The palace’s inscription and garden record Ardalan patronage, while dated 2026 interviews document damage, stabilization and plans for renewed museum use.

Khosro Abad’s columned veranda and arched windows behind trees and a garden pool with ducks, photographed in 2025
Khosro Abad in a photograph by Morteza Salehi, published 29 October 2025. This view predates the damage reported in 2026 and does not establish the building’s present condition. © Morteza Salehi / Tasnim News Agency · CC BY 4.0 · Unmodified photograph.

A palace whose inscription names its patron

Khosro Abad, also written Khosrowabad, is a palace-and-garden complex in Sanandaj, the Kurdish city also known as Sine. Its inscription names Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, the governor Amanollah Khan Ardalan and the year 1223 AH, corresponding to 1808–09. Morteza Salehi’s photographic report records these details. [1] Hoda Kameli’s architectural account transcribes the inscription, which presents the garden and palace as Amanollah Khan’s foundation for his son Khosrow and explains the name Khosro Abad. [2] The inscription supplies a more specific historical starting point than simply calling the residence an ancient Kurdish palace.

Ardalan rule and Qajar connections

Pierre Oberling’s study places the Ardalan governors within a Kurdish frontier principality whose relationship with Iranian rulers involved both autonomy and negotiation. Amanollah Khan Bozorg’s rule, around 1799–1825, included agricultural investment, gardens, fortifications and elaborate hospitality. Fath-Ali Shah arranged a marriage between one of his daughters and one of the governor’s sons. [3] Khosro Abad belongs within that world of local authority and dynastic relationships. Kameli also notes that Sanandaj’s central government fortress retained political and military importance when the palace was built; ceremony, reception and residence were important functions of the new complex. [2]

Reading the garden and buildings

Kameli’s illustrated account describes an east-west entrance axis, a cross-shaped pool set off that axis, and a main building entered through a high columned approach. She records a smaller courtyard with an octagonal pool and differences between the sash windows and decoration of different parts. [2] These observations help readers look beyond a single façade. Pools, circulation, shaded approaches and the relationship between buildings are part of the architectural ensemble. The 2025 photograph shows a veranda, arched openings, trees and water together, preserving a dated view of that setting. [1]

Damage reported in March 2026

On 14 March 2026, Jame Kurdi published an interview with heritage specialist Mohammad Aminian about damage to the palace following air attacks. He reported serious harm to interior decoration and parts of the structure, particularly toward the rear, and described instability requiring attention. [4] These are attributed observations from a dated interview. They change how earlier photographs and tourism descriptions should be read: a pre-damage view cannot be presented as a current survey of intact rooms.

Restoration and museum plans

In an ILNA interview published on 1 August 2026, Kurdistan heritage director Pouya Talebnia described damage to historic doors, windows and sash assemblies, together with serious damage in several building sections. He said protective and strengthening work had begun, two principal sections were prepared for use, and the grounds work was complete. Restoration and museum fitting were described as separate project phases, with a reopening target during Government Week. [5] A target is not confirmation that every gallery subsequently opened. Khosro Abad’s recent history should therefore include both the damage report and the later conservation account. The palace remains significant as an Ardalan monument, while its conservation and public use require dated evidence.

Sources and further reading

  1. Morteza Salehi, Khosro Abad Mansion — Sanandaj, Tasnim photo report, 29 October 2025; inscription description and photographs, CC BY 4.0.
  2. Hoda Kameli, Persian Garden: Introduce Edifices of Khosro Abad, Sanandaj, architectural account reproduced 15 November 2010; inscription transcription and spatial observations.
  3. Pierre Oberling, Bani Ardalan, Encyclopaedia Iranica III/7, 1988, pp. 693–694; updated 2016.
  4. Jame Kurdi, Serious Damage to Khosro Abad Palace Museum, 14 March 2026; direct interview with heritage specialist Mohammad Aminian.
  5. ILNA, Khosro Abad Palace Museum: Restoration and Opening Target, 1 August 2026; direct interview with Kurdistan heritage director Pouya Talebnia.