especially in the beginning of this dynasty.

Fire temples and square domes are undoubtedly of special importance in archeological studies into the religious aspects of the Sassanian era. As Zoroastrian monotheists, Sassanians considered Fire as sacred and over five centuries their kings built a large number of Fire temples and square domes across the Persian Empire. The newly-discovered square dome called Demon House is one of the most important square domes of the Sassanian era. Citing Pahlavi texts and Avesta, both foreign researchers and Iranian archeologists have introduced it as one of the three major Fire temples of the Sassanian age known as Azar-Barzin-Mehr. Though archeological excavations at the site of this dome did not provide enough evidence to prove that claim, studies show it was the nucleus of a greater structure that used to be made up of four stone pillars, a circumambulation corridor, Padiav, a Fire-place platform and a waiting room. The location of the square dome in a small stone mound among the heights of Rivand is quite unique and of extraordinary importance in studying Sassanian Fire temples. Considering the significance of Fire temples in religious studies pertaining to the Sassanian era and since the aforementioned structure had not been subject to any archeological excavation before, an Iranian-Polish archeological team studied the demon house square dome for the first time over two seasons.This paper has introduced the architectural elements discovered in the Demon House square dome and as part of a greater archeological study into religious structures in the Sassanian ear provides some notes about the significance and position of the Azar-Barzin-Mehr Fire temple based on Pahlavi texts.

The newly found chahar taqi of Mileh Milehgeh is one of the Fire-temples of the Sassanian era that was built, like other Fire-temples of that time, with pieces of rock and plaster. This chahar taqi which is the remaining core of a larger building consists of four stone walls of different sizes surrounded by a round corridor. Inside this Fire-temple there is a raised platform for setting up Fire furnace (adusht) and a number of plaster and stone stands which are unique in their type.The survey of these items, i.e. the study of religious architecture of the Sassanian era, particularly Iranian Fireplaces, will give us a new approach. The study of this Fireplace and the Fireplace at Shian can resolve many existing obscurities and gaps about the religious architecture of the Sassanian era, particularly the rituals for commemorate the Fire.In the Pahlavi (i.e. Middle Persian) texts, frequent references were made to Holy Fire which may indicate the significant role of Zoroastrian worshipping places in the Sassanian architecture. However, unfortunately our knowledge of Sassanian Fireplaces, especially of chahar taqis tends to be related to architectural styles rather than the significance and status, the rank of their Fire, their custodianship and relations with the clergy, way of earning and costs of these worshipping places.In this paper, the researcher intends to describe the newly found chahar taqi of Mileh Milehgeh, and raise a few points on the above topics.

Kuh-i Sukhteh in Omidiyeh, one of the most important but less-known areas in southwestern Iran, is between Omidiyeh and today’s Aghajari. This area was considered a part of the Asak region (one of Arjan environs). Active sources of Fire plagued this area in ancient times due to its natural bed, and it was probably a place for the construction of shrines, including the Zoroastrian Fire temple. This spatial feature was observed and written about by travelers and authors of the first and middle Islamic centuries. Historical texts refer to this area as a volcano, Fire, Fire temple, and Fire altar. This research aims to compare the material presented by historical texts with archaeological data to locate the Asak Fire temple. Conducting this research is necessary to complete the puzzle of the communication route between Ramhormoz and Arjan and identify the architectural structures related to the settlement and possible Zoroastrian shrines in this route. This research tries to answer this question: What is the connection between the Kuh-i Sukhteh area and Zoroastrian religious buildings in the Sasanian and the first Islamic centuries? Conclusion: Based on information from the historical and geographical texts of the first to middle Islamic centuries and archaeological data, including pottery and architectural remains, the Kuh-i Sukhteh in Omidiyeh is an adaptable place for the ancient Fire temple of Asak. However, archaeological excavations seem necessary to document more architectural structures. The present study’s data result from authors’ survey studies and citation studies, and we have concluded by historical, descriptive analysis.

Southwestern of Lorestan province that known as Tarhan, is one of the most important areas in the aspect of Sassanian and early Islamic archaeology studies. Chaartaqi of Tamer khow located in this ancient reign. This Chahartaq located in Kohnani district in Southwest lorestan province in 20 Km north of Sassanian sites in behind of Seymareh dam. This is a part of a larger site called Chia Kalek-i-Tamer khaw. Like other Sassanian Fire-temples in western Iran, was built with stone and mortar. The study carried out in this building shows that this Chahartaqi is the main part of a larger building with four stone piers, Corridors, Firebox platform, and courtyard. There were also some rooms in the south of mound that would be related to the Chahartaqi. This feature shows that Tamer Khow’ s Chahartaqi has been a Fire temple. In this article according to the archeological evidence, we will attempt to analyze the architectural features, and compare it with other Sassanian Fire temples. The main goal of this article is to answers the questions about the date of built Fire-temple, rank and its similarities to other Sassanian Fire-temples. The result shows that Tamer Khow Firtempele was built in late Sassanian era and have been worshiped in it the Adooran Fire (local Fire). In terms of the plan and architectural spaces, it has the most similarity to Ghale-e-kahzade in Romeshgan. Nevertheless, it has similarities to some of the Fire-temples in western Iran such as Shian, Mil-i-Milagah and Chin jiayah. In terms of the plan and architectural spaces, it has the most similarity to Ghale kahzade-i-Romeshgan.