The long shadow of oblivion over the legacy of the Parthians

The historic fortress “Almadushen” in the border town of Rajozorglan, North Khorasan, with an age of 1,500 years, has been forgotten as one of the most valuable historical heritages left from the Parthian era.

Once upon a time, it was a place of commotion and coming and going of men and women, war chariots and the clinking of swords of the soldiers of Ashk, and every view of it is a window into the past history of Iran, but now it is nothing more than a gazibaneh, and in a remote area, it is a longing to visit. It attracts few tourists.

“Almadushen” historical fort is one of the historical monuments related to the Parthian period in the Gholaman region of the border town of Rajozerglan, which is located on the highest part of the mountain which is cylindrical and flat in Almadushan village (the place where apples fall).

Many stone ruins can be seen around this fort, which indicates the existence of old buildings in this place that have been destroyed over time, and only this fort remains as the main part of the fort.

The remains of architecture, ruins, and piles of stones can be seen everywhere on the surface of this mountain, the ruins of which are the remains of a huge building, and at some point in history, it was also a gathering place for soldiers and supplies for soldiers.

Today, only the stone remains of this fort remain, and after 14 years of its national registration, it has not yet been subjected to archaeological excavations, while the exploration of this historical work left by the ancestors, apart from illuminating the dark corners of history, is open to tourists. It opens up a lot to this border city and paves the way for the tourism of this deprived border city.

Before examining the importance of this historical fortress, it is not bad to know more about the historical background of the nearest village called Almadoshan and this fortress with the same name.

The meaning of Almadoshan from the point of view of border residents

According to one of the villagers of the region, the reason for the name of Almadoshan region comes from the story that “Narin” region of Gholaman had 2 ancient mountains on which 2 historical cities were located. In the old days, each city had a king, one of them He had a daughter and another had a son.

The son of one of these kings falls in love with the daughter of another king, and the father of the girl makes a bet that if the prince can throw an apple from one side of the mountain to the other, he will give the girl to him.

When the prince does this, the thrown apple falls in the middle of two mountains, and over time and under suitable weather conditions, the apple seeds grow and a prosperous area is created by the river, which is also called “Almadushen”. It is derived from the Turkish word “apple to fall”.

Another story told by the local people of this area is that in the old days, a farmer with a horse carrying a load of apples passed through that area, but the apples fell one by one from the farmer’s hoppers because his hoppers were broken. It causes the formation of an apple orchard over time.

Why is the historical fortress of Almadushan important?

One of the archeology experts of North Khorasan says about the importance of this historical fort: Almadoshan Citadel is one of the oldest historical monuments in Rajozorglan, which has not yet been subjected to archaeological excavations, while it dates back to the Parthian era to the middle Islamic centuries, i.e. the 6th century. And it returns in 7 A.H.

Karim Deh Panah adds: This historical monument has been a military fortress from the Parthian period to the 7th century AH, in such a way that in the past people used to build strong walls and forts to defend the privacy around their place of residence to prevent the intrusion of enemies. become

He says: architectural remains and debris and piles of stones everywhere on the surface of this building show that this work of history has a special style of architecture and martial and defense engineering.

De Panah reminds: until now, many legends about this place are told by the local people; such as treasures and burials guarded by giant snakes (dragons) and paths and tunnels leading into the city that are now blocked.

He stated that if archaeological excavations are carried out in this area, it will undoubtedly become a place for tourists. Undoubtedly, archeology is a form of looting this treasure.

The Parthian dynasty (247 BC, 224 AD), which is also known as the Parthian Empire, was one of the Iranian political and cultural powers in Iran that ruled over most of Western Asia for 471 years.

The founder and founder of this dynasty was called Ashk, and this empire was established in the third century BC by Ashk, the leader of the Perni tribe, after the conquest of Parth satrap in northeastern Iran, who, according to historians, was crowned in the city of Asak.

The origin of the Parthians was from the Parni Persian tribe and a branch of clans affiliated to the Daheh union from the Scythian nomads of the eastern region of the Caspian Sea.

Forgetting Almadoshan in the shadow of the historical area of ​​Rivi

The head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department of Rajozerglan also stated that Almadoshan has not yet found its place in the tourism chain and says: The existence of some historical places with an age of four thousand years in the city of Ashkhane in North Khorasan has led to this citadel. be in the shadow of oblivion.

Agil Majdari adds: This is despite the fact that the historical fortress of Almadoshan is also 1,500 years old and should be paid attention to by the authorities for archaeological excavations.

He says: If this fort was located in another province, it would have been much more noticed and it would have been the main destination of many tourist tours, but unfortunately, due to the lack of archaeological excavations, it is still not in the tourist circle of this border city. As it should and maybe it has not found its place and is less noticed by tourists.

The head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department of Rajozerglan continues: This border city has many historic tourism monuments compared to its size, which should be seen with the creation of tourism infrastructure and extensive cultural measures.

Stating that the balanced distribution of tourism facilities and credits should be on the agenda, Meghridi says: the total annual credits in the area of ​​introduction and restoration of the historical places of Rajojarglan are 3 billion 500 million Rials and the credits in the field of archaeological study, protection and exploration are 4 billion 500 million rials, of which no figure has been allocated so far.

He adds: while in order to attract tourism and the prosperity of this area, we need more credits and the creation of infrastructure such as proper roads and places to stay.

Shahzad Nabi Gholaman tomb, Raz historical complex, Almadoshan historical citadel, Bala citadel hill, Rastghan historical site, Seyyed Bozor tomb are the most prominent historical attractions of the border town of Rajozharglan.

So far, 642 heritages of North Khorasan have been registered in the list of national monuments, of which 509 are historical works, 44 are natural works, 75 are intangible works and 14 are movable historical works.

1,200 historical and natural monuments have been identified in North Khorasan.

The border town of Raz and Jorglan has a population of 70,000 and its center is the city of Raz, 120 km north of Bojnord.