Study of Rendeh Asbad Complex, Sistan (Architectural Remains of the Largest Flour-Production Facilities of the Eastern Iran in the Mid-Islamic Centuries)

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Zabol, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran

Abstract

During his lifetime, the Human has always been in a constant interaction with the environment, and the growth and development of human civilization have taken place in the context of the natural environment. Meanwhile, a manifestation of humans’s alignment with their surrounding environment is the technology of using natural phenomena in different regions. One of these technologies is the construction and operation of Persian windmills (Asbads), the earliest example of which has found to belong to the Iranian civilization to this day. Sistan is thought to be the place where Asbads were invented for the first time, and today numerous remains of historical Asbads are found in this region. Although the best-known windmills of Sistan are those of Hozdar complex, there are other Asbads in Rendeh region of Sistan, some of which can be regarded as the most representative examples of Iranian windmills. Unfortunately, despite the significance of this issue, no comprehensive research has been conducted on these windmills so far and questions regarding their age, architectural structure and typology as well as the position of the region during its lifetime have remained unanswered. The authors of the present paper have, therefore, made a comprehensive identification of this complex relying on field studies and archaeological surveys; and subsequently, using a descriptive-analytical method, they have extensively studied the architectural structure of windmills and other monuments of Rendeh complex. The results suggest that the Asbads and the sites of Rendeh complex are older than other windmills of Hozdar, dating back to the 6th-9th centuries AH. This collection includes the greatest number of windmills belonging to the mid-Islamic centuries, thus making this the largest flour production complex of Sistan. Among them, a windmill known as “Se Pareh” is the biggest known Asbad in eastern Iran, the architectural type and style of which have continued in the Safavid windmills of Hozdar during the subsequent periods by removing the side courtyard and its surrounding storage rooms. It was also found that this windmill is the oldest example of twin-windmills in Iran.

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Main Subjects

References

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pazhoheshha-ye Bastan shenasi Iran
Volume 13, Issue 37
September 2023
Pages 271-247

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