Goharshad Mosque

History

It was built by the order of Empress Goharshad, the wife of Shah Rukh of the Timurid dynasty, and work commenced in 1418 CE, as part of her extensive renovation program for the shrine of Imam Riza.

The double-layered dome of the mosque was severely damaged in 1911 in bombings by troops of the Russian Empire. In the 1960s, the dome of Goharshad mosque was deemed to be in severe structural danger, damages caused by various earthquakes over time, the 1911 Russian bombings, and the attack on the mosque by Reza Shah during the 1935 rebellion required the dome to be rebuilt. By the order of Mohammad Reza Shah, the tiles from the ancient dome were removed in the 1960s and the external shell was dismantled. A new external shell was built and the dome was re-tiled. While such repairs were necessary, they permanently altered the historic identity of the mosque.

Architecture

Located to the south of the mausoleum, accessed through the dar al-siyadah, the mosque is of the familiar four-iwan courtyard form. The depths of the iwans are irregular, a response to the location of existing buildings within which it was inserted. Covering an area of approximately 10000 m2, the mosque consists of a large azure dome, two 43 m minarets, four verandas, a sahn with seven big bed-chambers, and a large altar made of a stony dado and mosaic faience shell. The two round minarets rise from the ground and flank the southern iwan, and was an innovation in Persian architecture as minarets in Iran were previously positioned above the parapet. A blue faience dome was rebuilt with poured concrete in the 1960's, above the southern iwan. The convex part of the dome’s shell is decorated with an inscription in the Kufic script.

The complete surface of the minarets, walls, and the surrounding colonnades are decorated with fine mosaic and glazed tiles produced in a variety of colors including ultramarine, turquoise, white, clear green, yellow, light yellow, and ebony. The mosque is known for its tile mosaic decoration, an art form that peaked during the Timurid period. On a high base of marble revetment, panels of enamel brick and tilework are arranged in two stories that run around the sahn, capped by a band of calligraphy designed by Baysunghur, a son of Gawhar Shad. Vivid, energetic floral patterns in tile and geometric schemes in brick are used in alternation, emphasizing the strong rhythm around the sahn.

In 1965 a scholar of Persian architecture described the beautiful mosque as the first, and the greatest surviving, Persian monument of the fifteenth century:

Gallery

Goharshad-mosque-mashhad-IRAN.jpg| Goharshad-mosque-mashhad-IRAN-main.jpg GowharShad Mosque - unknown date - maybe before 1945.jpg Mausoleum of Omar Khayyám.jpg

Notes

References

References

1. (9 August 2021). "Goharshad Mosque highly distinctive in terms of history, beauty, and architecture". [[Tehran Times]].
2. (n.d.). "Masjid-i Gawhar Shad". ArchNet.
3. Pope, Arthur. (1965). "Persian Architecture: The Triumph of Form and Color". George Braziller.