The village of Khan Takhti is located 76 km. off the Urmia-Salmas road. In the heights overlooking the village, there is a huge flat slab of stone on which the Khan Takhti engraving can be seen. The engraving depicts a man wearing a crown-like head piece and riding a galloping horse. Two other men are also riding alongside him. The clothes of these men are similar to what was worn during the Sassanid dynasty, which takes back the date of this famous relic to the Sassanid era.

The resemblance between the engraved figure and others in different locations around the country has led some researchers to believe that the man riding in front to be the eminent Sassanid King, Ardashir. However, the Ancient Orientalism expert Lehman believes the figure to depict the famous Sassanid King Shapur I on his victorious return from the conquest of Armenia, receiving a number of Armenians in his royal court who have brought gifts to show their good will. Russian Orientalist Nikitin is undecided over the identity of the depicted figure (Ardashir I or Shapur), but supports the gift bearing theme. With this in mind, if the figure depicted in the relic is Ardashir I, the relic will be 1759 years old; but if the figure is in fact King Shapur, it will take back the origin of the relic to 1770 years ago.

The Khan Takhti engraving was recorded as a national historical heritage in 1316 (1937).

Source: www.aftab.ir