Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Deptartment of History, Faculty of Letters, University of Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
During the Arab invasion of Iran, Yazdegerd III (r. 632–651) reportedly granted control over Tabaristan to the Dabuyid ruler Gil Gavbara. Gil Gavbara's son, Baduspan I, was granted control over Ruyan in 665, thereby establishing the Baduspanid dynasty, which governed the region until the 1590s. Following the demise of Kayumarth I in 1453, a dynastic conflict ensued, leading to the division of the Baduspanid kingdom between Kayumarth’s sons, Iskandar IV and Ka'us II, in Kojur and Nur respectively. Amidst the strife between these two brothers, the castles of Mazandaran gained significant importance, with their control playing a pivotal role in the survival of each contender. Among these fortresses, Espe-rūz or Espe-rez Castle stands out as one of the most prominent, having long intrigued historians. This article seeks to pinpoint the location of this castle by analyzing historical and archaeological findings discovered in Zanous village, situated in Kojour District of Nowshahr County, Mazandaran province, Iran. When the author was examining the documents of the old families of Tabaristan to write an article about Baduspanan, he came across the name of Espe-rez and the existence of the Espe-rez Castle in the mountains around the Zanos forest in Kejur Mazandaran. Further examination of the documents, historical texts and researches about this topic revealed that there are two views about the castle and Mount Espe-rez recorded in the local documents of Tabaristan and the castle of Espe-rūz mentioned in the historical texts. Scholars such as Rabino still considers its location to be unknown, and some like Professor Manouchehr Sotoudeh, without mentioning any documents, consider Espe-rūz Castle to be in the vicinity of Kajour. However, after observing historical and archeological evidence, the author came to the hypothesis that the village and fortress of Espe-rez in the ancient documents and rumors of the natives of the region could be the same as the village and fortress of Espe-rūz in historical texts.
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