Bam Citadel, known as the city of Arg-e Bam, is one of the tourist spots in the province of Kerman, southwest Iran. After a massive earthquake hit Bam, the Citadel was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites as Bam and its cultural landscape in 2004. At the intersection of trade routes, the Citadel was once the central city of trade, producing silk and garments. In this essay, we mean to go through different parts of this historical city and its various features.

Location and History

Bam Citadel lies in highland 1060 meters above sea level at a distance of 192km from the Kerman and 1171km from the Capital. The ancient city of Bam is situated in the middle of two different areas, including the high plateau of the Barez mountains, in southeast Iran and the wilderness of the Lut desert in the south of Iran. Arg-e Bam overlooks the Kafut mountains from the north, while on the south side of it stands the Barez mountains.

The beauty of Arg-e Bam

According to the archaic texts and sources, the original construction of the Citadel traces back to the Achaemenid era during the 6th to 4th centuries BC. After Ardeshir Babakan usurped the Citadel, new walls and buildings were constructed in the Sasanian empire from the 3rd to 7th centuries AD. Then in 645, the city became a new residence for Arab insurgents, called Khawarij, after their conquest of Bam Citadel.

Later, this fort was developed with 38 peripheral towers with an area of six square kilometers and became the military headquarters of the Safavid army. In addition, during the Qajar dynasty, it was used as a bulwark to resist the invasions of Afghans. In 1839, it became the shelter of the founder of the Ismaili group, Aga Khan Mahalati, eventually captured by the Qajar prince for plotting insurrection against the king. This ancient city was entirely deserted by its inhabitants in 1880 due to the deployment of military forces in the citadel.

Structure

Bam and its cultural landscape are spread over an area of 200000 square meters, whose surrounding ramparts attain the height of 7 meters. Lying on a high hill with a height of 200 meters, Bam Citadel consists of three parts in different stages, denoting that various orders of social stratifications were significant at a time. These sections included the place of residence for soldiers and middle-class people, located behind the rampart, the other part, placed behind the second wall, was occupied by the affluent, and the last one was for the rulers and governors.

The house of rulers includes various parts such as a personal bathroom, a windmill, a cistern, a mansion opened by four corner rooms, stables, and a watchtower through which signals, including fire and smoke, were sent to other areas. Additionally, based on historical sources, numerous mosques existed in Bam, of which three congregational mosques were the important ones. Furthermore, on the western side of the Bam Citadel exists a part of the congregational mosques used by merchants due to its proximity to the bazaar.

 The ancient city of Bam

Analysis of Bam Complex

Bam complex is an enclosed area divided into two main parts, including  Castle and an ancient city. The Bam Citadel, inhabited by the governor, comprises barracks, a ruling abode, and royal stables; On the other hand, the City, dwelt by ordinary people, consists of different parts, some of which will be cast light in this paragraph.

Beautiful complex of Bam

Bazar

Bazaars played a significant role economically throughout history as their construction was top of the agenda in every era. After the inception of urbanization in Iran, bazaars were founded to meet people’s needs and fulfill their requirements. The ancient bazaar of Bam was considered the economic power of the city, in which silk and cotton were purchased by traders, leading to the economic growth of the complex.

Mirza Naeem School

This school was built in the Qajar era and consisted of two main parts, internal and external, used by teachers and students. In 2003, the historical school was enlisted as a national monument in Iran.

Zurkhaneh

Zoorkhaneh, located in the ancient city of Bam, was a place of old-fashioned sport performed 4000 years ago. The old sport was known for its decorum as athletes cleaned themselves through the raceway before entering the main ring.

Jame Mosque of Bam

Jame mosque of Bam, also known as the grand mosque of Bam, was founded during the inauguration of Islam and as one of the national monuments enlisted in 2003. This mosque, located on the Sassanid fire temple, used to have four porches declining to three later.

Earthquake of Bam

In 2003, most of the Bam Citadel was leveled to the ground due to a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter scale. The quake causes heavy casualties, leading to the death of more than 26000 persons and making more than 75000 people homeless. It contributed to the destruction of the Citadel on a large scale because the earthquake happened on the south inclined to the center of Bam with a depth of 7km below the city.

Bam and its cultural landscape

One of the main reasons contributing to the devastating earthquake was the Bam fault which had remained inactive for a long time. The Bam fault, due to its direction, north-south, intensified the quake, whose horizontal movements were from east to west. Therefore, buildings whose main axes were inclined to the direction of the crack were devastated by an earthquake whose motions were perpendicular to the axes of the buildings in the Citadel.

Conclusion

The Bam Citadel is located in the historical city of Kerman and is considered one of the largest ancient complexes in the world. Regarding the essay, we can conclude that city of Arg-e Bam can be one of the best places for tourists because it consists of various parts, every of which had unique uses in the past and belongs to different periods. Wish you enjoyed reading this essay and that it helped you get familiar with the ancient city of Bam.