The castle is located in East Azarbaijan Province, five kilometers southwest of Kalibar.
“Excavations have been underway since 2002, during which time some parts of the castle have been unearthed. Our team has recently excavated a two-story monument and its stairway, which dates back to the advent of Islam in Iran,” team director Mohammad Pashaii told CHN.
“The team has focused on the western side of the castle, which contains remains of Islamic architecture sections. These sections were threatened by groups of visitors traveling to the region, but its foundations have recently been renovated for tourist visits,” he added.
The monument has not been completely excavated, thus the team has not been able to determine its use, he explained, adding that the monument was constructed with stones and ‘saruj’, a mortar of cement and gypsum used in Sassanid era architecture.
“At first, the team excavated a room measuring 4.5x5.5 meters, which is believed to be a guardhouse. The room has two windows. They then dug out a corridor 3.5 meters in length, leading to two towers unearthed later. The stairway and the monument are located beside the so-called guardhouse and the towers,” Pashaii said.
The castle was the headquarters of Zoroastrian hero Babak, wherein he joined the Khorram-dinan movement to fight against the Abbasids.
One of the most dramatic periods of Iranian and Azari history occurred under Babak’s leadership from 816 to 837 CE.
Eventually Babak, his wife, and his warriors were forced to leave their command post at the castle under very difficult circumstances after 23 years of struggle. He was betrayed by Afshin, another Iranian commander who previously fought against the Abbasids, and was handed over to the enemy.
During Babak’s execution, the caliph's henchmen first cut off his legs and hands in order to convey the most devastating message to his followers. Legend has it that Babak bravely rinsed his face with the blood pouring out of his wounds, thus depriving the caliph and the rest of the army the opportunity to see that his face had turned pale due to heavy bleeding.
The East Azarbaijan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department held a commemoration ceremony for Babak at the Babak Castle on July 9.
MMS/HG
End
MNA
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