page_title: Damghan
section_title: Damghan
hierarchical_section_title: Damghan / History / Damghan
caption_attribution_description: فارسی: مسجد و مناره چهل ستون (تاریخانه) English: The Tarikhaneh Temple, also called the Tarikhaneh Mosque, is a Sassanid-era monument located on the southern limit of the present day city of Damghan, Iran. This structure was initially used as a Zoroastrian Fire Temple during the Sassanid period, however, after the fall of the Sassanid Empire it was rebuilt and converted into a mosque in the 8th century. The monument is, thus, known as the oldest mosque in Iran. Tari is the Turkic term for God, and Khaneh is a Persian word meaning house. Therefore, the compound word Tarikhaneh, translates into "the house of God".[wikipedia] This is a photo of a monument in Iran identified by the ID 80
context_page_description: Damghan is the capital of Damghan County, Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 57,331, in 15,849 families. It is situated 342 km east of Tehran on the high-road to Mashad, at an elevation of 1,250 m. It is one of the oldest cities on the Iranian plateau, stretching back 7,000 years, and boasts many sites of historic interest. The oldest of these is Tappeh Hessar, lying to the southeast of the city, which holds the ruins of a castle dating from the Sasanian Empire.
  The Tarikhaneh is one of the oldest mosques in Iran, built as a fire temple during the Sassanid dynasty, it was converted into a mosque after the advent of Islam. There are also many other historical buildings belonging to the Seljuk Empire and other periods. Apart from its historical interest, the city today is mainly known for pistachios and paper almonds with very thin shells.
context_section_description: The name Damghan comes from "deh" and "moghan". "Deh" means village and "moghan" means Magi. This name was given by Zoroastrians, who included such people as Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. Historiographers ascribe the construction of Damghan to Hooshang, Keyumars' great grandson and the founder of the legendary Pishdadi dynasty. The historical town was called Qumis, which was located in a region of the same name, stretching from Sabzevar to Garmsar, from north up to Alborz Mountain Range and to the Lut Desert in the south. Up to the 1st century AD, Damghan was the capital of that great province.
  Damghan was half destroyed in the 856 Damghan earthquake.
  Damghan was an important city in the Middle Ages, but few remnants of that time remain; one is the ruined Tarikhaneh. The city was capital of the province of Qumis (Qoomes), but was destroyed by the Afghan Hotak dynasty in 1723.
caption: Tarikhaneh
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