Istakhr

Istakhr (Middle Persian romanized: Stakhr, also spelt استخر in modern literature) was an ancient city in Fars province, north of Persepolis in southwestern Iran. It flourished as the capital of the Persian Frataraka governors and Kings of Persis from the third century BC to the early 3rd century AD. It reached its apex under the Sasanian Empire (224-651 AD), and was the hometown of the Sasanian dynasty. Istakhr briefly served as the first capital of the Sasanian Empire from 224 to 226 AD and then as principal city, region, and religious centre of the Sasanian province of Pars. During the Arab conquest of Iran, Istakhr was noted for its stiff resistance, which resulted in the death of many of its inhabitants. Istakhr remained a stronghold of Zoroastrianism long after the conquests, and remained relatively important in the early Islamic era. It went into gradual decline after the founding of nearby Shiraz, before being destroyed and abandoned under the Buyids. Cursorily explored by Ernst Herzfeld and a team from the University of Chicago in the first half of the 20th century, much of Sasanian Istakhr remains unexcavated. Etymology "Istakhr" (also spelled Estakhr) is the New Persian form of the Middle Persian Stakhr (also spelled Staxr), and is believed to mean "strong(hold)". According to the Iranologist Ernst Herzfeld, who based his arguments on coins of the Persian Frataraka governors and Kings of Persis, the Middle Persian word in turn derives from Old Persian *Parsa-staxra ("stronghold of Pars"), owing to the city's close connections with the nearby Persepolis platform. Herzfeld interpreted the Aramaic characters "PR BR" inscribed on these coins as an abbreviation of Aramaic prsʾ byrtʾ ("the Fortress of Parsa"), which in turn may be the equivalent of the aforementioned Old Persian words. The abbreviation "ST", denoting Istakhr, also appears on Sasanian coins. Istakhr is attested in Syriac as Istahr and in Armenian as Stahr. It probably appears in the Talmud as Istahar. Geography Istakhr is located in Iran's southwestern province of Fars, historically known as Parsa (Old Persian), Pars (Middle Persian) and Persis (Greek), whence Persia. It lies in the valley of the Polvar River, between the Kuh-e Rahmat and the Naqsh-e Rostam, where the Polvar River valley opens into the plain of Marvdasht. This plain stretches near the platform of Persepolis.