Qaleh Iraj

Iran, Iran

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Qaleh Iraj, also known as Iraj Castle, is a vast Sasanian‑period fortification in the Tehran Plain of central Iran, located about 2 kilometres northeast of Varamin.

Dating to the 4th–5th century AD, it is one of the largest ancient mud‑brick enclosures in the world, covering roughly 175–190 hectares inside a massive rectangular wall that is about 13–22 metres wide and up to 25 metres high, with around 148 towers and several monumental gates.

The site shows little trace of permanent buildings in its huge interior, and archaeologists interpret it as a military garrison and strategic base rather than a city, likely used for assembling and training troops in response to northern nomadic threats.

Today only the enormous, eroded walls and fragments of rooms and corridors remain, making it a major but still‑partly‑researched archaeological landmark in Iran’s heritage landscape.