Article ID: CBB927089378

Celestial and mythical origins of the citadel of Bukhara (2021)

unapi

Narshakhī's The History of Bukhara, an account from the tenth century AD that has been narrated as a mythical and strange story about the formation of the citadel of Bukhara, has received scanty scholarly attention. This study addresses some of the unknown semantic and symbolic origins of Iranian citadels and fortresses through an analysis of documented legends and other classical sources. This analysis shows that the citadel (qal'a) was built based on the conceptual archetype of the Utopia of Kangdiz (Siāvošgerd) and the geometric shape of Banāt Naʿsh (Big Dipper), which has played a symbolic role in protecting and guarding in Persian cosmology. This celestial analogy can explain the causes and origins of the irregular shape of some other Iranian citadels.

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Authors & Contributors
Paviour-Smith, Martin
Mohammad Yazdi
Melvin-Koushki, Matthew
David Espinosa Espinosa
Farhad Tehrani
Isenstadt, Sandy
Concepts
Arab/Islamic world, civilization and culture
Cosmology
Architecture
Folklore
Mathematics
Geometry
Time Periods
Medieval
Ancient
Early modern
10th century
Mughal Empire
Safavid dynasty
Places
Persia (Iran)
Middle and Near East
Ottoman Empire
Roman Empire
Arabian peninsula
Micronesia
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