Forg Citadel

Forg Citadel also known as Mirza Rafi Khan Citadel is an 18th-century citadel located in the Forg Village of Darmian County (Southern Khorasan Province) that was built on the order of Nader Shah Afshar, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, in the year 1747 CE.

Located on a rocky cliff, this historical citadel has been built with stones, bricks, clays, wood, mortar, plaster, and soil, on three levels and with two strong fortified walls, numerous watchtowers. Housing an old fortress, public spaces around the castle, etc. is a complete example of an Iranian citadel.

The citadel has three major sections of which the first section contains a barn on the east side that served as living quarters for the staff, as a cattle barn, a foodstuff and fodder warehouse, and a water reservoir. This section also includes a citadel entrance and guard towers.

The second section is a tall central area that housed the military forces and guards and served as a storage for armory and barracks. It also has two winter and summer mosques and two floors overlooking the village and roads in the area.

The third section, which is the most important section of the citadel and is considered the alcove of the citadel, was the area in which the ruler and his companions lived and has been separated from section two by two towers and a tall fortified wall. The existence of spaces like the vestibule, connecting corridors, stables, food storage, watchtowers, and spaces with other applications are the most important specifications of this section.

The citadel has had a total of 18 towers, of which there 13 towers are left. Other defensive facilities of this citadel include two underground tunnels, one of which has 340 steps and extends towards the nearby agricultural fields and the second tunnel extends towards the village river.

This citadel was used as a border military checkpoint until the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods.