INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Under Sassanids, Persian art and architecture experienced a general renaissance
Architecture often took grandiose proportions, such as palaces at Ctesiphon, Firuzabad, and Sarvestan, which are amongst the highlights of
the ensemble.Crafts such as metalwork and gem engraving grew highly sophisticated, yet scholarship was encouraged by the state
In those years, works from both the East and West were translated into Pahlavi, the language of the Sassanians.Rock-carved sculptures and
bas-reliefs on abrupt limestone cliffs are widely deemed as characteristics and striking relics of Sassanian art, top examples of which can
be traced at Bishapur, Naqsh-e Rostam, and Naqsh-e Rajab in southern Iran.In 2018, UNESCO added an ensemble of Sassanian historical cities
The ensemble comprises eight archaeological sites situated in three geographical parts of Firuzabad, Bishapur, and Sarvestan
It reflects the optimized utilization of natural topography and bears witness to the influence of Achaemenid and Parthian cultural
traditions and Roman art, which later had a significant impact on the architecture and artistic styles of the Islamic era.The Ilkhanid
dynasty, also called Il-Khanid, was a Mongol dynasty that ruled Iran from 1256 to 1335
Il-Khan is Persian for "subordinate khan".Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, received orders from the supreme Mongol chieftain Mongke to
Hulegu set out around 1253 with a Mongol army of about 130,000 men
He founded the Il-Khanid dynasty in 1256 and conquered Baghdad and all of Iran by 1258, according to Britannica.The Il-Khanids consolidated
their position in Iran and unified the region as a political and territorial entity after several centuries of fragmented rule by small
During the reign of the Il-Khanid Maumud Ghuzun (r
1295-1304), the Il-Khanids lost all contact with the remaining Mongol chiefs in China
Mahmud Ghuzun himself embraced Sunni Islam, and his reign was a time of Iranian cultural renaissance in Iran, with scholars such as Rashid
al-Din flourishing under his patronage.Ghazan's brother Oljeitu (r
1304-16) converted to Shia Islam in 1310
Oljeitu's conversion caused great unrest, and when he died in 1316, the civil war was imminent
His son and successor, Abu Sa'id (r
1317-35), converted to Sunni Islam and was thus able to prevent a war.During Abu Sa'id's reign, however, factional disputes and internal
unrest continued to spread
Abu Sa'id died without leaving an heir, and with his death, the unity of the dynasty was broken
western Iran is a land of hospitable people, wild extremes, and wilder history, and it may be an independent traveler's adventure
The region also witnessed the rise and fall of many great empires once bordering Mesopotamia, Ottoman Turkey, and Czarist Russia.From the
fecund Caspian coast to the stark, mountainous northern borders, and the crumbling desert ruins of the southern plains, the region hosts
