Study of Prominent Architectural and Structural Features in a Building Called “Khaneh Farmandeh Qoshon” of Bam Citadel

Arg-e Bam, is one of the most important works of architecture and urban engineering of Iran’s history. The complex consists of two parts: Sharestan (downtown) and Hakem-neshin (governor’s seat). A significant monument of the governor’s seat is the “Commander-in-Chief’s house”, which lies beyond the third fence. Despite the earthquake of 2003, significant parts of the house were not damaged or less demolished compared to the vast area of Arg-e Bam. After the earthquake the architectural, urban, and archaeological features of Bam received special attention and some research has been completed. However, the house, its chronology, architectural and structural features remained unknown. Therefore, the present research aims to study the house through fieldwork and library studies; also interpreting and analyzing the findings through historical method. The results indicate the production of high quality materials which is made up of a suitable mix of clay and adhesives, resulted in the optimal processing of clay. This led to the less damage to the architectural structures. In addition, proper architectural orders like utilizing the dominant rock bed of the governor’s seat and adopting an efficient way of designing and executing some of the architectural elements and the way of transferring the forces applied to them in the piers and side openings, are some other reasons which leads to the effective reaction to the destructive earthquake forces. The Commander-in-Chief’s house is one of the few buildings to be geographically opposed to the east-west direction of most the architectural units. It has a north-south direction due to the construction of an older historic tower which the house erected on top of it. Being sheltered by the governor’s seat, like the barracks (Sarbaz-Khaneh) and the government stables (Establ-e-shahi), it was safe from the damages of the famous “black” storm blowing north-south. Historical and architectural evidence show that the building was built in 1258 AH in the years after the second sit-in of Agha Khan-e- Mahallati.
Keywords: Arg-e Bam, Commander in Characteristics, Structural Elements.
 
Introduction
Bam citadel complex is located on the northeast corner of the current city of Bam. This is the most important part of the historical axis of Bam city. Bam Citadel is one of the few surviving works of ancient Iranian architecture and urban planning. This collection includes two parts, “Arg” and “Sharestan” in the body of an ancient Iranian city. This collection includes architectural works with various functions including educational, public, religious, commercial, economic, health and private. One of its landmarks is the complex namely “Military Commander House”. There are unanswered questions regarding the architectural features, structural elements and date of construction, and in this research, an attempt is made to answer some of them. The findings have been collected through field studies and libraries, and those findings have been interpreted and analyzed in a so-called “historical” approach.
 
Location and the Architectural Features
The mansion of the military commander is one of the important architectural works that is located in the governmental quarter and in the eastern neighborhood of the building called the barracks. This mansion is located immediately after the barracks’s Sabat and on the eastern front of this building. Its design is such that it follows the historical shape of the tower built on top of it. The axis of its construction is north-south, contrary to the general direction of the public quarter of the citadel and its affiliated architectural units; Although this might be considered as a structural weakness in the direction / orientation of the mansion at first glance, its location on the north side of the governmental quarter has caused, like the barracks and the so-called government stables, keeps it safe from the inconsistent black wind blowing in the north-south direction in Kerman. The royal mansion is located on the southern front and includes two corner ambientes and an Iwan. This part was used as a summer residence of the mansion; Since it has a back to the south - which blocks the sun rays from that side - and is the only front on which the windshield is built. The multiple landscapes and accesses envisaged on the west and south fronts of the mansion have facilitated access to the barracks building while providing the continuous monitoring of the building and traffic to and from the second entrance and the public arena. Those holes appear to have been the location of heavy weapons soldiers in times of need; This is a key issue in the passive defense aspects of the House of military commander. It seems that at the beginning of the design and construction of the mansion, these openings were not foreseen in the body. These holes / shoots were not designed and were created in the last stages of use in the southern, southwestern and western facades. The historic structure of the tower on which the mansion was built upon shows that it was severely damaged before the mansion was built. Therefore, this tower was rebuilt with new materials just when it was decided to build an army commander’s house at the site. This can be seen not only through the materials with different texture, construction, and dimensions, but also in the gap created by the 2004 earthquake between the older and newer layers. The lack of connection of the older architectural layers with the later layers has further created the gap / distance between the two architectural layers.
To the northeast of the mansion is a complex that is connected to the house of the commander through two vestibules and a room. Also, the entrance to this section can be reached from the historical eastern vestibule, which is the old gate, i.e. the third entrance, which was also the dedicated gate of the upper terrace of the governmental area. The arrangement of the spaces confirms the fact that it was used as a courtroom. Its dome room is one of the few architectural elements that survived the earthquake of 2004.High-quality materials, including bricks, which are carefully selected in the optimal composition of their ingredients, along with efficient firing instructions, are the most important reasons that have led to the stability of this part. These points are exactly the same orders that were ignored in the reconstruction of successive urban suburbs in the public area, the need to hasten the production of materials and accelerate the implementation of architectural elements and structures, and have intensified the recent earthquake damage.
The manner of access of the mansion to the barracks building and the homogeneous and equal materials show that these two buildings were built at the same time. Description of some tourists in 1810 AD / 1225 AH. from the governmental area, which at that time was exclusively in the hands of the governor / ruler of the city, reveals that at least until this time the local Sakhlo / local army were not present in this section; This means that the barracks and the mansion of the commander of the army were built sometime after this year.Narrations and descriptions after 1259 AH, which were obtained after the second Aga Khan Mahallati sit-in in Bam Citadel, have led to the presence of troops and military equipment in this area. Therefore, it seems that the time and reason for the construction of the mansion of the commander and the barracks in this section should be known in this period and shortly after. Especially since the ruler of Kerman ordered the residents of the citadel to evacuate the complex and settle in the new city. Before that, the barracks and the house of commander were in a place now known as “Konari Mahalle”; After the evacuation of the city and the construction of the new commander’s house and barracks, the only inhabitants of the citadel, who were also stationed exclusively in the governmental area, included the Sakhlu or local army soldiers.
 
Conclusion
Findings show that the production of high-quality materials that with the optimal combination of clay and suitable adhesive has led to the optimal processing of clay, has caused part of the architectural structures of the building to be less damaged. This is important along with the appropriate support instructions, such as using the governmental area’s rock bed in some parts and adopting efficient methods in designing and executing some architectural elements and how to transfer the forces on them in the rafters and side openings, are some of the reasons that some structures reacted appropriately against the destructive forces of the earthquake.
The house of the commander is one of the few buildings whose geographical direction of the building is north-south, in contrast to the east-west direction of most architectural units; The reason for this goes back to the construction of an older historic tower on which the mansion was built. Because it is sheltered by the tall structure of the governmental quarter, like the barracks and government stables, it was protected from the dangers of the famous “black” wind, which has a north-south direction. Historical and architectural evidences show that this mansion has been constructed in the years after the second Aga Khan Mahallati in 1258 AH. for the residence of the commander of the army to which they had been transferred.