Uncategorized – Taq Kasra : 3rd-century Persian Monument in Iraq

Taq Kasra documentary screening @ YALE University

Left to Right: Prof. Abbas Amanat, Prof. Kevin van Bladel, Pejman Akbarzadeh, Nahid Siamdoust. Yale University, 27 September 2018. Photo: Babak Ejlali

On 27 September 2018, the documentary film “Taq Kasra: Wonder of Architecture” was screened at Yale University’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. The event was organised by the Yale Program in Iranian Studies, and well attended by Yale members as well as the wider New Haven community.

The event was started by a short lecture by Prof. Kevin van Bladel, entitled “The Sassanian World of the Vault of Chosroes,” which offered historical context to the Sasanian Persian Empire. After the film screening, there was a lively discussion in which Pejman Akbarzadeh (director of the documentary), Prof. Abbas Amanat and Prof. Kevin van Bladel answered the questions. Dr. Nahid Siamdoust (Yarshater Fellow at the Yale Program in Iranian Studies) moderated the discussion.

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Taq Kasra @ US Military Academy

On September 28, 2018 the documentary film “Taq Kasra: Wonder of Architecture” was screened at the US Military Academy in West Point, NY. The event created a unique opportunity for the cadets to learn about the history of the Persian Empire in the Sasanian era (224-651 AD).

The event was organised at the Department of Foreign Languages and moderated by Amir Irani-Tehrani, Persian Program Director at the academy since 2012. Dr. Tehrani actively organises events for the cadets of the US Military Academy to familiarize them with various aspects of Persian (Iranian) culture.

Photo by Stephanie Fauver

Following the film screening, a Q&A session was held with documentary director Pejman Akbarzadeh. He was mainly asked about his motivation for making a documentary film on Taq Kasra (also known as Arch of Ctesiphon) and his experiences working in Iraq.
Taq Kasra: Wonder of Architecture is a 2018 Persian Dutch Network production, funded by Soudavar Memorial and Toos Foundations.

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Taq Kasra : Online Source

The first-ever documentary film on TAQ KASRA by Pejman Akbarzadeh will be premiered at SOAS, University of London, on 1 February 2018. (INFORMATION)

The ca. 3th-century Persian monument Taq Kasra, or Arch of Ctesiphon, is the world’s largest brick vault. The site is the most famous architectural site of Persian Empire during the Sassanian era (224 – 651 AD). Taq Kasra was gradually neglected after the Arab invasion of Persia (Iran) in the 7th-century AD.

In view of the territorial changes, the arch ruins is now located outside Persia, close to the Iraqi capital Baghdad. It is not easy to visit the monument because of the strict security measures around its location. Taq Kasra is now located right beside the little town of Salman Pak. This name was taken from the name of Salman the Persian. He was a companion of the Islam’s prophet Mohammed and the first Persian who converted to Islam. Salman (born as Roozbeh) was the governor of Ctesiphon after the Arab conquest. He is buried there too.

Taq Kisra / Eyvan-e Khosrow (© Photo by Pejman Akbarzadeh)

At the moment the arch is under the protection of Iraqi forces. Iraq has not started the process to register Taq Kasra as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However in the recent years the Iraqi Ministry of Culture has invited the Czech firm AVERS to restore the site.

Various objects have been discovered around Taq Kasra/Ctesiphon area, mostly in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The artefacts are now mostly kept at the State Museum of Berlin (Pergamonmuseum) and Metropolitan Art Museum in New York.