In Persia is the city called Saveh, from which the three Magi set out when they came to worship Jesus Christ. Here, too, they lie buried in three sepulchres of great size and beauty. Above each sepulchre is a square building with a domed roof of very fine workmanship. The one is just beside the other. Their bodies are still whole, and they have hair and beards. One was named Beltasar, the second Gaspar, and the third Melchior.
Messer Marco asked several of the inhabitants who these Magi were; but no one could tell him anything except that they were three kings who were buried there in days gone by. But at last he learnt What I will tell you.
Three days farther on, he found a town called Kala Atashparastan, that is to say Town of the Fire-worshippers. And that is no more than the truth; for the men of this town do worship fire. And I will tell you why they worship it. The inhabitants declare that in days gone by three kings of this country went to worship a new-born prophet and took with them three offerings -gold, frankincense, and myrrh – so as to discover whether this prophet was a god, or an earthly king or a healer. For they said : ‘If he takes gold, he is an earthly king; if frankincense, a god; if myrrh, a healer.’
(This quote is from Robert Latham’s translation of Marco Polo’s book The Travels and was found on Farsinet
Saveh is a strange place just a couple of hours west and south of Tehran. Maz Maz, an Iranian snackfood giant has a factory nearby, a branch of the National Oil Company is located there, Azad University also has a branch in Saveh, and the best pomegranites in Iran, and perhaps the world, are reportedly grown in the fields surrounding this town.
It is reported that Marco Polo stayed in the ancient caravanserai in Saveh. He wrote about Saveh in his book The Description of the World. In that book, he relates that the people of Saveh told him that the three kings were buried at Saveh and that at least one of them was a Zoroastrian Priest.
One the National Geographic website, the authors write that the translations of Marco Polo’s books were filled with biases, editorial judgements, and errors.
For example, when some translators were presented with the news that the three Magi were buried at Saveh in Persia rather than in Cologne, they inserted that the people of Saveh tell many lies.
The fact is, that when the ticket taker at the caravanserai told us that Marco Polo stayed there, we had a hard time believing him too.
Links:
The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1
The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 2
Were the Three Kings Persian?
National Geographic on Marco Polo
Farsinet’s round-up of information on the Three Kings
My travelling companion was exhausted after driving at night behind long lines of trucks on the 2-lane highway between Tuyserkan and Hamadan. “Just tell us how to get to the Ferdosi Square,” she said.
Hamadan is a more interesting place than people give it credit for. For one, the drive to it is stunning. It is easy to imagine silk road travellers coming to this amazing place in the mountains and marveling at its riches: cool summer weather, water, trees, a gentle valley. It is easy to imagine the ancient city from today’s modern city. Ancient ruins pop up in the strangest places. There is the Alavian tomb in a schoolyard. Another tomb sits next to an apartment block.
I enjoyed visiting 