Kalat-e Naderi
37°00′05″N 59°45′27″E / 37.00139°N 59.75750°E Kalat-e Naderi (Template:Lang-fa) is a massive natural fortress located about 44 miles north of Sousia, in Kalat County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran.[1]
...I visited the extraordinary natural fortress of Kalat-i-nadiri and climbed its northern wall, which is one of the mountains in this range. From the crest I looked across the yellow plain, stretching northwards in level monotony, and was struck by its immensity....
Percy Sykes, A History of Persia, 1921[2]
It is essentially a massive plateau about 4 miles in circumference that has been used as a fortress since before the Achaemenid era. It is surrounded on 3 sides by high cliff walls ranging from 1500 feet on the south side to 2000 feet on the west side with lower eastern walls and a gently sloping plain leading up to the heights from the north.
It is famous as the only fortress ever to withstand a siege by Tamerlane.
Alexander the Great's army laid siege to it. While Alexander left to deal with a rebellious Persian chieftain, he ordered Craterus to command the majority of the army and take the fortress.
See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ "KALĀT-E NĀDERI". Encyclopaedia Iranica. April 19, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Sykes, Percy (1921). A History of Persia. London: Macmillan and Company. p. 38.
Sources
- Engels, Donald W. "Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army", University of California Press. 1978. Pages 87–88.
External links
- Kalāt-e Nāderi, in Persian, Jadid Online, 2006, [1].
A Slide Show of Kalāt-e Nāderi by Shahāb Āzādeh, Jadid Online, 2006, [2] (2 min 30 sec). - Farshid Sāmāni, Konj-e Denj-e Fāteh-e Hend (The Quiet Corner of the Conqueror of India), in Persian, Jadid Online, 14 January 2010, [3].
• Audio slideshow: [4] (3 min 38 sec).
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