Dash Kasan Temple(Soltanieh, Zanjan province)

A temple with a dragon pattern . A strange temple in Iran and in Zanjan province. I was always looking for an opportunity to visit this building with ease and peace. This relief of the dragon, which has not been repeated in Iran, is a relic of the Ilkhanid era and a type of cultural exchange..

In continuation of our trip in May 1401, when we went to Soltanieh Aziz and spent the night there, in the morning after visiting Soltanieh Dome, we went to the amazing Dash Kesen Temple.. The path from the temple to Soltanieh was about 10 kilometers and after passing through the village of Veyer and passing through the narrow asphalted road uphill, we reached the gate of this ancient work.. No one was there, not even the guard. The door was open and we entered this ancient space…

At the beginning of the visit route, there were some showcases that had placed a number of pillars and carved stones, but what we were looking for the most was the temple and the dragon motif.. We went around the temple from above and below. I had very little information about it, and at the time of writing this blog post, I decided to look for authoritative sources in this regard. I had a hard time finding material worth reading and reviewing, and finally found articles that I have excerpted here..

Do not regret that such works have received little attention and are left to themselves in a corner and are neither introduced nor preserved..  

Saeed Ganjavi published an article in 1354 in the Journal of Historical Investigations No. 1 of the 10th year “Dash Kasan(Shirin and Farhad )” It is written that I will quote a part of it in this section:

The mentioned building is dug in the heart of the mountain and there are no construction materials except natural cut stones.. Local people call it Shirin and Farhad. This building has special characteristics.. In most of the carvings of other ancient buildings and even in Suleiman's throne, dragon carvings have been carved on tiles, but until today, the carving of a dragon carved on stone alone was not found, and Dash Kasan is the only place that has carved such carvings on stone. take away

The word dash kasen in Azeri language means stone cutter or stone cutter.

Specifications of the building 

This building, which is built in an area of ​​614 square meters, is distinguished and separated from other buildings around the place by the stone walls that stretch around it.. In the survey that has been done in this place, three stone caves can be seen from the horizontal view, and these three caves are located in a semicircle with a diameter of 39.4 meters.

The plan of the temple covers a rectangular area with a length of 400 meters and its width varies from 300 meters to 50 meters from north to south..

There are two caves on the sides of the building and one cave between these two caves and at a distance of 26.75 meters from them. On the left side of the cave, which is located on the right side of the semicircle, there is an altar 2.5 meters long and 1.15 meters wide..

At a distance of 90 cm from this altar, a rectangular cube with a length of 5.90 meters and a width of 1.90 meters has been carved.. It seems that the relief of the dragon is located inside a rectangular cube and is surrounded by lace-shaped decorative designs..  Among other carved decorative designs, the shapes of trees, flowers and bushes, as well as pear trees can be seen on the walls of the building..

A number of decorative columns have been found in this place, which is very important. Inside the area, a pool built with carved stones can be seen, and even now, water collects inside it during the spring..

As a result of the investigations conducted in this place, in terms of the historical background and the determination of the date of establishment of the building with the above characteristics, it can be estimated that the mentioned building has a long history and is probably dug in the heart of the mountain in the pre-Achaemenid period as a cave and in the Mongol era as a cave. It has become a monastery and the carved decorations in its various parts belong to the reign of Sultan Muhammad Khodabandeh.(El Jaito ) It is 716-704 Hijri.

The cemetery that exists around this building shows that this place was a sacred place in the pre-Mongol period and had great importance from a religious point of view.. Scientific explorations of this building in the future will clarify many issues about it and will probably reveal many carved designs..

Dr. Saeed Ganjavi(PhD in archaeology) Journal of historical studies, number 10, 1354

Seyyed Qasim Mousavi writes as follows in an article titled "Dash Kasen Rock Temple".:

What is certain, according to the evidence, it seems that the work on this precious work was closed before the completion of the construction and decoration, and the area was suddenly left alone and the sculptors left the place. and the best proof for this claim is the observation of the semi-complete arches surrounding the dragon figure, but what has a more objective effect than other cases is that with a little precision, every viewer can can see the love in the lines and motifs of this precious building. Yes, with a little reflection, it can be seen that the architects, designers and builders of this temple in this place worked with complete precision and technical skills and full faith and belief in the building plan as well as the construction of sculptures and accessories and for sure, Before building the temple, the sculptors and builders knew what they should build and how and in what way to get the favorable and satisfactory opinion of the founders.. Yes, the map of the historical temple "Dash Kesen" with the gift that the beautiful nature of the region provided to its creators and by using the forms and motifs of other civilizations, two artistic and decorative matters and based on the wishes and big dreams and Shahi's ambition, it was designed and executed with such precision that it competed with the most beautiful and huge temples of the civilized world of that time, and if it is treated as it deserves and deserves, it can stand in its place. It is one of the most valuable tourist attractions in the region.

To get to know the route to reach this attraction, the GPS file of the route wikiloc Placed.