History of Persian domes
Persian domes or Iranian domes have an ancient origin and a history extending to the modern era. The use of domes in ancient Mesopotamia was carried forward through a succession of empires in the Greater Iran region.
An ancient tradition of royal audience tents representing the heavens was translated into monumental stone and brick domes due to the invention of the squinch, a reliable method of supporting the circular base of a heavy dome upon the walls of a square chamber. Domes were built as part of royal palaces, castles, caravansaries, and temples, among other structures.
With the introduction of Islam in the 7th century, mosque and mausoleum architecture also adopted and developed these forms. Structural innovations included pointed domes, drums, conical roofs, double and triple shells, and the use of muqarnas and bulbous forms. Decorative brick patterning, interlaced ribs, painted plaster, and colorful tiled mosaics were used to decorate the exterior as well as the interior surfaces.
Characteristics
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Persian dome chambers in mosques were derived from the chahar taq dome chambers of Sasanian Fire Temples and consisted of three parts: the load-bearing system, the transition tier, and the dome itself. Double and triple shell domes had considerable space between the shells or could be connected and the outer shell could be conical, onion-shaped, or bulbous, with bulbous shaped domes being the last and most influential development. The transition tiers used squinches or pendentives, and beginning in the Timurid period the curved surface was divided by a pattern of intersecting arches called an "arch net", or rasmi sazi, which had its culmination in the Safavid period.[1]
Persian domes from different historical eras can be distinguished by their transition tiers: the squinches, spandrels, or brackets that transition from the supporting structures to the circular base of a dome. Drums, after the Ilkanate era, tend to be very similar and have an average height of 30 to 35 meters from the ground. They are where windows are located. Inner shells are commonly semi-circular, semi-elliptical, pointed, or saucer shaped. The outer shell of a Persian dome reduces in thickness every 25 or 30 degrees from the base. Outer shells can be semi-circular, semi-elliptical, pointed, conical, or bulbous, and this outer shape is used to categorize them. Pointed domes can be sub-categorized as having shallow, medium, and sharp profiles, and bulbous domes as either shallow or sharp. Double domes use internal stiffeners with wooden struts between the shells, with the exception of those with conical outer shells.[2]
Pre-Islamic period
Achaemenid Empire
Although they had palaces of brick and stone, the kings of Achaemenid Persia held audiences and festivals in domical tents derived from the nomadic traditions of central Asia. They were likely similar to the later tents of the Mongol Khans. Called "Heavens", these tents emphasized the cosmic significance of the divine ruler. They were adopted by Alexander the Great after his conquest of the empire, and the domed baldachin of Roman and Byzantine practice was presumably inspired by this association.[6]
Parthian Empire
The remains of a large domed circular hall measuring 17 meters in diameter in the Parthian capital city of Nyssa has been dated to perhaps the first century AD. It "shows the existence of a monumental domical tradition in Central Asia that had hitherto been unknown and which seems to have preceded Roman Imperial monuments or at least to have grown independently from them."[7] It likely had a wooden dome.[8] The room "contained a portrait of Mithradates II and, along with other structures at the site, hosted some sort of cult activities connected to the memory of the kings of kings."[9]
The Sun Temple at
A bulbous Parthian dome can be seen in the relief sculpture of the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome, its shape apparently due to the use of a light tent-like framework.[11]
An account of a Parthian domed palace hall from around 100 AD in the city of Babylon can be found in the Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus. The hall was used by the king for passing judgments and was decorated with a mosaic of blue stone to resemble the sky, with images of gods in gold.[12] It may have been an audience tent; Philostratus described the ceiling as "constructed in the form of a dome like the heavens."[13]
Sasanian Empire
Caravansaries used the domed bay from the Sasanian period to the Qajar dynasty.[5] The Persian invention of the squinch, a series of concentric arches forming a half-cone over the corner of a room, enabled the transition from the walls of a square chamber to an octagonal base for a dome. Previous transitions to a dome from a square chamber existed but were makeshift in quality and only attempted on a small scale, not being reliable enough for large constructions. The squinch enabled domes to be widely used and they moved to the forefront of Persian architecture as a result.[14]
The ruins of the
Multiple written accounts from Arabic, Byzantine, and Western medieval sources describe a palace domed structure over the throne of
Chahar-taqi, or "four vaults", were smaller Zoroastrian fire temple structures with four supports arranged in a square, connected by four arches, and covered by central ovoid domes. The Niasar Zoroastrian temple in Kashan and the chahar-taqi in Darreh Shahr are examples.[21] They are numerous throughout the province of Pars, possibly starting from the early Sasanian empire, and are known to be part of the palatial architecture of Ardashir I.[22] Such temples, square domed buildings with entrances at the axes, inspired the forms of early mosques after the Islamic conquest of the empire in the 7th century.[23] These domes are the most numerous surviving type from the Sasanian period, with some having been converted into mosques. The later isolated dome chambers called the "kiosk mosque" type may have developed from this.[5] Pre-Islamic domes in Persia are commonly semi-elliptical, with pointed domes and those with conical outer shells being the majority of the domes in the Islamic periods.[24]
Although the Sasanians did not create monumental tombs, the domed chahar-taqi may have served as memorials. A Soghdian painting fragment from the early eighth century found at Panjakent appears to depict a funerary dome (possibly a tent) and this, along with a few ossuaries of an architectural nature, indicates a possible tradition in central Asia of a funerary association with the domed form. The area of north-eastern Iran was, along with Egypt, one of two areas notable for early developments in Islamic domed mausoleums, which appear in the tenth century.[25]
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Ruins of the Zoroastrian Fire Temple of Amol, Iran
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Ruins of a Zoroastrian Temple in Neyasar, Iran
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Ruins of the Baze Hoor Zoroastrian temple, Iran
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Zoroastrian temple in Tashvir, Iran
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Ruins of Chahar-taqi in Neyasar, Iran
Islamic period
Early Islamic period
The earliest known Islamic domes in Persia, such as the Great Mosque of
Domed mausoleums contributed greatly to the development and spread of the dome in Persia early in the Islamic period. By the 10th century, domed tombs had been built for Abbasid caliphs and Shiite martyrs. Pilgrimage to these sites may have helped to spread the form.[5] The earliest surviving example in Islamic architecture, the Qubbat-al Sulaibiya , was an octagonal structure with a central dome on a drum built around 892 in Samarra on the Tigris.[27] The mausoleum of Ali in Najaf, built by the Hamdanid governor of Mosul before 930, had a high dome supported by columns and had entrances on all sides. Reportedly, Buyid dynasty kings built high domes over their tombs and the tombs of minor princes had lower domes.[28]
Free-standing domed pavilions are known from Shiraz and Bukhara in the tenth century.[29] An octagonal domed pavilion built in 999 under the Buyid dynasty was later incorporated into the Jameh Mosque of Natanz. The original free-standing structure was a central dome on eight piers surrounding by a vaulted ambulatory on eight outer round columns, open on all sides. A sixteen-sided zone of transition was used below the dome. The southern half of the dome is made of stone, indicating repairs after a partial collapse. The date of the original construction was included in a brick inscription band just below the dome, making it the earliest dated dome in central Iran. The ambulatory may have been for circumambulation, suggesting that the structure was a shrine to a descendant of the Prophet, or Imamzadeh.[30]
In the 10th century, domed mausoleums of the domed square type became popular in the Transoxiana region.[31] The Ismail Samanid mausoleum in Bukhara was designed according to the geometric principles of mathematicians al-Khorezmi, al-Fargani, and Ibn-Sino.[32] It dates to no later than 943 and is the first to have squinches create a regular octagon as a base for the dome, which then became the standard practice. The Arab-Ata Mausoleum, also in Transoxiana, may be dated to 977–78 and uses muqarnas between the squinches for a more unified transition to the dome.[5]
Cylindrical or polygonal plan tower tombs with conical roofs over domes also exist beginning in the 11th century.[5] The earliest example is the Gonbad-e Qabus tower tomb, 57 meters high and spanning 9.7 meters, which was built in 1007.[33][27] Although no burial has been found at the site, the Ziyarid ruler was purported by a 16th century Arab historian to have been in a glass coffin suspended by chains from the ceiling, which corresponds to Buyid burial customs described in the 14th century.[34]
Seljuk Empire
The
The dome of a tomb at Sangbast has been dated to the 11th or 12th century and used brick arranged in a herringbone pattern.[39]
The
The Jameh Mosque of Zavareh (1135-1136) is the earliest existing example of the standard Iranian mosque type in which four iwans are arranged around a courtyard, with a dome behind the qibla iwan. The layout is found in a group of mosques in the region centered around Isfahan.[41]
The use of tile and of plain or painted plaster to decorate dome interiors, rather than brick, increased under the Seljuks.
Zengid dynasty
Most of the examples of muqarnas domes are found in Iraq and the Jazira, dated from the middle of the twelfth century to the
The architecture of Syria and the Jazira includes the widest variety of forms in the medieval Islamic world, being influenced by the surviving architecture of
Khwarazmian Empire
The Mausoleum of Fakhreddin Razi in Konye-Urgench, Turkmenistan, was built with a discontinuous double-shell dome with an outer conical shell.[45]
Mongol Empire
The Ilkhanate
After the disruptive effects of several
The tomb of Ala al-Din was built in 1289.[47] The Shaykh abd al-samad shrine complex was built between 1000 and 1325.[47]
The two major domes of the IlKhanate period are the no-longer-existing mausoleum of
Tower tombs of this period, such as the tomb of
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Dome of the Mausoleum of Öljaitü in Soltaniyeh, Iran
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Dome of Jameh Mosque of Varamin, Iran
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Dome of the Jameh Mosque of Yazd, Iran
Timurid Empire
The mass killings by Mongol and Timurid troops impeded developments in geometry between 1000 and 1400. The mathematician al-Kashi (1390-1450) further developed the Buzjani method for creating a variety of dome configurations using practical geometry. His book, Key of Arithmetic, included five methods of drawing an arch profile and he created methods to calculate the surface areas and volumes of dome shells. They were frequently used in dome design.[55] In the Timurid period, taller domes were built, often as double-shell domes, and melon domes were built in Samarqand, Herat, Balkh, and Kirmān. Muqarnas features held in place by "slats and scaffolding anchored by mortar" were used in the interior to hide the squinches, arches, and vaults actually supporting the domes. The external zone of transition to the dome was reduced or removed, such as stepped features, polygonal drums, and galleries.[56]
Jahangir Mausoleum in Uzbekistan was built in 1400.[47]
At the
The large dome of Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Samarkand was damaged by an earthquake during Timur's lifetime.[59] It was built between 1398 and 1405.[60]
An account by ambassador Ruy González de Clavijo describes a huge square Timurid pavilion tent with a dome at the top that resembled a castle from a distance due to its size. It measured one hundred paces on a side and was assembled from tall wooden masts stayed by ropes, with silk curtains between them. The tent had four archways and was surrounded by a lower attached portico or gallery on all four sides.[61]
A
In Afghanistan, Timurid ribbed domes with glazed tiles began to be built in the 1420s.[65]
The tomb of Ghiyath al-Din Naqqash in Bust has a dome that used exposed brick placed in alternating bands of horizontal and vertical orientations for decorative effect.[39]
Mausoleums were rarely built as free-standing structures after the 14th century, being instead often attached to madrasas in pairs. Domes of these madrasas, such as those of the madrasa of Gawhar Shad (1417–1433) and the madrasa at Ḵargerd (1436–1443), had dramatically innovative interiors. They used intersecting arches to support an inner dome narrower than the floor below, a change that may have originated with the 14th century use of small lantern domes over transverse vaulting. The madrasa of Gawhar Shad is also the first triple-shell dome. The middle dome may have been added as reinforcement.[5] Triple-shelled domes are rare outside of the Timurid era. The dome of the Amir Chakhmaq mosque (1437) has a semi-circular inner shell and an advanced system of stiffeners and wooden struts supporting a shallow pointed outer shell. Notably, the dome has a circular drum with two tiers. Another double shell dome from the early Seljuq period at the shrine complex of Bayazid Bastami was changed in the Timurid period in 1300 by the addition of a third conical shell over the existing two domed shells.[66][47]
Safavid Iran
The domes of the Safavid dynasty (1501–1732) are characterized by a distinctive bulbous profile and are considered to be the last generation of Persian domes. They are generally thinner than earlier domes and are decorated with a variety of colored glazed tiles and complex vegetal patterns.[67] A popular feature of Safavid architecture was the inclusion of symmetrical pairs of key elements, including dome chambers.[68] Extensive and colorful tilework was used in this period, including floral and arabesque patterns on dome exteriors, enabled by the use of less expensive large square underglaze-painted tiles that were not dependent on firing special glazes at the optimum temperature in order to achieve the coloration.[69] Small scale domes were included in palace architecture, utility structures, and caravanserais.[70]
The dome of the
The removal of thousands of Armenian Christians to the Isfahan suburb city of New Julfa by Shah Abbas resulted in the "unusual sight of Ṣafawid-style domes topped by a cross" in that city.[72]
The dome of
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Tomb of Khajeh Rabie in Mashhad, Iran
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The Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran
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Dome of the Shah Mosque (Isfahan), Iran
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Mādar-e Šāh madrasa in Isfahan, Iran
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The tomb of Amin-edin Jabrail in Kalkhuran Sheykh, Iran
Qajar Iran
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar built a series of mosques named "Masjid-i Shāh" at Qazvin (1808), Zanjan, Semnan (1827), Tehran (1840), and Borujerd. They include a network of small domes and windows to provide light to the interior. Palace gardens included open-plan domed pavilions. Safavid examples were expanded or imitated, as in the golden domes at Qom, Ray, and Mashhad.[74]
The movement to modern architecture meant less innovation in dome construction. Domes were built over madrasas, such as the 1848 Imam madrasa, or Sultani school, of Kashan, but they have relatively simple appearances and do not use tiled mosaics.[73]
The covered markets or bazaars (tīmcās) at Qom and
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Masjid-i Shāh in Zanjan
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Dome of the Imam Reza shrine
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Domes in the bazaar of Qom, Iran
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Dome of Shah Cheragh in Shiraz, Iran
Influence
The Melik Gazi tomb in Turkey was built in 1200.[47]
The
The Tomb of Turabek Khanum (1369) used a discontinuous double-shell dome.[78]
After the Timurid period, dome architecture was developed in local styles of the
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- ^ Lehmann 1945, p. 253.
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- ^ Ashkan & Ahmad 2009, p. 100.
- ^ Canepa 2013, p. 347.
- ^ Stephenson, Hammond & Davi 2005, p. 162.
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- ^ Blair 1983, pp. 83–84.
- ^ Grabar 1963, p. 197.
- ^ Blair 1983, pp. 72, 74, 83, 89.
- ^ Hillenbrand 1989, p. 83.
- ^ Ashkan & Ahmad 2010, p. 294.
- ^ Ashkan & Ahmad 2009, p. 103.
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- ^ Ashkan & Ahmad 2009, p. 102, 104, 105, 113.
- ^ Mainstone 2001, p. 124.
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- ^ Ashkan & Ahmad 2010, p. 293.
- ^ Saquib & Ali 2023, p. 748.
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