Abstract
Sistan is a plain land in east of Iran and today an extensive part of it is located in Afghanistan. In Parthian period, the region was an important natural, economic and religious zone and the homestead of one of the greatest Parthian families, Soren Pahlav. In Sassanid period, Sistan was called Sakestan and due to its special region, it was ruled by the Sassanian prince Sakan shah who ruled upon vast Koost of Nimrooz. Sassanians not only centralized the political power but also they used Zoroastrianism as the official religion of the country and severely defended it so that state and religion became two inseparable brothers which support and uphold each other. At the commence of the new period, Sistan was attended by the Sassanian monarchies because of the new religious basements of it. In the few texts remained of Sassanid period Sistan is introduced as a very significant region. In Khorde Avesta, Atashbahram, in the twentieth paragraph, after three magnificent fires, fire of Karkooy is alluded (Doostkhah, 1375: 607). In Bondahesh also fire of Karkooy is mentioned related to the three magnificent fires (Faranbaghdadegi, 1369). In Islamic narratives Karkooyeh is known as a private temple of Garshasb and the author of “The History of Sistan” writes: Zoroastrians know it as a holy place and believe that Garshasb left his divine spirit there and made it a holy place by it.
Keywords: Sistan, Zoroastrianism, Fire Temple, Karkooy, Ancient relics

Introduction
The remnants of Karkooyeh or Karkooshah fire temple is twenty kilometers in west-north of Zaranj and in the left of it there is a branch of Hirmand river near Miyankangi region. This ancient building is interrelated to the culture and history of the region and the identity of it is still remained firm. The people of the region know Karkooyeh fire temple very well and narrate lots of tales about it.
Some of European scholars and counselors like colonel Yeat in 1894 have visited this place. Sir Percy Siecs in 1899 considered this place as the capital and the main temple of Kiyaniyan and in 1905 Georg Peter Tit, the topographer of Gold Smith team studied the detailed architectural features of it.
The geographers of the first decades of the Islamic period considered Karkoo a noteworthyregion and Ibne Khordadiyeh in third century H.gh counted it as a county of Sistan. Before the occupation of Sistan by Arabs, Karkooy and Targhoon fire temples were extensively important temples. Arabs stifled the temples and suffocated the holy fires. Most probably the Muslim Arabs neglected the little temples and suffocated the great and important ones to evince the predominance of Islam (Tit, 1362: 122).
Among the geographers the most amount of information was presented by Simaye-Karkooyeh, Zakariya Mohammad Ibne Ghazvini who lived in seventh century the AH. But it is not clear whether he describes the structure as it is in his age or he narrates it from what he heard from the ancestors: “Karkooyeh is an old city of Sajestan. There are two domes in it. The people believe that they belong to the age of Rostam and at the top of them there are two curved horns like the ones of a thorn. They are the wonder of the land from the age of Rostam. Under the domes there are two temples for Magians. It seems that they put up somewhere as a temple near their houses and the fire never suffocates there. And there are servants for these temples who kindle the fire by turn and sit up far from it while covering their noses and mouths and silver tongs in their hands put wood in fire and before it subside put another one in it and this is the biggest temple for magians.”(Ghazvini, 1371: 321)
According to the local studies, some cultural materials like tiles were obtained from this region to estimate the history and record of establishment in this ancient and religious land. After the typology tests and sorting them, they were studied by comparison. It shows that Tepe Karkoo was established from the Parthian period and it went on till eighth century AH (Musavi Haji, Mehrafarin, 1386: v.3). There is nothing remained of the Sassanid fire temple but from the structure of this period (the main building of the temple) some parts of a brick wall is visible; the other parts of it are under ground and the remnants of the Islamic period. Detailed study of it and drawing the outline of the plan of the fire temple is possible only through later archeological excavations.

Conclusion
Natural factors like wind, rain, severe sunshine, flood and especially human beings always had a destructive effect upon the structure.
Illegal excavations are a main reason for the destruction of the establishment. These excavations which are done by smugglers and predators of the cultural legacy cause severe destruction of the temple.
Deep roots of Zoroastrianism in this region, wealth and strong settlement of it, the strategic situation and presence of the prince, caused the establishment of such a huge and important fire temple in this region. According to the texts and books of the historians and geographers of the first decades of the Islamic period it seems that Karkooy village of today is the same Karkooy (Sassanid holy fire temple) which is mentioned in Khorde Avesta and Bondahesh and the town which is talked about in the books of Ibne Hoghal, Maghdasi, Estakhri and Hamdollah Mostofi and was alluded to lots of time in the historical texts.


 

Abstract
Khozestan and Ilam, the two geographically important provinces have always been under consideration by all reigning powers of all history in Iran. The attention was not limited to one or two governments and the fortune was with them even written history due to the suitable geographical situation and the shared borders with Mesopotamia. Because of political, religious, ethnic, etc. reasons, the power epicenter stayed out of the southwestern part of Iran’s plateau in the time of Sassanid and Achaemenian for example. Sassanid, over four centuries of power in a vast area in west of Asia, had an especial interest toward the Persian territory. Significant cities of the time, such as Estakhr, Goor and Shaporkhoreh were established in this very region. The extra ordinary number of reliefs, common wealth buildings and fire temples (Chartaqi/ groin vaulted buildings) existing in the area is a witness to Persia’s distinct status. In this paper, based on historical and geographical documents and writings (inscribed between the 3rd to 9th centuries), groin vaulted buildings (Chartaqi) and many fire temples of this area, the mentioned attention has been taken under study. The research method is historical descriptive and through studying the literature and archeological documents (groin vaulted fire temples) and the study on the progress of groin vault buildings from south to north approaching the ancient Mesopotamian borders, and the references in most of historical documents to numerous fire temples of the area, it can be concluded that this piece of land had the equal value of the whole country to Sassanid and this field needs more excavation as far as the Sassanid are concerned.
Keywords: Sassanid, Groin Vaults, Fire Temples, Khozestan, Ilam, Peshtkooh in Lorestan.

Introduction
The biggest part of attention of the ruling perspective, spending huge budget of improvement, building magnificent cities, designing and building roads and buildings in Sassanid era, was devoted to the central territory, meaning Fars province. Founding big cities such as Goor (Firuz Abad), Shapurkhoreh (Bishapur next to Kazerun) and Estakhr signifies that the special attention being paid from the administrations to this area. Their predecessors, Achaemenian, had made their home and place to stay in Persepolis and Pasargadae. The area under study was taken to consideration with following Achaemenian but such causes such as keeping the throne away from western borders to maintain more safety, keeping more control over Persian Gulf and religious, racial and tribal motives were the main reasons of this attitude.
In the following study, the two sites of Khozestan and Ilam are scrutinized geographically and archeologically because of being situated in the same geographical crest. Although two zones of Islam Abad Qarb and Gilan Qarb, both located in Kermanshah province were forgone in order to establish a locale. Examination criterion has been set due to political divisions of the country. The study time expand is the Sassanid period and the population expand is the groin vaulted buildings (Chartaqi) as a practically religious structure. 

The Fire Temples and Groin Vaulted Buildings in Khozestan
Sim Band Chartaqi: situated in north east of Masjed Soleiman and on the road to Shahid Abbaspour dam.
Keikavus Chartaqi: located in North West of Behbahan within 20 kilometers distance in a village of the same name. The exterior and interior (dome) had been about 12 meters in height. The building’s height is about 10.5 meters and the walls’ thickness –being made of stone and mortar- is 2.40 meters. 
Kherabad Fire Temple: situated in east of Behbahan by 15 kilometers, it is overlooking the vast field of Behbahan. The bridge over the river is not visible from the distance.

The Fire Temples and Groin Vaulted Buildings in Ilam
Dare Shahr Chartaqi: In Seimareh valley, west of the archeological site which the locals call Plaster hills which is the progressive form of ancient buildings. (Lakpour, 2005: 86-127)
Julian Chartaqi: The remains of the ancient city, known as Julian in the mountain sides of Abdanan, one of the southern cities in Ilam.
Siahgal Ivan Fire Temple: It is located with a distance of 25 kilometers away from Ivan in Zarfeh, near the river Gangir and among the farming fields of the local people.
Moshgab (Sarableh) Fire Temple: in the ancient city of Sirvan or Shirvan in Moshkan Sarableh within 3 kilometers distance of Sarableh city.
Molab Chartaqi: This building which has been registered recently, is located in the east of Molab viledge with 5 meters in height.
Qajar fire temple in Dare shahr: This is one of the ruined buildings of Ilam which Wandburg introduced for the first time in 1977 in an article called the Chartaqi in Poshtkoh Lorestan in Iranica Antiqua and covered some more groined vaulted buildings of the region as well.
Tablkhaneh Chartaqi or Naqarkhaneh or Posh Erisht: This is built in a manner that the angels are oriented to agree with the compass. In 20 meters distance of the north east, the remains of some platforms are visible which can be signs of fire temples and holy fire.
Mayee Mah Chartaqi: Pashtil, is what remains probably from a compliment to a chartaqi. The dome and ceiling are almost gone and very little of the columns are left.
Koshk Qanifar Chartaqi: This one, also called Chahar Kaleh or Chahar pa is located within the distance of 12 kilometers Imamzadeh peer. It is in the form of square with the upper side of the dome, completely destroyed is currently now with 3 meters of height. The total height is about 7 meters.
Mehr-Varpeel Fire Temple: This construction was analyzed and studied in 1969 by Wanderburg during the fifth archeological excavations. It is situated on top of a hill, in 8 kilometer distance to the south of Mehr village.  
Changineh Fire Temple: It is located in the center of a village in 22 kilometers of south east of Ilam, called Chahnjiha. It is not a complete square and each side has a dimension of its own.
Se-pa Fire Temple: Wonderburg studied Ivan from Sartang to Daruneh in his studies in 1970 and found a fire temple called Sepaa.

Conclusion
The present study has been conducted and compiled base on a rather lengthy report on historical data and the remained buildings with groin vaults from the Sassanid period known by many writings as fire temples. The aim and purpose was to change directions in Sassanid studies from Fars province to other directions. West of Iran, especially the southern parts as centers of gravity for the Sassanid with other reigning classes of the west and this area was constantly and seriously threatened by them. The Sassanid could not ignore nor neglect the destructions from the west and insult on its total authority. Thus, the use of religious buildings and related ones was taken into consideration as a serious measure. This is just but some of the existing monuments left in the area and the more western provinces such as Kermanshah are added, the more significance is added to the area during the Sassanid period.
But the west and south west, located in the western borders of the kingdom, also enjoyed an imperative and strategic state as well. The area that is today called the provinces of Khozestan and Ilam in south west and Kermanshah in the west witnessed a great deal of constant upheaval between Iran and West (Greece and Rome) in a manner that just with the two kingdoms of “ASHKANI” and Rome in this area the conflict lasted about 300 years. That is why they (the Sassanid) could not ignore this very area. Constructing the fire temple in Izeh which is mentioned in a lot of historical and geographical documents is one significant example of such. If from the southwest crest to northwest, one can be taken into consideration and study, the Chartaqi built in Poshtkoh in Lorestan to Iran and Dare Shahr, to south and Khozestan, denotes the geopolitical importance of the region for Sassanid.

Abstract
Gour, the first Sasanian capital, was founded by Ardeshir-e Bābakān, the founder of Sasanian empire. The extensive archaeological and historical studies have been done on this city so far, which has led to the identification of valuable archaeological evidence. One of the most important archeological evidence obtained during the excavations of this historical city is a tomb with Oval-shaped burials, that was identified in the western part of citadel. The discovery of this tomb in this part of the city near the fire temple surprised the researchers. The purpose of this study is to analyze the identity of the tombs. Gathering the data has been done by documentation and field studies, and the research method is descriptive-analytical. According to the studies and beliefs of scholars and archaeologists, the vicinity of the burial, which contains impure remains of the corpses (nasu), is not compatible with the fire temple where the sacred fire was kept and on the other hand is not in line with the common teachings of Zoroastrianism. The main questions of the research are: Is the construction of the tomb a new burial model in Sasanian period or is it an adaptation of an older model? Were the tombs or coffins of the tomb used to hold the bodies? Or were the ossuaries, where the bones were kept, after the performance of the Zoroastrian tradition “exposure”? Study of the historical and religious texts about the Sasanians and their predecessors and related archaeological finds suggests that the proximity of tombs as the site of unclean elements to the fire temple as a center for the preservation of the sacred fire is a new burial pattern, probably in early Sasanian period in Gour, based on the ancient Achaemenid tradition. This burial pattern continued in the middle of the Sasanian period in another way in the form of a ossuaries next to some fire temples.
Keywords: Achaemenids, Sasanian, Tomb, Ossuary, Fire Temple, Burial Pattern.

Introduction
Ardeshir was thinking of devising a new plan for the political, social and religious structure of the country, in consequence of the defeat of the last Parthian king and the construction of the city of Ardeshir Khowreh. By planning Irānshahr, he intended to implement Avestan norms such as class structures and the concentration of power and formalization of the Zoroastrian religion, which led to religious changes, in the territory of Iran.
Apart from the historical knowledge, the archeological excavations in the city of Ardeshir Khowreh, led to the recognition of new aspects of Sasanian culture and civilization that are sometimes compatible with historical narratives and sometimes cause ambiguities. Understanding the architecture of government and religious buildings is one of the important aspects of this knowledge. The formalization of the Zoroastrian religion at the beginning of the Sasanians, which was one of the clear messages of Ardashir, is materialized by the construction of large fire temples in the citadel of Ardeshir Khowreh. Praying and honoring the sacred fire in the fire temple is one of the prominent manifestations of the Zoroastrian religion, which was performed to sanctify the four elements of water, wind, earth, and fire.
What surprised the scholars during the excavation in the western part of the citadel, and it has been seen as contrary to the teachings of the Zoroastrianism, was the discovery of a tomb near the fire temple of Ardeshir Khowreh. According to Zoroastrian beliefs and Avestan texts, the human body after death due to the penetration of the devil (demon) in it is unclean and cannot be buried and the body should be exposed to the air or the “exposure“ and their bones finally in Ossuaries (daxmag) should be located at high altitudes.
The location of this tomb in the center of Ardeshir Khowreh and more strangely, near the fire temple and the sacred fire, and the proximity of clean and unclean elements, was a challenging archaeological question that surprised everyone, and no one had a clear answer. Now, in this research, the author is going to try to give a proper answer to the question of what and why this tomb was built in the middle of Ardeshir Khowreh and its vicinity by re-reading religious texts and opinions of old historians and new scholars and the opinion of the excavators of this tomb about Iranian religious thoughts and death. Let us find the fire temple and make hypotheses with a historical-analytical and archaeological approach to a comparative re-reading of the relationship between the Zoroastrianism and this burial pattern in the Sasanian period and before them.

Conclusion
The issue of death, beliefs of the world after death, and burial traditions in the Sasanian period is one of the most controversial issues that requires further reflection on historical sources and archaeological evidence even in pre-Sasanian times. The results of archaeological excavations in recent years, clarify some ossuaries and burials near and sometimes in a place connected to the fire temple, have been reported from some other fire temples, which to some extent pave the way for further research.
From the extinction of the Achaemenids to the beginning of the Sasanians, the Zoroastrianism survived without the help of central and official organizations. Because the Zoroastrianism was preserved and transmitted by local imperial dynasties and different clerical groups, a variety of beliefs were undoubtedly common in its thoughts. Although historical sources indicate that the Zoroastrian religion was chosen as the official religion during the Sasanian period and from the time of Ardashir I, but in fact the Zoroastrian religion was never uniform in the Sasanian period and this issue is evident in the rituals and burial ceremonies. Accordingly, with study the archaeological evidence and Pahlavi sources, it was determined that Ardashir I, after gaining power, sought to restore governmental and religious relations to the old tradition and rule of the first, the Achaemenid (pre-Parthian) dynasty. The tomb of Ardeshir Khowreh and its burial pattern was a new model of the ancient tradition that was adapted from the tomb of Darius I in a new way in the time of Ardashir I.
The ceremonial placement of corpses in oval-shaped coffins with lids in a painted room near the fire temple of Ardeshir Khowreh was the same tradition that Darius the Achaemenid had observed in his rock tomb, although Darius’s tomb was located in the heart of the rocks near the Ka’ba-ye Zartosht. The fire temple was built, but the tomb of Ardeshir Khowreh in the heart of the city was built on the ground, but with the same look and tradition, next to the huge fire temple. Therefore, it can be said that this burial tradition in the early Sasanian period was a new pattern of the ancient tradition, which is probably due to a deliberate return by Ardashir I to the old Iranian traditions or the older Zoroastrian religion in the time of Darius.
It should be noted that the Parthian catacomb tradition can also have been influential in the construction of the tomb of Ardeshir Khowreh. This burial pattern appears in tombs near fire temples in the early Sasanian period, such as the city of Ardeshir Khowreh and a similar example in Firouz Abad fire temple, was abolished with the rise of Kartir as a fanatical priest. However, according to the identification of Bandiyan and Palangerd fire temples, it can be said that from the middle of the Sasanian period, with the decline of the fanatical priest, this burial tradition continued with new pattern. For example, placing the ossuary instead of placing the body in the coffin. The tradition of burying the dead next to fire temples continues in the cultural life of Iran, an example of which is the burial that is performed today next to the fire temple of Firouz Abad. Also, burial next to shrines, which according to many scholars, many of them have been erected on the foundation of ancient fire temples in terms of location and archaeological evidence, is a continuation of this tradition of the Sasanian period.

Abstract
Mehr-Narseh is known as one of the most important character of the middle Sassanid era. Based on the written historical sources, the construction of some buildings has been attributed to him, among which the most outstanding ones are five fire-temple monuments built in the southwest of Fars. Although various theories have been put forward regarding the location of the structures, by far, the nature and qualitative value of them are unknown. In this study firstly, the political-religious personality of this Sassanid minister in various ways was investigated, then besides recognizing their religious nature and value via analysis of the sources related to Mehr-Narseh fire temples, the Chahar-Taqis attributed to him was also studied, according to the current theories,  so as to reveal some features of  the religious architecture of Sassanid era. This is a fundamental or basic research, and the nature and method of which is historical and descriptive-analytical. The data is also collected from library and fieldwork. Based on the results of this study, it seems that the fire temples built by Mehr-Narseh included two separate types and four fire temples attriuted to him located in Abruwān area were related to family fire meaned “Dādgāh”. According to the field studies and similarity, the previous theories can be criticized and a new group of religious temple of Sasanian period in Farashband can be introduced that contains one or several fire temples, which are attributed to Mehr-Narseh. It seems that these kinds of fire temples have a complex plan with additional architectural and probably had a number of attendants to do the work related to the fire temple. Overall, this research can provide a correct understanding of the fire temples of “Dādgāh” Fire during the Sassanid period. This also provides a new grouping manner for such these temples and can be known as a pattern for reviewing of usage and religious value of other similar Chahar-Taqis.
Keywords: Mehr-Narseh, Fire Temple, Chahar-Taqi, Sassanid Era, Dādgāh Fire, Farashband.

Introduction
One of the important points mentioned in the historical resources is the information regarding the personality of Mehr-Narseh, as one of the significant figures of the middle Sassanid period, who built several fire temples and made other services in several other fire temples, which has been attributed to him by the order of the Sassanid emperors. Discovering the fire temples constructed under the order of Mehr-Narseh has been one of the most interesting study topics related to the religious architectures of the Sassanid period during the last century. There are different theories regarding the probable location of the fire temples attributed to Mehr-Narseh, which mainly include the region between the current Kazerun, Farashband, Dehram, and Firouzabad. This article attempts to study the fire temples attributed to Mehr-Narseh from a different perspective. In the first step, we study and explore Mehr-Narseh character to determine his political position in the middle of the Sassanid period and have an idea of his religious position in the system. The second step is to survey the nature and characters of the fire temples attributed to him from in terms of the quality value and their positions, to have a final analysis of their architectural complexities. The main question of this study is the religious quality of the fire temples attributed to Mehr-Narseh and what kind of fire was kept in the fire temples attributed to him? Also, based on the fires kept in these fire temples, what is the level of architectural complexity of the mentioned structures? The proposed hypothesis for this question is that it is possible that the four fire temples of Mehr-Narseh were containing the fire of “Dādgāh” and the fire temple of Jereh contained the fire of Ādarān. It is also assumed that the Dādgāh fore temples of Mehr-Narseh had additional spaces in the form of small architectural complexes. Based on the purpose of the study, this is basic research and from the perspective of nature and methodology, the study is conducted via the historical and descriptive-analytical method. The data collection method was library study and fieldwork. Initially, the political and religious figure of  Mehr-Narseh was analyzed and studied, with the help of the written sources related to him or the fire temples attributed to him, to reach understanding about the nature of his fire temples through a comparison between his character and the characteristics of the fire temples attributed to him. The next step was the archeological surveys in the fieldwork alongside the library researches and evaluating the archeological documents and reports about the proposed Chahar-Taqs for the location of the fire temples attributed to Mehr-Narseh, from an architectural perspective to finally reach a suitable point of view about the architectural and religious quality of the fire temples attributed to Mehr-Narseh.

Discussion
According to Pahlavi and Islamic sources, Mehr-Narseh, the minister of the Middle Sassanid period, has attained his highest religious official during the reign of Bahram V, as the honored titles of the servant of the two fire temples, since in the “Matigan-i Hazar Datistan” there is no mention of him being resented by Bahram V. During the reign of Yazdgerd II and Pirouz, he and his wife were sentenced to be the “Ādurwaxšīh” or tending the fire of the temple fire, due to a sin that some researchers associated with Zurvanism. The religious dedication of Mehr-Narseh resulted in the construction of several public buildings in the provinces of Ardashir-Khwarrah and Shapur –Khwarrah and also four religious temples on his ancestral lands for himself and his three sons, which were run by his heirs until the first centuries of Islamic period; these fire temples were shires dedicated to the “Atash-e Dadgah”. Based on the archeological findings and the presented theories, the remains of the three Chahar-Taq of “Malik”, “Tall-i Djangi”, and “Khurma yak” can be identical with one of the four fire temples belonging to Mehr-Narseh, as well as to match the information provided in written historical sources. Meanwhile, the site of “Pir-e Jeyran” may also be considered as the fourth fire temple of Mehr-Narseh in Abruwān. Based on the comparison studies of the archaeological evidence and the written sources, it can be concluded that during the Sassanid period, the shrines associated with the fire Dādgāh, could be very magnificent according to the financial conditions and social status of its founder and have donations such as gardens and farmland, and their revenues were spent for the happiness of the soul of the founder. Such fire temples were also run by a person named “Sallar” or the guardian who was chosen by the founder of the fire temple, and this responsibility was transferable to their heirs. The existence of such a title could indicate that other people also served in these private fire temples, and therefore this category of family fire temples, like the fire temples associated with the “Behrām” and “Ādarān” fires, could have hierarchical complexities in terms of the number of servers.

Conclusion
Based on the results of this study, it seems that the fire temples built by Mehr-Narseh included two separate types and four fire temples attriuted to him located in Abruwān area were related to family fire meaned “Dādgāh”. According to the field studies and similarity, the previous theories can be criticized and a new group of religious temple of Sasanian period in Farashband can be introduced that contains one or several fire temples, which are attributed to Mehr-Narseh. It seems that these kinds of fire temples have a complex plan with additional architectural and probably had a number of attendants to do the work related to the fire temple. Overall, this research can provide a correct understanding of the fire temples of “Dādgāh” Fire during the Sassanid period. This also provides a new grouping manner for such these temples and can be known as a pattern for reviewing of usage and religious value of other similar Chahar-Taqis. Before this, no specific structure for the fire temples related to the fire of “Dādgāh” in the Sassanid period, had been introduced, and the only available evidence was about the findings in “Tull-i Sifidak” which has a cruciform architectural space beside the residential context, as a sacred place for the fire. Based on conducted analyses of this study, it is possible to categorize the different types of religious architectural structures dedicated to the fire of “Dādgāh” into two groups: The first type was the buildings that include a cruciferous space attached to their residential section, that might have simpler procedures and endowments. The second type was complexes including Chahar-Taq and interconnected architectural spaces, which were probably built in the endowed properties of the fire temple, including gardens and agricultural lands, and belonged to people with high social ranks in the Sassanid society, such as Mehr-Narseh fire temples.

Abstract
The historical site of Vigol and Haraskan is located near Aran and Bidgol city in the north of Isfahan province. The archaeological studies of the first season of this site led to the identification of the central part of a fire temple and a small part of its circumambulation corridor. The second season of the archeological exploration in the fire temple was to identify other spaces around the central part of the fire temple. Archaeological studies revealed that since this fire temple was built in the urban context, it is more important than the fire temples that were built away from settlement areas. Beside architectural evidences, religious elements and decorative stucco relics found in this fire temple, the identification of several Sassanid Pahlavi inscriptions on the walls of the eastern circumambulation corridor of the fire temple and two Ostracons added to its importance. Pahlavi inscriptions founded on stucco plaster of the dado which are written in a beautiful handwriting. Unfortunately, except for a few inscriptions, most of them cannot be read and require extensive research. In this research data collection about Vigol fire temple and its Pahlavi inscriptions was done by field methods and linguistic and descriptive-analytical studies. The main questions of the research are: What is the content of Pahlavi inscriptions and what themes do they include? What period of time does the estimated date of writing these inscriptions include? Given to linguistic and archeological studies, the placement of these inscriptions inside the fire temple, the content and of them has religious themes, and according to their writing style, these inscriptions were probably written in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. According to the dating of the inscriptions, it seems that the fire temple of Vigol had a high reputation until the early Islamic centuries and was probably abandoned forever in the first of 9th AD century.
Keywords: Vigol and Haraskan, Fire Temple,Sassanan Period, Islamic Period, Pahlavi Inscription.

Introduction
Vigol ancient site has located in near Aran and Bidgol County in central of Iran (fig1). That is a vast site which covers more than 120 hectares, is currently covered with a thick accumulation of flowing sand. Archaeological excavations in the year 2010 led to the discovery of Sasanian fire temples in the site of Vigol and Hraskan, and the identification of four arches and a part of the circumambulation corridor was done in the first season of the excavation (Javari & MontazerZohouri, 2022). The second season of excavation in Vigol fire temple began in May 2021, which was aimed at identifying other spaces around the central part of the fire temple.
One of the most important evidences is the discovery of several Pahlavi inscriptions on one of dados and two walls which covered with ocher in the western corridor. These inscriptions, in addition to providing some religious statements, help us to identify the existence of the fire temple.In the procedure in the first stage, the found Pahlavi inscriptions were read, and along it, they were compared with archaeological and historical evidences. The number of inscriptions identified in this fire temple are six, but three of them are readable. Also, two pieces of written pottery (Ostracons) were also identified, which are still not readable due to high erosion.
The second season of the excavation of the fire temple was dedicated to the four-arched doorways (char taqi) of the fire temple on the north, east and west sides(fig2). In the next step, the exploration focused on identifying the spaces of ambulatory corridors in the north, east, west, and south sides around the four arches of the fire temple. Archeological studies as well as historical evidence about the fire temples led to the recognition of several architectural phases in this religious building. The second phase of the architecture of this fire temple is related to the porticoes built in the east of the fire temple and the third architectural phase is related to the period of the change of use of this fire temple in the Islamic period, when some spaces of the fire temple, such as the northern and western gates and the gates in the eastern corridor, were blocked with mud brick walls.

Inscriptions
A total of six inscriptions have been found on the walls of the eastern ambulatory corridor in the southern part, of which three inscriptions have been read. Among the six identified inscriptions, two inscriptions are on the eastern wall, one of these two inscriptions is written on the northern dado and the other is written on the upper part of the southern wall on which has an ocher cover. Four other inscriptions were written on the western of the southern part of wall of the eastern circumambulation corridor in front of the inscriptions on the eastern wall which all due to erosion are not readable (Fig3).
Inscription No. 1 located on the western wall is considered the clearest inscription in this collection, which is written on the stucco plaster of the wall with a legible and well-written script that is in five lines(Fig5). The text of the inscription was read by Professor Dieter Weber, a specialist in ancient languages, which is as follows: The text of the first inscription, according to the transliteration and reading of the inscription, has repeated and practiced writing the word “wrote” (nwbšht), which can be fallowed this word in other Pahlavi inscriptions. A number of thin pieces of plaster of this dado of the eastern wall of the Eastern ambulatory Corridor, which contain Pahlavi letters, were identified during the excavation at the side of the floor of this corridor(Table1). These thin gypsum pieces are part of the dado of the wall and contain several connected words and part of a legible and sometimes indistinct letter, which are written on the plaster using black ink with a pen, just like the original upper inscription. In terms of the dating of inscription number one and other inscriptions, according to Professor Weber, who studied this inscriptions, this writing style of Pahlavi script belongs to the late Pahlavi script, in other wise, to the early Islamic period, almost equal to 7th 8th centuries AD are relate.
Inscription No.2, this inscription is written in one line, which probably reflects a religious theme(Fig 8 ). The text of the inscription says: “(donated) to šād ruy baxt Āzarmugh”; in another sense, “it was charmingly presented to Āzarmugh”. This inscription is of special importance because it contains the name of a Zoroastrian priest of this region in the Islamic period, “Āzarmugh”. This evidence also tells about the existence of Zoroastrian religion in the early Islamic centuries in this region and the insistence of the residents of this area to preserve this religion.
‘L š’tlwdbht ’clmwk
ō šadrōybaxt Āzarmōg
Inscription number three, which is written in two lines, is still not possible to provide a consistent reading and translation due to erosion and lack of clarity(Fig 8 ).
1 KR’  MNW wlt’ý Y ZNH … l’d
2 BYN …… k’lyt …-b’k wl t’ý Y ZNH  
The phonetic writing of this inscription is as follows. In this inscription, there are words that include some illegible words and some Huzvariš, which are as follows: (KR’) with the reading of “har”:(evry); (MNW) with the reading of “Ke, Keš”:(which); (BYN) with the reading of  “andar”:(in,inner); and (ZNH) with the reading of “en”:(this).

Conclusion
The discovery of Pahlavi inscriptions in the fire temple of Vigol, in addition to the linguistic and grammar value in the field of linguistic studies and the Pahlavi lines of archaeological importance, is a great help for further understanding of the fire temple of Vigol as a fire temple with the rank of Adran, which is in the rank of local fire temples. The first important point is the place where these inscriptions were written in the fire temple, all of them were written in the eastern circumambulatory corridor in the southern part, on the stucco plaster of the dado  of the western wall and on the ocher cover of the upper part of the eastern wall. It seems that due to the location of the porticoes as places related to religious ceremonies in the east of the fire temple and the role of the Eastern circumambulatory corridor between the interior of the fire temple and the porticoes, this corridor has gained more importance and is a suitable place to insert religious inscriptions. In addition to including statements of religious nature and Zoroastrian tradition, the inscriptions help us in determining the historical and archaeological chronology of this fire temple. Based on the studies, according to the writing method and the type of pen, these inscriptions were written in the early Islamic centuries, which prove the religious persistence of the Zoroastrian community in the region until the early Islamic centuries on the other hand, the inclusion of the name “Azarmug” as a Zoroastrian cleric (Mubed) in the early Islamic centuries in central Iran is of particular importance.

Abstract
A study on religious buildings related to fire such as fire temples and Chahar Taqis in the Sassanid era shows that different factors have been considered in constructing these monuments as an important place for religious and ritualistic ceremonies. One of these factors is deviation from north. In Avesta and other Pahlavi texts such as Vendidad, Khorde Avesta, Gozidaha-ye Zadesparm, Bundahish, Arda Viraf Nameh, Shayest Nashayest, and etc. north direction is the gateway to hell and a direction for Ahriman and the demons. According to this, and considering Avesta’s lack of clarity on temples and fire temples, the purpose of this study is to clarify how strongly religious, rituals and mythical matters have been considered in constructing fire temples. Aiming at answering the question: “Whether deviation from north and building worship places related to fire in ordinal directions, as well as placing interior elements of these worship places during the ceremonies not to face north are related to religious rituals or not?”, it has been tried to clarify the reasons of deviation from the north with a historical-analytical approach and based on archaeological evidence, compliance with Pahlavi texts and today’s Zoroastrian customs. Results of studying religious monuments in the Sassanid era show that, due to the belief of north being a direction for Ahriman and the demons in Zoroastrian rituals and Iranian myths, Mobads’ place during Zoroastrian ceremonies was of utmost importance. It had to avoid north. Also, the majority of the fire temples and palaces have been built in ordinal directions, or the main entrance to the building was built in any other direction except the north. Therefore, it can be assumed that some religious and ritualistic reasons are the reasons why the Sassanians paid extra attention to deviating from the north in building their religious monuments. 
Keywords: Fire Temple, North Direction, Apakhtar, Chahar Taqi, Sassanid Era. 

Introduction
The archaeological evidence indicates that many factors, including the construction of ordinal directions, were taken into account when constructing the fire-related monuments in the Sassanid era. Now, the main question is why should a fire temple or Chahar Taqi be built on ordinal directions? And basically, why it has been taken into account in all fire temples? To find the answer to this question, the religious and ritual texts of the Sassanid era and some of the Zoroastrian written sources can be helpful; thus, relying merely on archaeological evidence cannot answer all questions about religious monuments of the Sassanid era. Thus, achieving a comprehensive perspective in this regard necessitates finding a logical relationship between the archaeological evidence and the Zoroastrian written texts. The religious texts have pointed to the fact that the position of Ahriman and winter is the north direction or Apakhtar. Since Iranians assumed the north direction as the position of winter and had no enemy bigger than winter or north and also considered the coldness as the worst disaster, they likely tended to construct their major buildings in a direction that deviated from the north because this is an important point that had been taken into consideration in religious and ritual ceremonies in Zoroastrianism. By reviewing all of the groupings and classifications presented by researchers on the location and placement of the fire-related monuments across Iran, we can figure out that most of these monuments, either having a circumambulation or without it, either being isolated or being located at the villages or city centers, and either belonging to the early, mid, or late Sassanid era, have been built on ordinal directions, and the deviation-from-north pattern is observable in most of them. In the present work, the Authors attempt to investigate the reasons for the placement of the fire temples and Chahar Taqis on ordinal directions by using a descriptive-analytical method. For this purpose, initially, the religious texts such as Avesta, Vendidad, and other Zoroastrian texts are investigated through the documentary method. Then, relying on the archaeological evidence, the instances of deviation from the north in the fire temples are identified and introduced. On this basis, the fire temples and Chahar Taqis of the Sassanid era across Iran are investigated. Yet, the main analysis in this work is based on some newly found fire temples in the west of Iran, which have provided considerable evidence in this regard. 

Discussion 
Consider the Adur Gushnasp fire temple in Takht-e Suleiman as the criterion for the identification of the Sassanid fire temples architecture style, said that the influence of this type of building plan (especially deviation from the north) can be observed in other fire temples of this era. According to the explorations of the Sassanid fire temples in the west of Iran, most of them have some features in common, one of which is the deviation from north and construction on ordinal directions. For instance, among the three Shiyan, Mil-e Milegeh, and Palang Gerd fire temples, there are similarities in terms of the plan, material, firebases, T-shape platform, and deviation from the north. In Mil-e Milegeh and Palang Gerd, the T-shape platforms are placed between the northern piers while in the Shiyan fire temple; the T-shape platform is placed at the western gate. Despite various theories regarding the function of these platforms, the T-shape platforms have been placed in such a manner as to avoid facing the north while performing or watching the ceremonies. Considering the religious, political, and social changes occurring during the 3 several hundred years of the Sassanid dynasty, it is inferable that the plans of the religious buildings of the early, mid, and late Sassanid era exhibit some changes. However, the construction of religious buildings in ordinal directions is a factor that has been taken into consideration during the whole Sassanid dynasty without being changed. Based on the archaeological evidence we can observe the deviation from the north in the placement of the building of the temples, direction of the building’s entrance, and finally, the placement of the platforms in the interior space of the temples. Some of the reasons for considering the deviation from the north include the consideration of the ritual and mythical issues, the lethality of coldness in Iranian’s culture, confliction between the position of the Iranian and Indian Yazatas and demons, and a significant relationship between the direction and intensity of sunlight and its impact on the formation of spatial patterns of the constructions. 

Conclusion 
Although there is not sufficient information available regarding how the location for fire temples was selected, an investigation and comparison of the Avesta and Zoroastrian written sources with archaeological evidence indicates that some ritual aspects such as considering a deviation from the north have been probably an essential factor when constructing these monuments. The most obvious evidence for the consideration of the deviation from the north can be seen in Adur Gushnasp fire temple, the plan of which has been repeated in most of the fire temples of the Sassanid era, especially in fire temples of the west of Iran such as Shiyan, Mil-e Milegeh, and Palang Gerd. Since the direction to which the Mobads, individuals, and fire were facing has been very important in ritual ceremonies and other purification-related ceremonies, the construction of these monuments in a direction that deviated from the north might be attributed to the religious and mythical instructions. The comparison of the archaeological evidence with written Pahlavi sources and current Zoroastrian ceremonies indicates that the deviation from the north had been taken into consideration while selecting the temple locations, determining the building entrance directions, and the platform placement in the interior spaces of these locations.