Taq-e Bostan Rock Reliefs
طاق بستان · Tagh-e Bostan · Bostan Arch · Taq-i Bostan Sassanian Arches
Sassanian Empire (224–651 CE), late Sassanian zenith·Sassanian Zoroastrian (Ahura Mazda, Anahita, Mithra) court art·🇮🇷 Kermanshah Province, Kermanshah city northeast, Zagros foothills, Bostan mountain, Iran
About
About Taq-e Bostan Rock Reliefs
Sassanian rock-relief park at Zagros spring 5 km NE Kermanshah (34.38753,47.1321), two iwans carved into Bostan cliff beside karst spring (sarāb): Small Iwan (Shapur II c.355, Shapur III c.385) with dual investiture, Great Iwan (Khosrow II Parviz 590–628) — the masterpiece: 7.9-m vault with Khosrow investiture (Ahura Mazda with barsom, Anahita with water vase), full panoply equestrian Shbdiz horse with lamellar armor vs. boar hunt in marsh and deer hunt (Elymais) — earliest depiction of qanat? Spring park with Qajar capitals collected from Behistun. Sassanian royal propaganda at Zagros–Khorasan highway entry. UNESCO Tentative 2017. Ernst Herzfeld documentation.
Why it mattersMost complete Sassanian royal iconography, showing investiture theology (Ahura Mazda–Anahita) and fully armored cataphract horse (source for Islamic furusiyya).
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Khosrow II great iwan left unfinished (623 siege?)
- 02Boar hunt marsh as Anahita water allegory
Theories
- 01Taq-e Bostan as Sassanian coronation spring shrine (legitimacy at entry to Ctesiphon)
- 02Hunt scenes as paradise garden (pairidaeza) theology
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.355 CE Shapur II small iwan, c.385 CE Shapur III, c.600–628 CE Khosrow II great iwan (final Sassanian)
- Period
- Sassanian Empire (224–651 CE), late Sassanian zenith
- Culture
- Sassanian Zoroastrian (Ahura Mazda, Anahita, Mithra) court art
- Builders
- Sassanian kings Shapur II, Shapur III, Khosrow II Parviz and court sculptors
- Purpose
- Royal investiture shrine at sacred spring and Silk Road gate to Kermanshah, legitimizing king via Zoroastrian gods and hunt prowess
- Abandoned
- 651 CE Arab conquest; used as spring shrine and Qajar picnic
- Rediscovered
- 1817 Ker Porter; 1936 Flandin & Coste; Herzfeld 1928 photos
- Excavation
- Excavated
355 CE
Shapur II small iwan investiture
590 CE
Khosrow II begins great iwan
628 CE
Khosrows assassination leaves unfinished boar hunt detail
1936
Flandin Coste plate engraving of stag hunt
On the ground
Structures & features
34.3875° N · 47.1321° E · 1350 m · 2 mapped features
Taq-e Bostan — Great Iwan (Khosrow II)
iwan7.9×5.9 m iwan with investiture of Khosrow II (590–628) between Ahura Mazda and Anahita, plus equestrian armored horseman and boar/deer hunt reliefs
34.3876° N · 47.1322° ETaq-e Bostan — Small Iwan (Shapur II/III) and Springs
spring shrine3.8×3.9 m iwan with Shapur II and III, plus sacred spring (sarāb) and Qajar column capitals park, Zagros spring-fed pool
34.3874° N · 47.1319° E