The citadel of Arg-e – One of the world’s largest adobe buildings in Bam

The origin of this enormous citadel on the Silk Road can be traced back to the Achaemenid Empire – sixth to fourth centuries BC and even beyond. The heyday of the citadel was from the seventh to eleventh centuries, when it was at the crossroads of important trade routes and known for the production of silk and cotton garments.

On December 26, 2003, was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake, along with much of the rest of Bam and its environs. A few days after the earthquake, the President of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, announced that the Citadel would be rebuilt.

All buildings are made of non-baked clay bricks. Bam Citadel was probably, prior to the 2003 earthquake, the biggest adobe structure in the world.