Khorassan and Semnan
Khorasan Province :
In the past Khorasan was a large expanse of land , Located in north east of Iran and consisted of:
Amu Darya, Hindu Kush, Mavaraonnahr, Sejestan and Qohestan.
In the Sasanids period , the Great khorasan was ruled by 4 frontiersmen with the king's order , each responsible for one of the four parts which were :
1- Marv Shahjan
2-Balkh & Tokharestan
3-Harat , Bushanj Badqhis & Sejestan -Mavaraonnahr.
In the Qajar period , this land was smaller than half of the ancient Khorasan and the Khorasan and the remainder is located in Afghanistan and the former U.S.S.R.
Khorasan had always a great role in revival of Persion language and literature , and moreover to great poets and writers such as:
Rudaki, Ferdowsi, Onsari ,Sanaei, Khayyam, well-Known philosophers such as: Abu Ali Sina (Avicenna), Abu Reyhan-e-Biruni, Molavi, Kharazmi and Balkhi were from this land.
Khorasan Province with a population of 6,387,609(1992) and 313,335 sq. Kms. is the largest province , and takes up more than one firth of Iran, so it has various climates.
Khorasan provinces. has allocated a special place to itself in comparison with other provinces. For industrial factories, handicrafts, Agricultural productions and their export. Carpet, turquoise and saffron of Khorasan have achieved fame from olden times.
About Ferdowsi tomb in Khorasan province
Ferdowsi, born near Meshhad in A.D. 940, was 40 years old when he began to compose the Shahnameh, and it took him about twenty years to complete the 60,000 couplets of this epic which relates the history of Iran to the end of the Sassanian period.
Ferdowsi drew heavily on ancient Persian mythology. He is said to have been promised a gold coin for every couplet by the reigning court.
However, when he completed the monumental work in A.D. 999, the reigning monarch, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, was staggered by its size and instead offered him a silver coin for each couplet.
Ferdowsi turned down the offer and dejected returned to his home where he composed a sharp satire against the sultan.
Although he died penniless, his Shahnameh will for ever warm the hearts of Iranians.
The most famous characters in the Shahnameh are Rostam and his son, Sohrab, whose fight, culminating in the death of Sohrab at Rostam`s hand (he was not aware of the true identity of his son), is one of the most moving tragedies in classical Literature. Ferdowsi has rightly Been hailed as one of the greatest poets the world has produced.
Sultan Mahmud reputed to have four hundred poets attached to his court. These included many who Were great in their own right - Onsori, Farrokhi, Manuchehri, and Asadi, to mention some.
About Gonbad-e Harounieh in Khorasan province
In the vicinity of Mashhad, in the town of Tus, the birth place of Iran`s great epic poet Ferdowsi, there is a quadrangular mausoleum covered with a cupola, whose construction has been attributed to the 8th century A.H. (14th century A.D.).
The cupola is of the double- covering type and is made of kin-fired brick. The interior of the monument is simple and undecorated. There is a mihrab with plaster moldings in the northern part of the hall.
Above the main wall of the structure, there are a number of chambers, reminiscent of the construction of the mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar and Oljaitu.
About Sheykh Farideddin Attar in Khorasan province
Attar, one of the greatest Persian mystic poets, was probably killed in A.D. 1221 during the Mongol invasion. His famous work, Manteqat-Tair (the Logic of Birds), is considered one of the greatest poems ever written on the subject of the Sufi mystic for and love of God.
Khorassan Province, located in northeastern Iran, covers and area of 313,000 square kilometers and it is the largest province of the country. Khorassan was a well-known name that in past centuries encompassing a wide cultural realm, a great part of which presently exists in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Khorassan Province is one ot the great historical and cultural centers of Iran containing the cities of Mashhad, Nayshabour, Birjand, Sabzevar, and the famous city of Tabas on the outskrits of the desert and the periphery of the province.
Until the 2nd century AH. (9th century AD) ther was a small village called Sanabad in the present location of Mashhad. After the martyrdom of His Holiness Imam Reza (A.S.) in this place, this city was called Mashhad Moghadas (Sacred Mashhad).
Ever since, his tomb had became the place of pilgrimage for Shi'ite Muslims of the world and has gained an ever-increasing importance. Today, the holy shrine of His Holiness Imam Reza(A.S.), which has undergone many ups and downs along history, is one of the most important and valuable samples of the Islamic art and architecture.
Imam Reza Museum in Mashhad is one of the largest cultural and artistic treasuries, especially because of its handwritten manuscripts and paintings. Goharshad Mosque, Sabz (green) Dome, Khajeh Rabii and Arsalan Jazeb Mausoleums, Robat (caravansarai) Sharaf, Kalat Naderi, and Kooh Sangi are amongst other historical sites of Mashhad.
The traditional Bazaar of Mashhad, a magnificent one and the place for supplying different goods, is another eye-catching place in this city. New Bazaar, named Bazaar Reza, is the place for supplying different handicrafts and other products of Khorassan.
Toos is located 28 km. northwest of Mashhad on the road to Shirvan-Gorgan. Once Toos was one of the large cities of Khorassan, but today there exists only the remains of the old wall of the city and the tomb of Ferdowsi, the great poet of Iran.
Neyshabour, 110 km. southwest of Mashhad, is located on the way to Sabzevar. This city, one of the important cities of Iran, once the capital city of the Seljukids in the 5th century AH for some times, but today what remains from its past magnificence are only a few vestiges in the old part of the city. The tomb of Khayyam, whose rubaiyats are recited eagerly all around the world, is located in this city. The tombs of some great Iranian men of letters and arts like Sheikh Attar and Kamal-ol-Molk are also in this city.
Tabas is one of the most famous cities on the margin of the desert and is situated in southeast to Mashhad. The wall and the old part of the city, which were badly damaged by an earthquake still remains. Tabas is one of the cities of Iran's arid and desert regions worth seeing. Tabas Guest House, with suitable accommodation facilities, entertains the tourists in an acceptable level.
Semnan Province :
Semnan province, on the southern slopes of Alborz mountain range, is located between latitudes 34 56' and 37 13' N. and longitudes 51 48' and 56 57' E.
This province is bounded on the north by Mazandaran province, on the south by Esfahan province, on the east by Khorasan province and on the west by Markazi and Tehran provinces.
It has an area of 91,554 square kilometers and according to the latest civil divisions in 1995, it has 4 counties namely Semnan , Damqan, Shahrud and Garmsar ,14 towns, 9 rural districts and 29 villages.
The center of this province is Semnan.
About Bastam Jame Mosque in Semnan province
The original construction of the mosque dates from the Seljukid period (early 5th century = 11th century A.D.), and there remains nothing but an ancient wall of this early monument today.
The brick Seljukid minaret of the mosque is, however, extant and its Kufic inscription gives us the date A.H. 14 (A.D. 1120).
In the reign of Sultan Muhammad Khodabandeh Uljeitu, the Muslim Mongol Ilkhan, other structures were added to the Seljukid constructions, including an impressive ivan built in A.H. 717 (A.D. 1317) by the Damghani architect, Muhammad ibn Hussein, whose name has been inscribed in Masjid-i-Jami, and also in the Mihrab of the adjoining mosque.
Southwest panel
A panel on the southwest side of the entrance portal to the sanctuary of Bayazid Bastami at Bastam (A.D. 1313; A.H. 713). Two overall patterns in glazed tile adorn the wall.
About Cheshme Ali in Semnan province
Recreation pavilion from Safavid times situated at a tree-lined pool which is fed by a spring, near Cheshmeh Ali.
About Chehel Dokhtaran tomb tower in Semnan province
The monument, belongs to the Seljukid period 466/1073, the height of the building is 15 meters, it is onion shaped, and it has a beautiful inscription on the outside of the tower.
About Farumad Mosque in Semnan province
The original construction of this great historic monument belongs to the 7th century A.H. (13th century A.D.). Today nothing but the ruins of that impressive structure may catch the visitor`s eye.
About Mausoleum of Baba Qasem in Semnan province
The Madrasa and the Mausoleum of Baba Qasem have been built in the year 741 (A.D. 1340), as indicated by the portal inscription, which gives the name of the constructor as Sulayman ibn al_hassan Talut of Damqan.
The Madrasa had been adjacent to Baba Qasem Its pyramidal brick cupola, with attractive mosaic tile decorations, ranks among Isfahan`s most remarkable historical remains. Inside the mausoleum, under the cupola, there is background of turquoise-colored tiles. An inscription in white Thulth cha.
Situated to the north of the Jameh Mosque, the mausoleum of Baba Qassem was built at around the same time, a completion date inscribed as 1340. The cupola is of a style that was to become very popular in the following century. Prior to 1928 the mausoleum was in rather indifferent condition, being used as a paper factory and then as a stable. Since, however, it has been restored to something of its former charm.
About Tarikhana Mosque in Semnan province
Before the advent of Islam, the city of Damqan in its period of splendor, was the most important city on the main Silk Road. In the Parthian period, the city was the central capital of the Parthians. The Greek had named the city (Hegatempolis) which meant the city of a hundred gates.
The discovery of ancient monuments such as Tapeh-Hesar gives evidence of the importance of this city. Such discoveries also give evidence of a four thousand year old Aryan civilization in this region.
The intense prejudice of the Sassanids against the Parthians was the main cause behind the destruction of this immense center of civilization. Of the one hundred gates which surrounded the capital of the powerful Parthian empire, not one remains.
After the advent of Islam in Iran, the only Sassanid monument of this region, the Tarikhaneh fire temple, was turned into a mosque. Tari-khana Mosque, 8th century, is the oldest extant mosque in Iran and although in the simple Arab plan it retains many elements recalling Iran`s pre-Islamic heritage.
The massive piers and the shape of the arches follow Sassnian prototypes.
Although its foundation dates from the eighth century and it has been restored on several occasions, the mosque stillkeep its original plan and impressive simplicity.
The architectural changes of the interior of the Tarikhaneh are related to the social changes in Damqan during the fall of the Sassanid reign. The transformation of the fire temple into a mosque goes back to the end of the second century and beginning of the third century, when the House of Espahdan Bavandi of Hezarjarib- a city in the province of Mazandaran introduced Islam to it`s neighboring cities.
The mosque of Nayin is architecturally similar to this mosque. Most probably the mosque of Nayin was also a fire temple which was turned into a mosque at about the same period. The outstanding characteristics of the Tarikhaneh are it`s solidity and simplicity as well as it`s grandeur.
Twenty-six of the original forty columns are still standing and in spite of the original structure being Zoroastrian, the architects who reconstructed the interior to build a mosque, have captured the soul and simplicity of the first Islamic mosques.
The mystical atmosphere of the mosque gives evidence of the architects understanding of Islamic brotherhood and honesty. Many of the Silk Road travelers have knelt in prayer in this mosque and many will continue to do so in the future.
Semnan Province is located in the east of Khorassan Province, composed of desert and mountains. In the past, this province was crossed by the Silk Road and thus monuments belonging to that province like Bayazid Bastami, Sheikh A. Khraghani, and Ibn-Yamin have global fame.
Esfahan and Bakhtiari
Esfahan Province :
This province is situated in a wide area in Iran plateau, which is 104,650 sq, Kms. and has a population 3,774,204 (1992).
Zayandeh Rud, which is the greatest and the most famous river in the center of Iran, irrigates most of the agricultural lands, From west to east of this province, from Zardkuh to Batlaq-e-Gavkhuhi (Marsh).
Since ancient times, the kings of varius dynasties were interested in Esfahan Province for being the center of government, Historians and tourists, due to the fertility of its agricultural lands and being located between Zagros Mountain and central plain of Iran.
Esfahan is counted one of the richest provinces in Iran, due to having many tourists visiting the monuments which are remained from different period .Most of these historical places are from the Saljuq and Safavid petiods.
Moreover the historical monuments, Zayandeh Rud is another tourist attraction place. Esfahan province has a moderate climate and four regular seasons, the maximum rainfall is in winter and the minimum in autumn. It is cold and snowy in winter and moderate in summer.
Esfahan province having the highest rate of occupation in industry , is known as an industrial center in Iran. Rapid development of industry in this province makes it the greatest industrial center in the country.
The most important industries and industrial of Esfahan are as follows. Mobarakeh steel factory , Steel Mill Refinery ,Defensive industries, Medicine manufacturing factory, Polyacril factory, textile and weaving industries and handicraft sites etc.
The city of Isfahan, internationally well known for its beauty, has a long history. This city was probably constructed in the Achaemenian era. During the reign of Ardavan V (222-24 BC.) Sepahan or Espehan was one of the states of Iran. In the Sassanian time, Isfahan was a garrison city, conquered by Moslems in the year 19 AH and ever since it was was divided into two sections composed of Moslem dwellers (Shahrestan)and Jewish dwellers (Yahhodieh).
In the year 1,000 AH, the capital of the Safavids was transferred from Qazvin to Isfahan. Isfahan holds a treasury of tourist attractions the most important of which are as follows:
About Ali Mosque in Esfahan province
The minaret of Masjid-i `Ali is also one of the minarets of the Seljukid period, built entirely of brick and bearing four inscription friezes in the Kufic calligraphic style. Of these, one is of brick and the rest, of enameled blue tiles. The minaret is over 40 meters high.
The original construction of the mosque dates back to the Saljukid epoch, having, later on, been repaired under the Safavid.
The portal inscription of the mosque is in (thulth) style with golden characters, and is by Shams al-Din of Tabriz.
It indicates that the Seljukid Masjid-i Ali had fallen in ruins and had remained so until the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail who ordered and completed its reconstruction by a certain Mirza Kamal al-Din (929 A.H. = 1522 A.D.).
In the eastern and western ivans of the mosque, there are also two more inscriptions dated 974 and 1013 A.H. (1566 and 1604 A.D.) respectively. As regards the construction of the mosque, its architectural techniques, superb ornamentation, numerous ivans, impressive prayer hall, brick cupola with stalactite decorations inside, beautiful tileworks, and multi-styled inscriptions, make it one of Isfahan`s important and rare historic mosques.
About Si-o-Se pol in Esfahan province
The Bridge of Allahverdi Khan across the Zayandeh Rud is a continuation of Chahar Bagh, the principal street in Isfahan. Built at the beginning of the 17th century at the order of Shah Abbas, it is named after the general-a famous war- chief- who was put in charge of the work. It is also called the Bridge of 33 Arches, or Si-o-Se Pol.
It is 45 feet wide and 175 yards long but- although it is impressive looking- it does not have the same archaeological or aesthetic interest as the two other bridges farther downstream.
This bridge is located in the southern end of Chahar Bagh Avenue in Isfahan and was named after its founder. It is also known as Jolfa bridge.
The bridge is made of bricks and stones. It is 295 meters long and 13.75 meters wide. It is said that the bridge originally comprised 40 arches however this number gradually reduced to 33.
According to numerous historical references concerning the buildings constructed during Shah Abbas the Safavid in Isfahan, it is so conceived that the construction work of this bridge was completed concurrent with the construction of Chahar Bagh in 1596. This bridge is called Si-o-Se Pol (in Farsi meaning 33 bridges) because it embraces 33 arches.
About Chahar Bagh in Esfahan province
The American scholar, Arthur Upham Pope, whose monument A Survey of Persian Art in six volumes is indispensable to all students of that subject, describes this Madrasa as (perhaps the last great building in Iran).
It was built between 1706 and 1714 during the reign of Shah Sultan Hussein, the last of the Safavids.
The Shah`s mother is said to have paid for the building and also for the adjoining carvanserai which was to provide the School`s endowment and which Yas converted in 1962-65 into what perhaps the most surprising and luxurious hotel in the Middle East.
The great tiled dome over the sanctuary at the north end of the building is covered with large arabesques in yellow, black and white against a brilliant turquoise background. Round the drum runs a band of contrasting lapis lazuli blue decorated with whitecalligraphic inscriptions.
The brilliance of coloring of the dome and minarets is emphasized by the Khaki-colored brick work below.
Lord Curzon, statesman and traveler, whose Persia and the Persian Question, published in1892, is a mine of individual information, described the Madrasa as (one of the stateliest ruins that I saw in Persia).
However, it has been skillfully restored and is still used as a mosque, though no longer as a seminary.
About Chehel Sotoun in Esfahan province
This building -now a veritable museum of Persian painting and ceramics -was a pleasure pavilion used for the king`s entertainment`s and receptions.
It stands inside a vast royal park, but relatively near the enclosure, and was built by Shah Abbas II round an earlier building erected by Shah Abbas I. An inscription states that the decoration and frescoes were finished in 1647. Only two large historical frescoes date from the later period of the Zand dynasty. Unfortunately, the Chehel Sotun has been badly damaged since then, especially when the Afghans occupied the town and covered the paintings with a thick coat of whitewash. It is now being extensively restored under the aegis of the Institute Italiano Per il Medio Orient.
The pavilion opens onto the gardens by means of an elegant terrace, only a few steps high and supported by slender, delicate wooden pillars. In reality, there were never more than twenty columns, but they were reflected in the pool in the park, and so the Persian liked to call the building the (pavilion with forty columns) (besides, the number 40 had a symbolic meaning in Persia and expressed respect and admiration). Two rows of waterspouts and fountains in the shape of stone lions at the four corners carried water to the huge, elegant rectangular basin.
The terrace is a marvel of elegance. The slender pillars support a light wooden ceiling with wide fretwork louvers. Here we should note the influence of Eastern Asian architecture. Part of the sumptuous decoration has disappeared. We must picture the back wall covered with mirrors, the doors of rare carved wood, and the pillars, each cut from a single lane-tree trunk, with their fine eneer, their brightly colored paintings, their mirrors and studs of colored glass. We still have the remarkable ceiling its beams, its covering, its painted wood louvers, and its carefully lay-work-rosettes and suns, stars, stylized fruit and foliage. The great wooden ceilings-a rare luxury in a country so acking in trees-are among guarded by four lions which support the central columns.
The palace is called Chehel Sotun because of the number of the columns of this monument. Each column is formed of a plain tree on the skin of which a thin layer of colored board has been fitted. This layer was formerly covered with colored pieces of glass and mirror.
All the walls used to be decorated with large mirrors and colored peices of glass and beautiful paintings. Inlaid work was a characteristic of all doors and windows.
The pool in front of the building is 110 meters long and 16 meters wide. Four stone lions have been placed on the four sides of a pond in the center of the hall from whose open mouths water streams down. And finally the unique ceiling of the 18 column portico and the mirror work on the ceiling of the hall are eyecatching. The paintings demonstrating the parties held by Shah Abbas the great, and reception of Mohammad Vali Khan, the king of Turkistan, the war between Shah Ismail the first and the Ottoman forces in Chaldoran, the reception party in honor of Homayun the king of India and in the eastern section, in front of the painting scene of Shah Abbas` war with the Uzbeks, is seen the war waged by Nader Shah of Afshar dynasty against the Hindus in Kornal.
About Darb-I Emam in Esfahan province
This historical edifice has been constructed in the course of the 9th century A.H. (15th century A.D.), and according to an inscription inside its cupola, the date of building is the year A.H. 857 (A.D. 1453), in the reign of Jahan-Shah Aq Qoyunlu.
The monument comprises two cupolas covered with enameled tiles, three courtyards, two portals, a gallery, an arcade, a tomb-chamber, two Imamzadehs, and the resting-place of Jahanshah Aq Qoyunlu`s mother.
From the standpoint of architecture, mosaic tilework, and plaster inscription friezes of excellent expertise, this monument is one of the highest historical fame.
Extensive repairs have been carried out in the monument under the Safavids.
Its inscription in Thulth characters and the fine mosaic tile decorations of its portal stand among the most precious artistic achievements of the period.
About Dashti Mosque in Esfahan province
On account of its huge eighth-century brick dome of the Mongol period, this mosque ranks among the most important and famous monuments of the epoch.
In its present state, there is no inscriptional evidence in the Mosque to indicate the definite date of its construction or the name of the founder. Other ruins can be traced all around this historical monument, including the site of minarets erected nearby, of which nothing remains today.
About Chehel Dokhtaran tower in Esfahan province
Built in A.D. 1107-8, this is the only remians of an old mosque that nowaday is vanished.
About Hakim Mosque in Esfahan province
This Mosque has been constructed by Muhammad Davud Hakim in the year A.H. 1067 (A.D. 1656), in the reign of Shah Abbas II.
It possesses remarkable tile decorations, a variety of ornamental designs, and many beautiful inscriptions, all of which combine to make it one of Isfahan`s important historical monuments.
About Harun-e-Velayat in Esfahan province
The construction of Harun-e-Velayat or Haruniyeh is composed of a cupola, a tomb-box, two courtyards and two portals beautifully ornamented with mosaic tiles. It has been erected in 918 A.H. (1512 A.D.), in the reign of the Safavid monarch, Shah Ismail, and has later been repaired under other sovereigns of the same dynasty. Its tileworks have earned this monument a well-deserved place among Isfahan`s historical remains.
Innumerable inscriptions in different calligraphic styles, set on mosaic tile background, are found in this monument, including the inscription of its ancient stone through. Some lines of verse from the Safavid and Qajar times can also be seen in the mausoleum and the porch. The superb tile-decorated cupola of the monument also bears an inscription in Kufic around its base.
About Hasht Behesht in Esfahan province
The Hasht Behesht (The Eight Paradise Palazzo) is an octagonal structure, typical of many royal palaces in Isfahan. Commissioned by Shah Sulieman, it was built about 1669 (about A.H. 1081).
The garden, is visible at all times through the great arches, is an integral part of the structure.
The domed ceiling of the main reception room is painted in purple on a glittering gold base, while above the windows, in the lantern dome, fragments of mirror sparkle in the light.
Painting on the outer blind arches.
Painted tile designs of birds, animals, and hunting scenes, found on the spandrels of the outer blind arches, enliven the facades of the Hasht Behesht in Isfahan.
Hunting was a favorite pastime of the Shahs. Seven days before the court`s departure for a hunting trip the tents, rugs, gold services, and other prerequisites for the camp were sent off.
From five to seven thousand camels were needed to transport this equipage.
The splendor of these hunting camps may be judged from the fact that each nobleman was allotted some five hundred square feet for his tent. Under the silk-lined canopies were rooms for his harem, a bath, and a reception hall.
The interiors were carpeted, strewn with soft cushions and draped in shimmering brocades.
Pools and waterways adorned the site, and flowers blossomed in these (gardens for a day or two.)
The ceiling in a second floor reception room of the Hasht Behesht glistens with mirror decoration.
The Hasht Behesht enhanced Chardin, writing in 1676. (When one walks in this place expressly made for the delights of love, and when one passes through all these cabinets and niches, one`s heart is melted to such an extent that, to speak candidly, one always leaves with a very ill grace. The climate without doubt contributes much towards exciting this amorous disposition; but assuredly these places, although in some respects little more than cardboard castles, are nevertheless more smiling and agreeable than our most sumptuous palaces.)
About Imamzadeh Ibrahim in Esfahan province
Billah, the Abbasid Caliph There is a group of ancient constructions in the village of Shahrestan, which are known under the names Shah Zadeh Ibrahim and Shah Zadeh Hussein. There is also brick cupola in Seljukid style in this region, which, according to the resting-place of Khalifeh al-Rashid Billah, the Abbasid. Caliph assassinated in A.H. 532 (A.D. 1137), in Isfahan and buried in this locality. Adjacent to these monuments, there are also two minarets of the Seljukid epoch.
About Imamzadeh Ismail in Esfahan province
The original construction of the Imamzadeh and the mosque is attributed to early Islamic period.
Its minaret and part of the present monument belong to the Seljukid times. Under the Safavids, other structures, including the mausoleum, porches and a courtyard have been added to the initial building.
On the whole, this monument possesses considerable architectural and decorative attraction.
In its present state, the monument consists of a very old mosque, the mausoleum of an Imamzadeh, a gallery, a portal, a beautiful large dome, the courtyard, the mausoleum of Shaya, a prayer hall, an ivan, a sanctuary (harem), the tomb-stone of Shah Ismail Safavid daughter, a magnificent door, Qazi Safi al-Din Muhammad`s tomb, several stone-troughs and a series of decorative tile works, stucco ornaments and a superb tile tablet, and numerous historical inscription from the Safavid period.
About Imamzadeh Jafar in Esfahan province
This is one of the exquisite constructions of the early 8th century A.H. (14th century A.D.) and is also called the Jafariyeh Mausoleum, being the resting-place of the Jafar ibn Morteza, a famous religious personality of the period.
There are two inscription friezes along the exterior cornice of the edifice, which is an octagonal structure covered by a cupola, which in its earlier state seems to have had a pyramidal covering now disappeared.
Of the twin exterior inscriptions, one is in Kufic and the other, in Thulth calligraphic style, produced on a background of azure faience tile.
There is also a tablet on the entrance portal in white Thulth characters set on a faience tile background. Inside the tomb, there is the usual tombstone, which bears an inscription comprising the name and titles of the cornice inscription of the cupola gives the date A.H. 725 (A.D. 1324) while the date of the death of the deceased is also given in the tombstone inscription as mir-Muharram, A.H. 725.
About Masjed Jameh (Esfahan) in Esfahan province
Isfahan, one of the Jameh Mosque`s treasures is this exquisitely rendered stucco mihrab commissioned by Sultan Oljaitu in 1310.
The mihrab (prayer niche) lies at one end of a hall, sixty five feet long and twenty five feet wide, with tiled grilles on the courtyard side through which shafts of lights spill across the brick floor.
Arabesques, interlacing vines and calligraphy, leaves and lotus flowers are delicately incised upon the golden stucco surface of this inspired mihrab.