Tarikhaneh Temple

Tarikhaneh Temple is one of the oldest mosques in Iran. This historical monument dates back to the second century AH.

Tarikhaneh Temple also is known as the Tarikhaneh Mosque. It considered as the oldest mosque after the Jameh Mosque of Fahraj in Iran. This old monument is placed in south of Damghan, Semnan province. Due to the studies of archaeologists, Tarikhaneh was a fire temple before the Arab conquest. The fire temple has been turned to the mosque during the time.
 

• The names of Tarikhaneh Temple
   

It is interesting to know about the meaning of Tarikhaneh. This word is made of two parts, Tari and Khaneh, which means the house of God. Tari in Turkish means God, and the equivalent of Khaneh in English is a house. The old name of it was Narikhaneh, which means the house of fire. Moreover, Tarikhaneh was known as Chehel-Sotoun Mosque, because it had a lot of columns.

• Architecture
   

  Tarikhaneh Temple was built with the Sasanian Architectural Style. Also, you will see the Parthian brickwork in this mosque. different parts of Tarikhaneh Temple are as follows:
   

  • Sahn (central courtyard)

    Tarikhaneh Temple has a foursquare courtyard which has no pond. There are some porticos in around of the Sahn which includes vaults and circular columns. Portico is a roofed corridor with columns which has no wall. There were three entrance gates on the northwestern side and the five entrance gates were located on the northeastern side. The entrance gates of the mosque had opened to these porticos which have ruined during the time.
     
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  • Shabestan

    Shabestan is a space like a chamber that can be usually found in traditional places. The Shabestan of Tarikhaneh is locating in line to the Qibla and including a hall with 26 circular columns. The ceiling of this part has covered by brick vaults like the architectural style of the Pre-Islamic era. 
     

  • Minaret

    An adobe minaret had built on the western side that was like the minaret of the mosque in Iraq. It was placed on a square base with an area of 6.5 square meters, which had ruined completely. The current brick minaret of Tarikhaneh which is locating on the north side has a height of 26 meters. Also, there is a Kufic inscription at the height of six meters of the minaret.

• Visiting information
   

  It is better to know some information about visiting time and the payment of it.
  • Visiting the Tarikhaneh Temple for foreign visitors costs 1500,000 IRR.
  • You can visit the Tarikhaneh Temple every day from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM & 4:00 AM until 6:00 PM.

• What is the best time to go?
   

Damghan is locating in the Semnan province with a hot climate. You will experience visiting desert, mountain, and forest in this province. Because of the hot climate of this region the best time to visit the Tarikhaneh Temple is during fall and early spring.

• Getting there?
   

Tarikhaneh Temple is located on the Rahahan-Station Street, south of Damghan, Semnan province. You can go to the Basij Square then get Tarikhaneh Temple. It is a six-minute walk from the Basij Square through Shahid Mottahari. Moreover, you can reach there as following map: