Mohammad Ibn-e Tabari, the Iranian historian, known as the father of the science of history and interpretation, narrates the story of the permanent fire of Rey in this way: “when Yazdgerd, the Sassanid king, decided to pass through Sepahan during his war with Arabs, he took the permanent fire from Rey, went to Kerman and then reached Khorasan, on his return. He finally made a fire temple two miles to Merv in order to keep the fire.”
This is a structure made of stone, mortar and adobe, on top of a wide hill, with fields and canebrakes in its surrounding areas, under an extensive sky, next to Tehran’s Dar al-Khalafe, that shows long history.
Bahram Fire Temple is also known as Rey Fire Temple or Bahram Gur Fire Temple and it has even recently become famous as Mil. It sounds at least a part of this structure consisted of several stories can be considered as a royal thrown and belvedere. There is a plain near the historical hill of Mil along the desert that made proper conditions for growing plants and it implies the existence of the old fields in this area; once the Zoroastrian peasant worked on the fields.
There is no agreement between historians on the construction date of the Mil. Some considers it to be related to Achaemenid empire and some to Sassanid dynasty. However, the archaeological excavations were carried out in the Mil in 1313 SH. Finally, in 1334 the name of this site has been inscribed on the list of Iran National Heritages. It should also be said that this ancient hill was partially damaged during the storm of 1390 SH but fortunately the reconstructions saved it and it is now open to public visit.
The structure that remains today of Mil is the remaining of a large Chahar Taqi that is still standing. The interesting point about this monument is that there was probably a Padiav, that is equivalent to the current patio, a place for washing and cleanliness, in this site, too. This structure is partly similar to Taq-e Kasra in Ctesiphon and Sassanid palace in Kish.
Some stucco pieces of this fire temple with motifs of plant, grapevine, grape, eight-…. Flower, acanthus, sun and fish are kept in Ancient Iran Museum. There is a narrow corridor in the down part of the structure spreading over the whole hall where is considered for moving fire away from the sun during the ceremony of Mazd-e Yasna. In addition, some large jugs have been found during the excavations.
Access to Mil is possible through the historical village of Gale No, located 12 kilometers southeast of Shahr-e Rey towards Varamin. A sign near the village shows the direction. The presence in this ancient site not only introduces the historical antiquity of the country to people, but also it can lead to a better understanding and protection of this monument.
