Sardar Ab-Anbar — Qazvin Water Cistern
آبانبار سردار بزرگ قزوین · Sardar Ab Anbar Qazvin · Jameh Mosque Cistern
Qajar (1812)·Persian Qajar (Qazvin city governors Sardar)·🇮🇷 Qazvin Province, Qazvin historic core, Rah Ahan district, before Jameh Mosque, Iran
About
About Sardar Ab-Anbar — Qazvin Water Cistern
Largest surviving Qajar Persian ab-anbar (covered cistern) in Iran, built 1812 under Fath-Ali Shah Qajar by Sardar Hassan Khan and his brother Sardar Hossein Qoli Khan, 3 m below street level before Qazvin's Jameh Mosque. The brick vaulted cistern 45 m long ×12 m wide ×8 m deep holds 500 m³ with six ventilating badgir windcatchers 9 m high, four 30-m deep qanat-fed intakes, and a 51-step stair access 12 m down to the water tap (shirdan). The five-dome roof (four half-domes + central) in Safavid–Qajar brick herringbone with sarooj water-proof mortar demonstrates desert urban hydraulic storage before modern pipes.
Paired with adjacent Sardar Mosque and historic bath, it anchors Qazvin's historic water district. Restored 2000 with water museum.
Why it mattersLargest extant Persian ab-anbar illustrating Qajar urban water storage with badgir microclimate.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Fath-Ali Shah vs local Sardar financing ratio
- 02Badgir efficiency in Qazvin aridity
Theories
- 01Jameh Mosque waqf water endowment
- 02Qazvin caravanserai network hydration hub
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 1812 CE (Fath-Ali Shah Qajar Year 15)
- Period
- Qajar (1812)
- Culture
- Persian Qajar (Qazvin city governors Sardar)
- Builders
- Sardar Hassan and Hossein Qoli Khan with Qazvin guild architects
- Purpose
- Urban drinking water storage fed by Qazvin qanat network for Jameh quarter
- Abandoned
- 1950s with piped water; now museum
- Rediscovered
- 1950s blocked; 1990s restoration; 2000 museum opening
- Excavation
- Excavated
1812
Sardar brothers commission ab-anbar with 6 badgirs
1925
Piped water reduces cistern use
2000
ICHTO restoration as Water Museum
On the ground
Structures & features
36.2670° N · 50.0040° E · 1280 m · 2 mapped features
Five-Dome Vault and Badgirs
vault badgir45-m five-dome roof with six windcatchers 9 m high ventilating cistern
36.2675° N · 50.0045° E51-Step Shirdan Access
access stair51-step stair 12 m deep to shirdan tap with qanat intakes
36.2665° N · 50.0035° E