Near Takab in northwestern Iran, Takht-e Soleyman brings together a spring-fed lake, Sasanian religious architecture and an Ilkhanid palace. Excavations explain how these different layers developed.
A lake that built its own platform
Takht-e Soleyman lies about 30 kilometres north-northeast of Takab in West Azerbaijan province. Archaeologist Dietrich Huff describes a limestone platform formed by mineral deposits from an overflowing thermal spring-lake. The water and the raised ground helped determine the site’s layout. Calling this simply a volcanic crater lake confuses its formation with the nearby volcanic landscape. The present name, meaning “Throne of Solomon,” belongs to a later legendary geography; earlier sources called the place Shiz and, in the Ilkhanid period, variants of Soqurluq. [1]
The Sasanian fire sanctuary
Texts and inscribed clay sealings support the identification of the sanctuary with Ādur Gušnasp, the sacred fire associated with warriors and kings. Huff distinguishes the principal fire temple from a second sanctuary accessible from the royal court. He also cautions that the precise use of some rooms remains uncertain. [1] UNESCO recognises the relationship between religious and royal architecture as central to the site’s importance. [2] The surviving complex therefore needs to be read as a sequence of buildings and controlled approaches, rather than one undifferentiated temple.
Abaqa’s palace and its tiles
In the thirteenth century the place acquired a new role as an Ilkhanid summer palace. The Metropolitan Museum dates Abaqa’s complex to around 1270 and explains how its walls were covered in ceramic decoration. Exterior panels used simpler monochrome glazes; interiors combined stars, crosses and other shapes, with large tiles forming friezes above them. Some inscriptions drew on the Shahnameh, while other tiles showed hunting scenes. A mould recovered during excavation supports production at the site. [3] These fragments help recover a richly decorated palace from ruins whose surviving masonry alone cannot convey the original effect.
What excavation recovered
Uppsala University’s Gustavianum describes the Swedish-German-Iranian work that began in 1958. Early investigations focused on nearby Zendan-e Soleyman, where the sanctuary and settlement were dated to about 800–600 BCE. Swedish participation at Takht-e Soleyman followed from 1959. Finds included pottery, metal objects and glazed bricks, with important collections now held in Berlin and Uppsala. [4] The neighbouring sites have related research histories but different archaeological sequences; their dates should not be treated as interchangeable.
World Heritage and conservation
Takht-e Soleyman entered the World Heritage List in 2003. UNESCO identifies rain, temperature extremes and seismic activity as threats to the original masonry. Its account also distinguishes surviving remains from conservation work: parts of the outer wall were rebuilt using recovered stones, while some palace vaults used modern bricks following the older pattern. [2] Knowing which fabric was repaired matters when interpreting photographs or walking through the site. Its heritage extends beyond the lake enclosure to surrounding archaeological features and the wider landscape. [2]
Sources and further reading
- Dietrich Huff, Taḵt-e Solaymān, Encyclopaedia Iranica, published 2002, updated 2013.
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Takht-e Soleyman: inscription, significance, integrity and authenticity.
- Qamar Adamjee and Stefano Carboni, Takht-i Sulaiman and Tilework in the Ilkhanid Period, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.
- Gustavianum, Uppsala University, Takht-e Soleyman: excavations and historical collections, updated 2024.