Recognizing the Sassanid era of Varamin, Archaeological Evidence and Historical Geography

Subject Areas : Archaeology

Narges Zahedi ¹ , Morteza Hessari ² , Mosayeb Amiri ³ , Hassan Derakhshi ⁴

1 - Department of Archeology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Associate Professor of Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, Research Institute of Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, Tehran, Iran
3 - Department of Archeology, Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, Iran.
4 - Department of Archaeology, Humanities of Science, Islamic Azad University of Shoshtar, Khozestan, Iran

Received: 2023-10-05 Accepted : 2024-01-01 Published : 2024-03-10

Keywords: Varamin, historical geography, Archeology, Sassanid era, Ray State,

Abstract :

In the east of Pahanvar Ray plain, we come to a fertile area (Pishwa/Varamin plain) which has provided suitable conditions for human habitation since the formation of human settlements until today. Due to the location of this plain in the north of the central desert and the border between the two cultural domains of the northeast and the center, the environmental condition and suitable altitude, which are the main factors for the formation of permanent settlements, and the possible existence of extra-regional connections of this area with the neighboring areas, a wide survey was conducted in this area of ​​the plain. It was concluded that during this archaeological investigation, 61 ancient sites from the Sassanid era were found in the east of Varamin and south of Peshwa. It is most likely that Varamin is considered a part of Ray State and based on the available evidence, it is possible that it is the main center of Ray State as well. According to historical texts and archeological data, the state of Ray was one of the important areas of human settlement during the Sassanid period in Iran. Historical texts mention Ray in the Sassanid period, and the number of sites attributed to the Sassanid period in the geographical area of ​​Varamin has not been found until today. Despite this, based on the prominent geographical location of the Varamin region and the references of the historical texts to the Ray state, this region was probably one of the important regions of the historical period in Iran. In the present article, an attempt has been made to describe the historical geography of Ray State in the Sassanid period, while using the archaeological data of the Sassanid period of Varamin, to draw a part of the archeology and historical geography of Varamin in the Sassanid period.

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