SAEDNEWS: Babak Castle, Kaleybar, East Azerbaijan Province, crowns the rugged Arasbaran highlands — a millennia-old mountain stronghold famed for its dramatic cliffs, panoramic lookout and the two-decade resistance of the rebel leader Babak Khorramdin!
Babak Khorramdin’s castle is one of East Azerbaijan’s notable sights and among Iran’s best-known historic fortresses. The site holds many stories, which is why it attracts history enthusiasts. Babak Castle sits in the Arasbaran region and was home to the famed commander Babak Khorramdin for about twenty years. During that time, Babak and his followers — aided by the security and strength of the fortress — were able to baffle Arab armies in the mountains, mounting surprise attacks from the stronghold.
Babak Castle, also called Dezh-e Babak or Qal’eh-ye Jomhur, is one of Kaleybar’s most important attractions in East Azerbaijan Province. A key feature of the fortress is the deep gorges surrounding it — between 400 and 600 metres — that embrace the castle.
One of Babak Castle’s chief charms is the sweeping view it commands of the surrounding countryside. That wide panorama made the fortress an excellent lookout point. The route to the castle can be challenging, but that is precisely its reward: when you finally reach Babak Castle, you forget how arduous the climb was and, like me, you stand for many minutes mesmerised by the view.
From the entry path, as you draw near, you’ll see how small the surrounding world becomes beside the castle. Kaleybar is about three kilometres from Babak Castle and the approach is tough; still, anyone who wants to reach a new beauty must be willing to brave a hard path.
The castle was constructed in three tiers, each immediately beyond the main entrance. After passing the main hall you encounter seven rooms around it; these open onto a central hall. On the eastern side of the fortress there are further rooms and cisterns. The roofs of these cisterns are barrel-shaped or groin-vaulted. The cisterns were built using an impermeable sarooj mortar. During autumn and winter they fill with rain and snow and thus provide a reliable water source in summer — crucial if the castle were besieged.
In the north-west part of the site there used to be a continuous stairway, but now only traces survive — parts of the stair emerge from the earth. Those exposed fragments are the only routes that allow access to the upper sections of the fortress.
One of the archaeological finds at Babak Castle is pottery decorated with patterns. From these designs some scholars have suggested the site may have been occupied in the 6th and 7th centuries. Copper coins have also been recovered, but due to age and damage the inscriptions are unreadable, so it is difficult to date the castle precisely.
No documentary evidence survives for the castle’s construction in the pre-Islamic era, but it appears that a people from the southwestern Caspian region lived here in the Achaemenid period. Some believe this group were the Talysh, who at times were at odds with the Achaemenids.
Babak Khorramdin’s fortress was probably built in the Parthian or Sassanian eras. Some experts make this suggestion based on architectural style, which resembles the Sassanian structures of the Solomon complex; however, there is no definitive proof. Given its defensive character, a number of scholars incline to a Parthian association.
The fortress was rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and alterations were made that still show after some 1,200 years. It remains unclear what the castle’s original function was, or why coins were hidden in certain parts of the fortress. One striking fact about Babak Castle is the ingenuity of its builders: the site is located such that it could withstand even an attack by an army of a hundred thousand.
The difficult approaches, high altitude and deep gorges made the fortress naturally defensible. The terrain is so inaccessible that many attackers would perish on the route and those who reached the vicinity could only fire arrows from a distance — and, by misfortune for them, those arrows rarely reached the castle.
Many legends surround Babak Khorramdin, though they are often biased. Because Babak fought Arab forces and inflicted defeats upon them, some Muslim chroniclers tried to tarnish his image by propagating strange tales. In effect, those historians deliberately worked to portray Babak in an unfavourable light.
The Babak movement had popular support among ordinary people, yet interestingly it did not have the backing of local landlords and notables. The reason for this reticence was that Babak sought to revive Mazdakite beliefs, which were unacceptable to Muslim elites. As a result, those elites did their best to discredit Babak by spreading far-fetched stories.
One tale about Babak’s childhood relates that his mother once left home to look for her son. She found him in a meadow, naked and sleeping beneath a tree; blood supposedly flowed from his chest hair. But when Babak woke there was no trace of blood.
Numerous legends claim that in his twenty-year uprising Babak and his followers killed hundreds of thousands of chiefs and hundreds of thousands of Muslims. Another story says a certain executioner captured one of Babak’s men and boasted of killing 36,000 Muslims. These numbers are part of the folklore that has grown around Babak over centuries.
Babak Castle has three storeys, each containing various parts. Below I describe these sections so you can become better acquainted with Babak Castle, one of Kaleybar’s principal sights.
There is only one approach to Babak Castle: the main gate. After passing the ramparts you enter a narrow passage — a steep 100-metre stretch — which leads to the castle’s main entrance. The fortress proper stands immediately beyond this threshold. The approach includes many steps, narrow in width, so that in many places only one person can pass at a time.
On the four sides of Babak Castle there are towers and ramparts, giving the fortress an excellent view of the surroundings; because of the castle’s height, sentries posted on the towers could observe a great distance. These lookout facilities are among the reasons the fortress remained safe from enemies.
I searched extensively for information about the castle’s main hall; everywhere I found only the hall’s name and the note that it is surrounded by seven rooms that serve it like vigilant attendants. The main hall opens onto all those rooms, so from the hall you can enter any of them.
On the eastern side of the fortress there are several cisterns with interesting architecture. They were built using sarooj mortar to make them watertight. The roofs of the cisterns are barrel-shaped or groin-vaulted, robust and solid in appearance. When the region receives rain and snow in autumn and winter, water collects in these cisterns to supply the fortress in summer and during sieges.
Most of the castle’s steps have been lost and only fragments still peek from the soil. These remaining steps are the only route that allows visitors to reach the upper parts of the fortress. In winter, because of cold and snow, the steps become slippery, so be cautious.
Babak Castle was designed so that it has only a single main entrance, guarded by watchmen who would ascend the towers to spot any approaching figure. The fortress stands on a summit surrounded by gorges 400 to 600 metres deep. Given these gorges, no route other than the main entrance remains — which is why I say the builder was shrewd.
The approach to the fortress is so difficult that some attackers perished on the way; those who did arrive found arrows raining down upon them from the fortress. In short, the architect of the castle knew how to create a secure, almost inaccessible refuge.
On each of the four sides, at the natural rock buttresses of the mountain, cylindrical watchtowers rise. The elevation of the site and the location of these sentry towers meant guards could see for many kilometres in every direction.
Stone, brick, sarooj mortar and timber were the materials used in building and restoring Babak Castle. One of the architectural highlights is the three-storey structure. Thanks to stone stairways, all three levels were accessible and each contained rooms. The durability of the fortress is such that, although built more than a thousand years ago, it still stands.
The route to the castle is tough, so I recommend wearing proper sports shoes or hiking boots. Babak Castle is far from settlements, so take some food and water with you. If you plan to visit in winter, be aware the cold can numb your fingers and freeze your face. Bring warm clothes that are lightweight and do not restrict movement. The castle sits in a mountainous zone and the nights are cold; if you intend to stay overnight near the fortress, bring a suitable tent and adequate warm clothing.
There are very limited services at the camp that marks the start of the hiking route: a small shop, a camping area, drinking water and basic toilets.
Babak Castle lies in a mountainous region with harsh, snowy winters. The best time to visit is during the warmer months, although because the approach is taxing you should avoid extreme heat. For pleasant conditions I recommend visiting between April and early June, and again from late August to October.
April–June and late August–October are also the busiest periods for visitors, as most tourists choose those months. If, like me, you prefer to avoid crowds, consider visiting in autumn before it gets very cold.
Babak Castle is in East Azerbaijan Province, Kaleybar—about 3 kilometres from Kaleybar.
There are three main routes to Babak Castle; one of the best passes by a nearby camp, allowing you to drive to the camp and then walk to the main stairway.
All three approaches converge at the stairway gateway.
Route One: The tourist camp at Darreh-si, three kilometres from Kaleybar, is one access route. You can drive from Kaleybar to the camp, but you must continue on foot. When you reach the stairway gateway, climb the steps to the fortress.
Route Two: A common route passes the Babak Hotel. From there you must ascend roughly 1,000 steps to reach the stairway gateway; this walk takes about three hours.
Route Three: From Kaleybar head toward Babak Hotel; six kilometres past the hotel turn right onto a side track. This route has many ups and downs and is best tackled with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. After reaching a nomad camp you will face around an hour’s walk to the main stairway.
If the journey so far has pleased you, let me say I am especially moved by the part of the story in which Babak Khorramdin — with only twenty companions — held back Arab advances and harried them with sudden raids. The fortress, with its austere beauty and rugged strength, will capture you at first sight.
The approach is beautiful — seeing beats hearing — and the castle glitters like a precious gem on the heights of Arasbaran. It is one of Kaleybar’s most important attractions.
Below, we will view a series of images of this beautiful fortress together.
