“Gerdkuh”
A fortress on the summit of an isolated rocky hill in the Alburz mountains, situated some 18km west of Damgan in northern Persia.
Thrust forward into a sloping plain, the hill of Gerdkuh rises about 300 metres above its base, and seen from the south, the access direction to the site, the hill appears dome-shaped; hence its name Gerdkuh (round mountain). In medieval times, Gerdkuh was also known as Dez-i Gonbadan which Islamic sources identified with the one mentioned in the "Shahnama" (ed. Vullers, III, pp. 1550, 1552, 1635, 1643, 1671;'Mujmal, p. 52; Rashid al-Din, 1959, p. 117; Mustawfi,'Nuzhat al-qulub, text p. 161, tr. P. 158; idem,'Tarikh-i guzida, p. 93).
Author
Dr Farhad Daftary
Co-Director and Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications
An authority in Shi'i studies, with special reference to its Ismaili tradition, Dr. Daftary has published and lectured widely in these fields of Islamic studies. In 2011 a Festschrift entitled Fortresses of the Intellect was produced to honour Dr. Daftary by a number of his colleagues and peers.
