Karim Khan Zand Castle in the city of Shiraz, 1766 AD.
Karim Khan Zand Castle, is a famous historical Kurdish castle, located in the city of Shiraz - the center of Fars Province, located in the south of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
It is a royal palace and the place of residence of Karim Khan Zand, the founder of the Kurdish Zand state, which took the city of Shiraz as its capital. The castle of Karim Khan Zand was built between the years 1766 and 1767 AD, by order of the founder of the Kurdish Zand state (Karim Khan Zand). To build the castle, Karim Khan Zand brought in the best architects, sculptors and technicians from all over the country. And because the castle was the residence of (Karim Khan Zand), the architecture of military construction and residential construction was mixed in its design. Where the external walls were constructed, as in the camps, with a height of 15 meters, and a thickness of 3 meters, and they are conical-shaped walls at the bottom and at the top there is a place for the military to settle. The eastern side of the castle is a relatively high wall, as the main entrance is located in the middle of it. And above the entrance gate there is a painting representing (Rustam's struggle with the white genie) made of painted ceramics. The internal parts of the castle consist of the king's private bathroom, the corridor, and the guard room, which is also built behind the wall. In front of the hall, there are two wooden columns in front of which is a four-sided water basin. The materials used in construction are mostly a mixture of molded clay and stones. Interior decorations and decorations, including frames and shelves, are all built of alabaster stone brought from the cities of Yazd and Tabriz, large mirrors from Russia, Anatolia and Europe, The drawings on the ceiling are painted with gold and lapis lazuli, vegetable and mineral colors. The building of the castle consists of buildings with three halls, and the entrance section is for service matters. After the decline of the Kurdish Zand state and the emergence of the Qajar state, the castle (Karim Khan Zand) was utilized as the government house and the place of stability for governors and rulers in Shiraz, and this situation continued until the beginning of the emergence of the Pahlavi state in the year 1925 AD. And during the era of the Pahlavi state, the castle was used between the years (1925 AD - 1941 AD) as a central prison in Shiraz, where the large halls were divided into small rooms for that purpose. The well-known revolutionary (Shamad Lawri) was imprisoned in this majestic castle and then escaped from it, who was revolting against the Pahlavi government. In the year 1971 AD, the castle was handed over to the Iranian National Heritage Department, and maintenance operations began and it was converted into a national museum in the Iranian city of Shiraz.[1] [2]