Qualla: Ziwiyeh Castle

Ziwiyeh Castle: Introduction

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Darafsh, CC BY-SA 3.0. Three civilizations claimed this mountaintop as their capital, each in turn. The Mannaeans built here first. Then the Medes arrived, and after them the Scythians. Ziwiyeh Castle rises at 1,835 meters above sea level in Iran's Kurdistan Province, 50 kilometers from the city of Saqqez, perched above a wide natural cave on the south side of Lake Urmia. Its walls have sheltered rulers, soldiers, and priests for the better part of three thousand years. It is also the site where, in 1947, one of archaeology's most celebrated and controversial treasure hoards came to light.

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Image: Darafsh | CC BY-SA 3.0

Ziwiyeh Castle: Three Floors, Three Functions

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit POS78, CC BY-SA 4.0. The castle was built as a three-story fortress, each level serving a distinct purpose. The ground floor, portions of which still stand, functioned as a temple. Its position level with the hillside made it accessible to the public, and the religious artifacts found there confirm i...

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Image: POS78 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Ziwiyeh Castle: Empires on a Hilltop

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alireza248j, CC BY-SA 4.0. The castle's earliest known inhabitants were the Mannaeans, a people who occupied the region south of Lake Urmia during the early first millennium BC until Assyrian invasions disrupted their hold. The Medes, who would go on to help destroy the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC, subsequen...

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Image: Alireza248j | CC BY-SA 4.0

Ziwiyeh Castle: Water, Tile, and Siege

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mehdi Rafiei, CC BY-SA 4.0. The castle's builders understood both beauty and survival. Two gates, one on the north face and one on the south, controlled access. The southern gate, positioned on the side of the mountain peak, was decorated with ornamental tilework. The floors throughout the building were pav...

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Image: Mehdi Rafiei | CC BY-SA 4.0

Ziwiyeh Castle: The Treasure Below the Walls

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NimaNazari, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1947, the fields outside the castle walls yielded the Ziwiye hoard: a collection of gold, silver, and ivory objects that would eventually scatter across the world's great museums. Gold rhytons, necklaces, plaques, and bracelets displayed an extraordinary fusion of Scythian ani...

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Image: NimaNazari | CC BY-SA 4.0