Archeological Atlas of Shahr-e Rey Ready
In a research headed by Khosro Pour-Bakhshandeh and Qadir Afervand, a total of 172 cultural and historical monuments such as 28 castles, eight caravansaries, 31 hills, 21 houses and ancient monuments have been unearthed. They have survived from the pre-historic, historic and contemporary eras.
Afervand elaborated that six mosques, 47 mausoleums and resting places, five baths, and 29 other cultural historical monuments have been found.
According to him, no all-out study has been yet conducted on Shahr-e Rey, a city dating back to more than 8000 years ago.
He said that although the city has been the cradle of changes in the Iranian Central Plateau, no considerable work has been done towards identifying the cultural heritage and the historical monuments of this ancient city; before the research of Pour-Bakhshandeh archeological group, there were only 50 historical monuments unearthed from the city.
According to the Information Department of the country’s Cultural Heritage Organization, Shahr-e Rey is an ancient city of Iran housing several monuments dating back to the Fourth and Fifth millenniums.
Shahr-e Rey, a city in northern Iran, is located about 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) southeast of Tehran.
The city is home to the Shia Muslim shrine of Shah Abdol Azim, erected during the reign of the Qajar King Fathali Shah (ruled from 1797-1834). More than one million pilgrims visit the shrine every year. The mineral water springs of Chesmeh Ali and the circular Toghrol Tower, built in 1140, are popular with tourists.
Establishment of the city has been dubiously attributed to Seth the son of Adam (the first human being and father of humankind).
After the Sassanid dynasty (224-651 C. E.) the city was named Rey. When the Islamic army came, the people of the city embraced Islam.
In the early Islamic era, it was once a seat for the caliphs of Umayyad dynasty.
Rey, now called Shahr-e Rey, was one of the great cities of Iran for several centuries before it was destroyed by Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan in 1221.
Many of the people of the city were massacred and the buildings were ruined. The abandoned ruins of Rey gradually crumbled, except for the Toghrol Tower and other brick structures.