Iran seeks UNESCO status for ancient Sassanian city of Darabgerd
Iranian authorities have begun the process of nominating the ancient city of Darabgerd — considered the world’s first circular city — for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, a provincial heritage official said on Sunday.
Sadegh Zare’, acting deputy for cultural heritage at the Fars provincial tourism department, told IRNA that Darabgerd dates back to the Sassanian Empire and holds “undeniable historical value.”
Built in the third century AD, the city is located in southeastern Fars province, near the border with Hormozgan, about 225 kilometers from Shiraz. Its circular layout and triple concentric walls inspired later Sassanian urban designs, including Firuzabad and Bishapur.
Zare’ said Darabgerd was meant to be inscribed on the UNESCO list alongside other Sassanian landscapes like Firuzabad, Bishapur and Sarvestan, but the lack of archaeological research delayed its candidacy.
He added that registration requires a “complete dossier,” including archaeological studies, protective measures and a long-term management plan.
Funding has now been secured to kick-start the application. “Around 30 billion rials ($50,000) from the Oil Ministry’s social responsibility funds have been earmarked,” Zare’ said, though he cautioned that the funds are shared with other infrastructure needs, making short-term full allocation unlikely.
He stressed the need to “secure further support” to advance the file over the next year.
The final submission to UNESCO depends on Iran’s national quota and annual priorities set by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Zare’ said.
He proposed that Darabgerd could be added to the existing “Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region” listing.
Darabgerd was both a military and administrative stronghold. Archaeological evidence shows the site once featured a vast moat and three circular defense walls — a model later echoed across the empire. Today, it remains the best-preserved circular Sassanian city and offers a rare window into the empire’s urban planning evolution.
The city is also referenced in Ferdowsi’s ‘Shahnameh’ which recounts, “When he raised the city’s wall… they named it Darabgerd.”
Darab County sits in the southeast corner of Fars Province, neighboring Hormozgan.