TEHRAN – The Research Institute of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts has recently reviewed a number of historical documents and narratives related to the ancient city of Amol, located in Iran’s northern Mazandaran province, which was historically known as Tabarestan.

During the meeting, researchers examined various historical sources shedding light on Amol’s urban development, cultural significance, and role in the political and social history of the region. The discussions focused on how the city evolved over different historical periods and its place within the broader context of Tabarestan’s civilization.

The session was part of the institute’s ongoing efforts to document and reassess Iran’s urban heritage through academic research and interdisciplinary studies.

Zatollah Nikzad, a researcher at the institute, said on Saturday that the Tabarestan region was known by various names in ancient texts and encompassed an area beyond present-day Mazandaran. This region is mentioned in Greek sources, Achaemenid inscriptions including the Darius inscription and works from the Sassanid period such as the Ka'beh-ye Zardusht (Kaaba of Zoroaster), and has been widely reflected in historical texts after Islam, Miras Aria reported. 

Referring to the geographical location of Amol, he stated that Amol's location between the sea, forest, and mountains and its connection with the Haraz Valley --as a historical route connecting the central plateau of Iran to the north--has had a profound impact on the formation, continuity of life, and spatial structure of this city.

Nikzad focused his remarks on the book ‘History of Tabaristan’; a work that Ibn Esfandyar, an Iranian historian from Tabaristan, wrote in 613 AH (1192 CE).

He explained that Ibn Esfandyar used numerous sources in writing this book, including the ancient books that have disappeared today; such as the book of Abul-Hasan ibn Muhammad Yazdadi, which is remembered as one of the first local histories of Tabaristan.

Nikzad added that Ibn Esfandyar used the library of Mazandaran ruler Rostam bin Ali bin Shahriar during his trip to Rey and obtained sources that play a decisive role in the historical validity of his work.

Referring to the methodology of this research, he said that the study of the spatial structure of the city of Amol was conducted with an analytical historical approach; meaning that the textual data of local chronicles were matched with the environmental, architectural, and urban development evidence to obtain a more accurate picture of the city in the past. 
Nikzad noted that local chronicles, because they were written by local historians and were directly involved in events, contain valuable details that are rarely seen in public histories. 
These texts show that, contrary to the popular belief, an important part of Iranian history was preserved in writing in form of family and local deeds and documents. 
He said that although this narrative is accompanied by fictional elements, detailed technical and engineering information lies at its heart about the urban system, the location of the city along the river, water resources, the structure of the fence, the ditch, and the four gates of the city; elements that are consistent with the well-known patterns of Sassanid urban planning. 

This city developed during the Sassanid era and after its foundation, and after the second century AH and with the arrival of Muslims, it gradually underwent changes in urban spaces, complexes, and social fabric and developed further.

He stated that the critical and analytical reading of local histories has an important capacity for recognizing the history of Iranian cities and can be a valid basis for interdisciplinary research in the fields of history, architecture, and urban planning. 

KD