the rise and fall of a capital: soltanieh through history

although ilkhanids (1256-1353 ce) initially selected maraghe and then tabriz as their capital, the thought of founding a new city as a symbol of their kingdom encouraged them to establish soltanieh. ghazan khan’s goal of constructing the newly-built capital was accomplished during uljayto’s kingdom; a project that lasted for about 10 years (704-713 ah). although soltanieh’s fast development made it as one of the most important cities of the world within a short period, the procedure of its destruction began after the invasion of timur gurkani (1389 ah), so far that no considerable trace remained of that massive capital except few. there are many questions about formation, operation, spatial organization, social structure of inhabitants of this ilkhanid metropolis. the main aim of the present research is to find a reasonable answer to such questions based on the archeological evidences. processes of establishment, development and destruction of this ancient mega city and a list of its destructive factors are offered at the conclusion of present paper.