Takht-e Soleymān
تخت سلیمان | |
West Azerbaijan, Iran | |
Coordinates | 36°36′11″N 47°14′09″E / 36.603171°N 47.235949°E |
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Type | Settlement |
Asia-Pacific |
Takht-e Soleymān (
The fortified site, which is located on a hill created by the outflow of a calcium-rich spring pond, was recognized as a
This site got its biblical name after the
Archaeological excavations have revealed traces of a 5th-century BC occupation during the
Ilkhanid period of Takht-e Soleyman
Situated in the province of
Context
The complex was created during the early phase of the Ilkhanid empire, and was a synthesis of Iranian and Central/Eastern Asian traditions. During the reign of
Influences
The Ilkhanids were not originally an Islamic dynasty, but as they settled into the Iranian lands and established a new kingdom, they needed to adapt. They converted to the main religion of their new territory, and intertwined the established art and architectural traditions of their new home with the traditions of Mongols and those from Eastern Asia. They combined temporary and permanent architecture together, which is evident at Takht-e Soleyman, the only surviving secular structure of the Ilkhanid period.[3] This complex has the tangible ability to show the connection between China and Iran through the layout and decorations.[3] There were polygonal shaped tower structures said to be based on the shape of Mongol tents.[3] There are Chinese motifs such as dragons and phoenix found on rectangular tiles from Takht-e Soleyman,[3] showing the transmission of cultural motifs deliberately chosen by the Ilkhanids. The plan itself is reminiscent of the Mongol headquarters in China, which was inspired by a traditional Chinese city plan, as well as a classic Mongol nomadic camp.[3] This links the Ilkhanid empire to great and powerful dynasties from the East, in a line of dynastic artistic traditions. The activities within Takht-e Soleyman are also similar to those in the pleasure palaces of those in China, where there was plenty room for hunting within the structure's walls, and there was a lake on the palace grounds.[3] The Ilkhanids also conducted administrative and courtly duties within this summer outpost, with many trials, appointments with foreign rulers and courts, celebrations, and enthronements.[3] It was a place for the elite to get away from the busier cities and the wars, a place for retreat filled with colorful decorations, luxuries for the Ilkhanid court and soldiers, and a place for important activities to be fulfilled.
The complex
Takht-e Soleyman, constructed by Ilkhanid ruler Abaqa and later completed by his son Arghun, is an Ilkhanid summer palace situated directly on top of the ruins of the Sassanian sanctuary.[5] The palace is oriented cardinally as in Mongol tradition with the entire complex being surrounded by a fortified ovular wall. Within this wall, the complex consists of a large courtyard with an artificial lake at its center. The entire courtyard is framed by porticoes, four iwan complexes in each cardinal direction, and “several polygonal structures”.[6] Two large rectangular halls are placed in front of the south iwan and connect the surrounding ovular wall with the porticoed courtyard of the palace proper. An audience hall with a large dome is located behind the north iwan on the location of what was the Sassanian fire temple.[5] While the north and south iwans are centered on porticoed walls of the complex, the east and west iwans are placed on the northern edges. The hall behind the west iwan stands between two polygonal structures, specifically octagonal chambers to the south and north of the iwan, which served as the throne room and later as a residence for the Ilkhanid ruler. Plaster remnants on the floor within the west iwan provide evidence that the dome of the southern chamber room was elaborately decorated with muqarnas. The walls of the palace, but specifically the northern chamber attached to the west iwan, were decorated with painted stucco on the upper sections and on the lower sections, the dado, with elaborate luster tiles in the lajvardina technique. These tiled designs consisted mostly of stars and similar geometric shapes and also included heroic figural imagery.[5] There were also friezes across many walls with similar geometric and figural designs in addition to inscriptions. The muqarnas and luster tiles, as well as the painted stucco walls, all demonstrate the importance of lavish decoration of Ilkhanid architecture, especially with palatial structures.[5] Furthermore, Takht-e Soleyman demonstrates the importance the Ilkhanids placed on secular architecture.[7]
Muqarnas ceiling
Excavated from under the ruins of Takht-e Soleyman, specifically in the southern octagonal chamber of the west iwan, is a stucco plate now kept in Tehran at the National Museum of Iran. On this gypsum plate is a muqarnas plan believed to correspond to one quarter of the muqarnas vault of the southern chamber of the west iwan. This muqarnas plate is of the earliest known examples of an Islamic architectural plan for a muqarnas design. Although now broken into several pieces, the design on the plate consists of a geometric grid, 42 cm in length, for a curved muqarnas design. The majority of the design consists of squares, rhombi, and isosceles triangles all arranged along a diagonal axis with the empty upper right corner corresponding to the center of the muqarnas vault. The angles of each element are in multiples of 45° with few exceptions.[6]
Scholars and archeologist of Islamic architecture have made numerous attempts to reconstruct the designs of the muqarnas plate found at Takht-e Soleyman to then understand what the muqarnas might have looked like in the palace. These scholars have based their designs in historical and cultural context by referencing the writings by Islamic mathematician and astronomer
Takht-e Soleyman tiles
Tiles found at Takht-e Soleyman are great artistic marks that demonstrate the interaction with and influence from China during the fourteenth century. There were six types of tiles: unglazed, partly glazed, monochrome glazed, luster-painting, Lajvardina (cobalt blue and white), and inglazed Lajvardina. The exterior tiles, including unglazed, partly glazed and monochrome glazed, are shaped as hexagons and composed with reddish clay, with turquoise or blue coloring. The design is inspired by Mongol and Chinese ceramics, mainly from ceramics including dragon or phoenix motifs, and an interwoven line design. On the other hand, interior tiles include the luster-painting, Lajvardina and inglazed Lajvardina. They were white and yellow glazed, and were also usually hexagonal shaped. Regarding design, these tiles included multiple objects with floral, animal and human subjects, such as a horse rider surrounded by a floral arc. Geometric patterns were very prevalent, with the inclusion of interwoven lines, hexagon shaped tiles, and eight-pointed star symbols, deriving from Chinese ceramics that were very popular with Iranian merchants during the fourteenth century. The highly skilled glazing upon the tiles with their surface patterns in blue and white can be followed back to the Islamic city of Baghdad.[8]
Takht-e Soleyman's tile decorations show a mixing of multiple cultures, using artistic traditions from Buddhism, Chinese mythology, and pre-Islam Iran, and the current Islamic world itself.[9] For example, the lotus flower, which is adopted from the Buddhist religion, is often used in floral designs as a symbol for wealth or is viewed as sacred. Secondly, as mentioned before, the dragon was a common motif related with Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It presented notions of sovereignty, and was viewed as the ancestor of all existing animals. The reinterpretation of a dragon or a lotus flower in an Iranian-Islamic way expanded the diversity of Islamic art in the medieval period. Thirdly, birds can also be seen in the tiles, specifically the crane, symbolizing longevity and wisdom from Chinese mythology. Mongol traditions are reflected in the frequent, deep blue color of the tiles, representing the sky or eternity.[10] Also, there are Mongol scenes of horsemen hunting, expressing their important military matters.[10]
Iranian elements, on the other hand, are also expressed in the Takht-e Soleyman tiles. These are mainly literary themes from the
The British explorers Theodore and Mabel Bent dug “in front of a mosque” at the site in early May 1889, returning to London later with at least one tile fragment.[12]
Gallery
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Ruins of Takht-e-Soleyman's gate
See also
- Cities of the Ancient Near East
- World Heritage List
- Iranian architecture
- List of Iranian castles
- Sassanid Dynasty
- Mount Takht-e Suleyman
- Cave of Daniel (Persian Wikipedia)
References
- ISBN 978-3-447-03652-8.
- ^ a b UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Takht-e Soleyman". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Akbarnia, Ladan, “Khitā'ī: Cultural Memory and the Creation of a Mongol Visual Idiom in Iran and Central Asia”, Ph.D. diss, Harvard University, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Huff, Dietrich. “The Ilkhanid Palace at Takht-I Suleyman: Excavation Results”. Edited by Linda Komaroff, in Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan. Leiden: BRILL, 2006. Accessed April 5, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central. Pages 94-110.
- ^ a b c d Blair, Sheila S. “The Ilkhanid Palace.” Ars Orientalis, vol. 23, Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the History of Art, University of Michigan, 1993, pp. 239–248.
- ^ a b c Dold-Samplonius, Yvonne, and Silvia L. Harmsen. “The Muqarnas Plate Found at Takht-i Sulayman: A New Interpretation.” Muqarnas, vol. 22, University of Heidelberg, 2005, pp. 85-94.
- ^ Yalman, Suzan. Based on original work by Linda Komaroff. “The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
- ^ Osete-Cortina, L., Doménech-Carbó, M., Doménech, A., Yusá-Marco, D., & Ahmadi, H. (2010). Multimethod analysis of Iranian Ilkhanate ceramics from the Takht-e Soleyman palace. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 397(1), p. 323.
- ^ Masuya, T. (1997). In Soucek P. P. (Ed.), The ilkhanid phase of takht-i sulaiman ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. (564-92).
- ^ a b Masuya, T. (1997). In Soucek P. P. (Ed.), The ilkhanid phase of takht-i sulaiman ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.(602-612)
- ^ Masuya, T. (1997). In Soucek P. P. (Ed.), The ilkhanid phase of takht-i sulaiman ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, pp. 613-14.
- ^ “[After] digging some time in front of a mosque, where we found some fragments of old tiles, we retired to an old bath, a large, dank, vaulted place where the hail came in in the middle of the roof…” (Mabel Bent’s diary entry for c. 4 May 1889, in The Travel Chronicles of Mrs J. Theodore Bent (Vol.3, Oxford, 2010, p.88). This turquoise and cobalt glazed cuerda seca pottery tile fragment was sold at auction in October 2022 for £650 (https://www.roseberys.co.uk/a0566-lot-530528).
External links
- Takhtesoleiman.ir, Official Website
- Unesco.org, Takht-e Soleyman - UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Opera.com, image from Takht-e suleiman
- Irannegah.com, Video from Takht-e Soleyman
- More pictures, Tishineh