Mount Khajeh

{{short description|Black basalt hill in Lake Hamun, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Mount Oshida

| other_name = Mount Khajeh

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| photo = کوه خواجه پانوراما.jpg

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| photo_caption = Mount Khajeh

| map = Iran#West Asia

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| location = Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran

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| elevation_m = 609

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| coordinates = {{coord|30.9391|N|61.2455|E|display=title, inline}}

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| type = Hill

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| geology = Black basalt

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File:باران در قلعه رستم.JPG on Mount Khajeh]]

Oshida or Mount Khwaja or Mount Khwajeh ({{langx|fa|کوه خواجه|Kuh-e Kh^vājeh}}) is a flat-topped black basalt hill rising up as an island in the middle of Lake Hamun, in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan.{{Cite web|title=Mount Khajeh: A Flat-Topped Black Basalt Hill|url=https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/258139159/mount-khajeh-a-flat-topped-black-basalt-hill|access-date=2020-08-09|website=Big News Network.com|language=en|archive-date=2022-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811021001/https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/258139159/mount-khajeh-a-flat-topped-black-basalt-hill|url-status=live}}

The trapezoid-shaped basalt lava outcropping, located 30 km southwest of the town of Zabol, rises to 609 meters above sea level and has a diameter ranging from 2.0 to 2.5 kilometres. It is the only natural height in the Sistan area, and is named after an Islamic pilgrimage site on the hill: the tomb and shrine of Khwaja Ali Mahdi, a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib.{{Cite web|author=Editorial Staff|date=2020-05-04|title=Mount Khajeh, the Ancient Castle Town in Iran|url=https://www.destinationiran.com/mount-khajeh-ancient-castle-town.htm|access-date=2020-08-09|website=Destination Iran Tours|language=en-US}}

Mount Khwaja is also considered an important archaeological site. On the southern promontory of the eastern slope, the ruins of a citadel complex - known as the Ghagha-Shahr - with its remains of a fire temple date to pre-Islamic Iran. According to Zoroastrian legend, Lake Hamun is "the keeper of Zoroaster's seed." In Zoroastrian eschatology, when the final renovation of the world is near, maidens will enter the lake and then give birth to the saoshyans, the saviours of humankind.{{Cite web|title=Mount Khajeh is a flat-topped black basalt hill rising up as an island in the middle of Lake Hamun, in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan. Khajeh Mountain is located 30 km south of Zabul and is amazingly beautiful in the holy water of Hamoon. The mountain is made up of basaltic black stones. A series of monuments in the mountains include a huge building, a fire temple, two brick castles, remains of the old road, various fences and a number of rocky graves. - Picture of Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Iran - Tripadvisor|url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g3533016-i413958647-Sistan_and_Baluchistan_Province.html|access-date=2020-08-09|website=www.tripadvisor.com|language=en}}

The citadel complex was first investigated by Marc Aurel Stein in 1915–1916. The site was later excavated by Ernst Herzfeld, and was again investigated in part by Giorgio Gullini in a short expedition of 1960. Initially, Herzfeld tentatively dated the palace complex to the 1st century CE, that is, to the Arsacid period (248 BCE-224 CE). Herzfeld later revised his estimate to a later date and today the Sassanid period (224-651 CE) is usually considered to be more likely. Three bas-reliefs on the outer walls that depict riders and horses are attributed to this later period. Beyond the citadel at the top of the plateau are several other unrelated buildings, of uncertain function and probably dating to the Islamic period.{{Cite web|last=www.sirang.com|first=Sirang Rasaneh|title=Mount Khajeh 2020 Tourist Attraction in Zabol, travel to iran, Visit Iran|url=https://www.itto.org/iran/attraction/Khajeh-Mountain-zabol/|access-date=2020-08-09|website=itto.org {{!}} Iran Tourism & Touring}}