Hamedan Stone Lion
Encyclopedia
The stone lion of Hamedan (Shir-e Sangi) is a historical monument in Hamedan, Iran
.
The stone lion -one part of the 'Lions Gate'- sits on a hill where a Parthia
n era cemetery is said to have been located.
When first built, this statue had a twin counterpart for which they both constituted the old gate of the city. During the Islamic conquest of Persia
, the victorious Arabs referred to the gate as "bab ul-asad" (the lions gate).
The gates were demolished in 931CE as the Deylamids took over the city.
Mardāvij
unsuccessfully tried transporting one of the lions to Ray
. Angered by the failure to move them, he ordered them to be demolished. One lion was completely destroyed, while the other had its arm broken and pulled to the ground. The half demolished lion lay on its side on the ground until 1949, when it was raised again, using a supplemental arm that was built into it.
Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization reports that the lions were first thought to have been built by the orders of Alexander the Great to commemorate the death of his close companion Hephaestion
.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
The stone lion -one part of the 'Lions Gate'- sits on a hill where a Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n era cemetery is said to have been located.
When first built, this statue had a twin counterpart for which they both constituted the old gate of the city. During the Islamic conquest of Persia
Islamic conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644, the fall of Sassanid dynasty in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia...
, the victorious Arabs referred to the gate as "bab ul-asad" (the lions gate).
Mardāvij
Mardavij
Mardāvīj , was the founder of the Ziyarids dynasty, who successfully defeated the Abbasid's army firstly in Hamadan , and finally in Kashan and Isfahan...
unsuccessfully tried transporting one of the lions to Ray
Ray, Iran
Rey or Ray , also known as Rhages and formerly as Arsacia, is the capital of Rey County, Tehran Province, Iran, and is the oldest existing city in the province....
. Angered by the failure to move them, he ordered them to be demolished. One lion was completely destroyed, while the other had its arm broken and pulled to the ground. The half demolished lion lay on its side on the ground until 1949, when it was raised again, using a supplemental arm that was built into it.
Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization reports that the lions were first thought to have been built by the orders of Alexander the Great to commemorate the death of his close companion Hephaestion
Hephaestion
Hephaestion , son of Amyntor, was a Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great...
.