Kashaneh Tower
برج کاشانه
General information
Town or city	Bastam
Country	Iran
Completed	14th century
Height	24 meters

The Kashaneh Tower ( Persian: برج کاشانه) is a 14th-century structure in Bastam, Iran. It is located to the south east of the Jama mosque of Bastam. ^[1]

History

The inscription on top of the entrance of the tower attributes the building to the year 700 of the lunar Hijri calendar. ^[2] The local people however believe that the tower has been a Zoroastrian fire temple during Sassanian times. André Godard however, attributes the building to Ghazan khan, which is in agreement with the inscription on the building indicating its date of construction. ^{[3] [2]} Furthermore, André Godard claims that the structure was originally named Ghazaneh which was later corrupted into Kashaneh. ^[3] The inscription on top of the building however, attributes it to Öljaitü. ^[2]

At times, it was used as a watchtower. However, the tower's shape suggests that it might have had uses in astronomy, as it resembles an observatory in many ways. ^[2]

The tower's roof had at one point collapsed but was later repaired. ^{[2] [4]}

It was enlisted among the national heritage sites of Iran with the registration number 69 on 6 January 1932. ^{[2] [5]}

Architecture

The tower is 24 meters tall from the inside, and 20 meters tall from outside. It's external shape is a Triacontagon. On top of the tower there are two outlines made of large bricks that have inscriptions on them. ^{[3] [4]}

Gallery

References