Taq-e Bostan, which means Arch of the Garden or Arch made of stone, is a site with a series of large rock reliefs from the era of the Sassanid Empire of Persia, carved around the 4th century CE.

It consists of three main parts which are framed investitures of Ardashir II, the big Taq, and the small Taq. The big one is a masterpiece depicting the kingdom of Khosrow II and the small one is a memorial from Shapur III.

The monument symbolizes power and glory. The carvings of the entrance part of the vault represent parties of the kings and governors wonderfully done by Persian professional artists of those days.

Taq-e Bostan and its relief patterns accentuate power, religious tendencies, glory, honor, the vastness of the court, game and fighting spirit, festivity, joy, and rejoicing.

Sassanid kings chose a beautiful setting for their rock reliefs along a historic Silk Road caravan route waypoint and campground. The reliefs are adjacent to sacred springs that empty into a large reflecting pool at the base of a mountain cliff.

Taq-e Bostan and its rock relief are one of the 30 surviving Sassanid relics of the Zagros mountains. According to Arthur Pope, the founder of the Iranian Art and Archeology Institute in the United States of America, “art was characteristic of the Iranian people and the gift which they endowed the world with.”

The site and its rock relief are one of the 30 surviving Sassanid relics of the Zagros mountains.