A RESEARCH ABOUT ASTARA’S HISTORICAL CASTLES

Анотація

Astara is one of the border ports of north of Iran which is located in the northwestern of Guilan province. This town has been one of the most important historical centers of Taleshan, and one of the thriving towns of Guilan that maybe the presence of important castles in this town is a strong evidence to prove it. The number of Astara's castles are over ten which none have been registered in the national heritage list. The most ancient ones are Shndon and Dba which are related to the PreIslamic era. The rest of the castles dates back to the early centuries of Islam that during Safavid era were restored and re-used; and destroyed by tsarist Russians in Qajar era. The castles have been constructed in mountainous highlands and impassible areas to overlook surrounding environments and far lands. The castles structure consists of natural rock, mountain rubble and sometimes colorful river stone with mortar cement and lime. The castles required water was provided by transferring the water of springs and rivers into the castle, using some canals and clay pipes. All the castles are located in residential areas with Taleshi language; that is why these castles names, from ancient time, have been in Taleshi language and most of these castles have been destroyed due to the special climate situation or high humidity in the region or natural disaster, or are being destroyed due to lack of attention.Now, in some areas, the old castles are used as military bases and watchtowers. there is just a little information about Astara castles in archaeological and historical books. This research has been done using field research along library research