Great Wall of Gorgan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Great Wall of Gorgan |
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|---|---|
| Near Gorgan in Iran | |
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| Type | Series of ancient defensive fortifications |
| Length | 200 km |
| Site history | |
| Built | 5th or 6th century |
| Materials | Mud-brick, fired brick, gypsum, and mortar |
The Great Wall of Gorgan is an amazing ancient defense wall. It was built a long, long time ago by the Sasanian Empire in what is now northeastern Iran. This huge wall stretches near the city of Gorgan, right by the southeastern part of the Caspian Sea. Its main job was to protect the Sasanian Empire from groups of people living to the north.
This wall is truly impressive! It's about 195 kilometers (121 miles) long and between 6 to 10 meters (20 to 33 feet) wide. Along its path, there were more than 30 fortresses, like small castles, placed at different distances. It's one of the longest defensive walls ever built, second only to parts of the Great Wall of China and the Cheolli Jangseong wall in modern-day North Korea. It shows how clever and skilled ancient builders were!
Contents
Discovering the Names of the Great Wall of Gorgan
This incredible wall has had a few different names over time.
- The Red Snake: Archaeologists sometimes call it "The Red Snake" (or Qizil Alan in the Turkmen language). This is because of the reddish color of the bricks used to build it. Imagine a giant red snake winding across the land!
- Alexander's Barrier: In Persian, it became known as "Alexander's Barrier" or "Alexander's Wall." People in ancient times thought that Alexander the Great might have passed through this area on his journeys. However, we now know that this specific wall was built much later than Alexander's time.
- Other Names: It was also sometimes called "Anushirvân's Barrier" (سد انوشیروان Sadd-i Anushiravan) or "Firuz/Piruz's Barrier" (سد پیروز), named after Sasanian rulers. Today, its official name is the "Gorgan Defence Wall" (دیوار دفاعی گرگان). Local Iranian Turkmens know it as Qïzïl Yïlan or Qazal Al'an.
How Was This Amazing Wall Built?
The Great Wall of Gorgan is about 195 km (121 mi) long and 6–10 m (20–33 ft) wide. It had over 30 fortresses along its length, spaced out every 10 and 50 km (6.2 and 31.1 mi). These forts were like guard posts, helping to defend the wall.
The builders used different materials. They mostly used mud-bricks and fired bricks, along with gypsum and mortar to hold everything together. In earlier times, mud-bricks were more common for forts and cities. Later, fired bricks became more popular. These fired bricks were made from local soil and baked in special ovens right along the wall's path. The standard size for these bricks was about 40 × 40 × 10 cm.
The wall starts near the Caspian Sea coast. It then goes north of a city called Gonbad-e Kavus (which was known as Gorgan or Jorjan long ago). From there, it stretches northeast and eventually disappears into the Pishkamar Mountains.
Right next to the wall, there was a 5 m (16 ft) deep ditch. This ditch helped carry water along most of the wall, adding another layer of defense.
In 1999, experts studied the wall because new building projects, like the Golestan Dam, were happening in the area. When they were building a drainage canal from the dam, they found more parts of the Great Wall of Gorgan! They identified 40 fortresses, most of them square-shaped and built with the same bricks as the wall. To protect this important historical site, archaeologists marked its boundaries with cement blocks.
This wall is even bigger than Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall in Britain, which were built by the Roman Empire. Many people consider it the most important ancient defense wall between Europe and China. It's truly a marvel of ancient engineering!
Uncovering the Age of the Great Wall of Gorgan
For a long time, people thought the Great Wall of Gorgan was built during the Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD). They believed it was later fixed up by the Sassanid era (3rd to 7th century AD). However, new discoveries changed this idea.
In 2005, a team of archaeologists took samples from the wall. They collected pieces of charcoal from the old brick ovens found along the wall. They also took samples from a smaller wall nearby, called the Wall of Tammishe (location of a drowned fort at the northern end: 36°48.595′N 54°1.234′E / 36.809917°N 54.020567°E; location of a fortlet or watchtower at the inland end: 36°43.360′N 54°3.675′E / 36.722667°N 54.061250°E). Using special methods called OSL and radiocarbon dating, they found out that both walls were built in the late 5th or 6th century AD.
This means the wall we see today was built by the Sasanian Empire, not the Parthians. It also means it didn't exist during the time of Alexander the Great (who died in 323 BC), who lived about 800 years earlier. If Alexander saw any barrier in this area, it would have been a much older, different wall.
Imagine how many soldiers it took to guard such a long wall! Experts believe that between 15,000 and 36,000 soldiers might have been stationed along the Gorgan Wall. This shows that the Sasanian Empire had a very strong army to protect its borders.
Another Ancient Wall: Derbent Caspian Gate
Did you know there's another similar ancient defense wall on the opposite, western, side of the Caspian Sea? It's called the Derbent Caspian Gate, located in Russia, near the city of Derbent in the Republic of Dagestan.
This Sasanian defense wall also has strong fortifications. It stretches about 3 km (1.9 mi) inland from the Caspian Sea shore (42°03′46″N 48°18′26″E / 42.062643°N 48.307185°E). It leads to a very well-preserved Sasanian fort (42°03′10″N 48°16′27″E / 42.052840°N 48.274230°E) in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.
While the Gorgan Wall on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea was not well-known to ancient Greek and Roman historians, the Derbent wall on the western side was famous. These two walls show how important it was for ancient empires to protect their lands from invaders.
See also
- Hadrian's Wall
- Gates of Alexander
- Iranian Architecture
