Sardar Castle in Bukan City, 1868 AD.
Sardar Castle is located in the city of Bukan in the Mokryan region, east of Kurdistan.
This castle is also called (Bukan Castle) and (Aziz Khan Mokri Castle). The history of the construction of Sardar Castle dates back to the year 1868 AD, and it was built by the Kurdish Emir Muqriyani Aziz Khan Mukri 1792 AD - 1870 AD,the Emir of the Kurdish Emirate of Muqryan and the Commander-in-Chief of the Qajar Army during the era of the Qajar King (Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar), Sardar Castle was used at the beginning of its construction as a command fortress for the Kurdish Emirate of Mokryan, and later as a residence for the family of the Kurdish Emir Mokryan Aziz Khan Mokryan and his genetic descendants, until the end of Emirate of Mokryan in the year 1926 AD,
Where this castle was used as the seat of rule of the Emirate of Mokryan, by the princes who took over the rule of the Emirate after Prince Aziz Khan Mokryan,and they are: Prince Saif al-Din Khan Mokri 1870 AD - 1890 AD. And Prince Muhammad Hussein Khan Mokri 1890 AD - 1914 AD. And Prince Ali Khan Mokri 1914 AD - 1926 AD, And the princes of the Kurdish Emirate of Mokryan bore the title Sardar, meaning the governor. And the princes who inherited the rule of the Principality of Mokryan after Prince Aziz Khan Mokryan added parts to the castle and expanded it. The architectural style of Sardar Castle in the city of Bukan is a traditional Kurdish architectural style.
The castle is 13 to 15 meters high and 30 meters long. It is located on a historical hill estimated to be 3,000 years old. Sardar Castle was mentioned in the travel diaries of many of those who visited the city of Bukan and the Emirate of Mokryan and East Kurdistan, such as: Mirza Muhammad Mahallati, Menorsky, Gilbert Gerard, Ali Akbar Khan Mukhtadar Sinjabi, Bahman Karimi, Muhammad Reza Khalil Iraqi, Hajj Ali Razam Ara, Mustafa Barzani. And Gilbert Gerard wrote on March 18, 1881 AD, about Sardar Castle in the city of Bukan, saying: An old castle can be seen above the village of Bokan, which is ruled by the hospitable man Saif al-Din Khan Mokri, and he recently traveled to Saugblag. The small covered market has a building under construction. There is a water spring next to a mosque through which a large river full of fish passes. As for the Persian-language Qajar newspaper (Faris), it wrote in one of its issues issued in the year 1904 AD: There is in Bokan a wonderful castle inhabited by Muhammad Husayn Khan Sardar he is the son of Saif al-Din Khan Mokri the chief of the Mokri tribe, the tribe has about 9000 warriors armed relatively with full strength, Sardar can summon about 3000 people within hours, with 400 Bokan is located in the middle of the Tatahu River, with beautiful trees and unique logistics. After the fall of the Kurdish Mokryan Emirate in the year 1926 AD, and the fall of eastern Kurdistan including the Mokryan Emirate under the control of the Iranian Pahlavi rule, in the year 1928 AD, Sardar Castle in the city of Bukan was used as a building for an elementary school called Shapur School, Then it was used as a building for the post office department. In the year 1936 AD, Sardar Castle was half destroyed, and it was restored in the year 1943 AD, Then the castle was used between the years 1946 AD - 1972 AD during the days of the Iranian Pahlavi rule as a police station and a school. After the fall of the Iranian Pahlavi rule in the year 1979 AD, and the fall of eastern Kurdistan including the city of Bukan under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian military forces of Basij between the years 1981 AD - 2018 AD took Sardar Castle as their headquarters, which made led to the distortion of the historical monuments of the castle, In early 2006 AD, the Bokan municipality department of the Iranian authorities caused severe damage to Sardar Castle and its outskirts, through the construction of a street in the lower alleys of the Sardar Castle area, And in the year 2018 AD, the Cultural Heritage Office in the city of Bukan announced the restoration of the castle.[1] [2]