Ghazan Mausoleum
| Ghazan Mausoleum | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam (former) |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Mausoleum (former) |
| Status | Demolished |
| Location | |
| Location | Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province |
| Country | Iran |
Site of the former mausoleum in Iran | |
| Geographic coordinates | 38°04′53″N 46°14′14″E / 38.081255°N 46.237319°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Islamic architecture |
| Style | Ilkhanid |
| Completed | c. 1300s |
| Demolished | c. 17th century |
| [1] | |
The Ghazan Mausoleum, also known as Gunbad-i 'Âlî and the Shanb-e Ghazan, was a mausoleum complex built by Ghazan in the suburbs of his capital of Tabriz, in the province of East Azerbaijan, Iran. The structure was believed to be completed between 1295 and 1304 CE, in the Ilkhanid style. It was the first Muslim tomb to be built by an Ilkhanid ruler, who hitherto were buried in secret natural locations.[2] Subsequently demolished, most likely during the 17th century, the area of this former monument is now known as Shanb Ghazan.
Structure
The building was an expansion of construction started by his father Arghun in the Tabriz suburb of Sham ("Shanb-e Ghazan"). It became a mosque-mausoleum vaqf complex, containing religious and charitable institutions in addition to the royal mausoleum, almost forming a separate "pastoral and mausoleum city", where nomads and sedentary people could interact.[3][4][2]
The area around the mausoleum soon became urbanized, and came to be called "Ghazaniya".[5] The mausoleum is no longer extant, except as large tumulus, and all original buildings have disappeared.[6]
Literary accounts
The building of the mausoleum was reported in the Jami' al-tavārīkh: "He [Ghazan Khan] constructed another city larger than Old Tabriz at a place called Shamb or Sham where he built a pious foundation surrounded by many gardens and parks. This was called Ghazaniyya. Merchants from Rūm and Europe (afranj) had their goods inspected there. To avoid bad feeling, the tamghachi there were the same as those of Tabriz."[4]
The author Tusi, visiting Tabriz at the time of Jahan Shah, marvelled at the beauty of the dome of the mausoleum.[3] Ibn Battuta also visited the mausoleum: "We were lodged in a place called Shām where the tomb of Ghāzān … is located. Adjacent to this tomb is a madrasa and a khanaqah where travellers are fed".[1]
Cut-tile mosaics
In Iran, the first known example of Mo'araq complete cut-tile mosaics is the Dome of Soltaniyeh (1307-1313) during the Ilkhanid period, where the mosaic appear "in situ".[7] Some possible fragments of cut-tile mosaic may also have been found in two slightly earlier monuments: the Ghazan Mausoleum (1295-1304), and the buildings of the Rab'-i Rashīdī (before 1318).[8]
Depictions
-
The mausoleum in the Diez Album (1st quarter of the 14th century)
-
Matrakçı Nasuh map of Tabriz in 1538, with the mausoleum
-
Jean Chardin etching of Tabriz in 1673, with ruins of the mausoleum
See also
References
- ^ a b Paskaleva, Elena (October 9, 2023). "Samarqand's Congregational Mosque of Bibi Khanum as a Representation of Timurid Legitimacy and Rulership". Manazir Journal. 5: 75. doi:10.36950/manazir.2023.5.4.
- ^ a b Howorth, Sir Henry Hoyle (1888). History of the Mongols, from the 9th to the 19th Century. Burt Franklin. pp. 530–531, note 1.
- ^ a b Melville, Charles (May 14, 2020). The Timurid Century: The Idea of Iran Vol.9. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-83860-615-2.
- ^ a b Satō, Tsugitaka (1997). Islamic Urbanism in Human History: Political Power and Social Networks. Routledge. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-7103-0560-2.
- ^ ""Talking" Tiles from Vanished Ilkhanid Palaces (Late Thirteenth to Early Fourteenth Centuries): Frieze Luster Tiles with Verses from the Shah-nama". Journal of Material Cultures in the Muslim World. 2 (1–2): 97–149. December 9, 2021. doi:10.1163/26666286-12340019. ISSN 2666-6278.
- ^ Houtum-Schindler, Albert (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). p. 341.
- ^ Bloom 2006, p. 297: "The first Iranian examples of complete tile mosaic in situ, however, are on the tomb of Oljeitu at Sultaniyya"
- ^ Bloom 2006, p. 297: "Wilber suggested that complete tile mosaic was first used in Iran to decorate the tomb of Ghazan Khan (d. 1304) as well as the buildings of the Rab'-i Rashīdī (before 1318), for he found fragments of tile mosaic in the ruins of these buildings outside Tabriz."
Bibliography
- Bloom, Jonathan M. (2006). Beyond the legacy of Genghis Khan (The transformative medium in Ilkhanid art). Leiden ; Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-9004150836.