Chartaq ( fa, چارطاق), chahartaq (), chartaqi (), or chahartaqi (), literally meaning "having four arches", is an architectural unit consisted of four

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

s and a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

History

Chartaqi was a prominent element in Iranian architecture, having various functions and used in both secular and religious contexts for 1,500 years, with the first instance apparently being developed in the Sasanian city of

Gor Gor () is the fictional setting for a series of sword and planet novels written by philosophy professor John Lange, writing as John Norman. The setting was first described in the 1966 novel ''Tarnsman of Gor''. The series is inspired by science f ...

(Firuzabad) in 210s AD by King

Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...

. The biggest instance of chahartaq is that of the so-called Palace of Shapur I at Bishapur, also in Pars. Many pre-Islamic chahartaqs have survived, but they are usually just the sole surviving structure of a much bigger complex. The chahartaq structure was adopted in Islamic architecture.Dietrich Huff
"ČAHĀRṬĀQ"
'' Encyclopaedia Iranica'', December 15, 1990 A related concept is ''čahārqāpū'' (). File:Baze Hoor fire temple.jpg, Baze Hoor fire temple, Arsacid period File:Zahak Fortress.jpg, Chahartaqi of the

Zahhak Castle Zahhak Castle (or citadel) is a castle in Hashtrud, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. It is named after Zahhak, a figure in Persian mythology. According to various experts, it was inhabited from the second millennium BC until the Timurid era. It w ...

, Arsacid period File:Niasar Fire Temple.jpg,

Chartaqi of Neyasar Chartaq ( fa, چارطاق), chahartaq (), chartaqi (), or chahartaqi (), literally meaning "having four arches", is an architectural unit consisted of four barrel vaults and a dome. History Chartaqi was a prominent element in Iranian architectur ...

Neyasar Neyasar ( fa, نياسر, also Romanized as Niāsar, Nīāsar, and Nīyā Sar; also known as Nezār) is a city and capital of Neyasar District, in Kashan County, Isfahan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, ...

, Kashan, Iran. Late Arsacid
or early Sassanian era. It is one of the few intact chartaqis. File:ChaharTaqi-KheirAbad Darafsh (4).jpg,

Chahartaqi of Kheirabad Chartaq ( fa, چارطاق), chahartaq (), chartaqi (), or chahartaqi (), literally meaning "having four arches", is an architectural unit consisted of four barrel vaults and a dome. History Chartaqi was a prominent element in Iranian architectur ...

, Sassanian period File:Old exterior view Sassanid Chahartaghi Sarab.jpg, Chahartaq in Sarab, East Azerbaijan Province. Sassanian period File:Ateshgah Fire Temple.jpg,

Ateshgah of Baku , image = Jahlinmarceta baku temple.jpg , caption = , former_names = , map_type = , building_type = Ancient Syncretic (Zoroastrian/Hindu) Fire Temple, Mandir and Gurudwara , architectural_style = , str ...

. Many pre-Islamic chartaqis were part of a

fire temple A fire temple, Agiary, Atashkadeh ( fa, آتشکده), Atashgah () or Dar-e Mehr () is the place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Iran (Persia). In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (see ''atar''), together wi ...

File:Atashkadeh (fireplace).jpg,

Fire Temple of Amol The Fire Temple of Amol, also known as Atashkadeh Amol or Amol Atash Kadeh or Shams Tabarsi Amuli, is a temple in Amol, Mazandaran, Iran. It related to the period Sassanid (226- 651 CE) antiquity building. This building has been damaged over time. ...

File:Bahramfiretempleyo.jpg,

Bahram fire temple Tappe Mil ( fa, تپه میل or the Fire Temple of Rey fa, آتشکده ری, Fire Temple of Bahram fa, آتشکده بهرام) is one of the historical religious places in Rey, Iran which has stood since the Sasanian Empire. It is named after ...

File:Chartaghi Karchan.jpg, Chartaqi of Karchan File:Chartaqi of Konar Siyah چهارطاقی کنارسیاه - panoramio.jpg, Chahartaqi of Konarsiyah File:Harpak Fire Temple in Abyaneh (reconstruction).PNG, Chartaq on top of the Harpak fire temple in

Abyaneh Abyaneh ( fa, ابيانه, also Romanized as Ābyāneh, Ābiāneh, and Abyāneh) is a village in Barzrud Rural District, in the Central District of Natanz County, Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 305, in 160 familie ...

File:Mausoleum in the vicinity of Isfahan by Eugène Flandin.jpg, A chahartaq as a small mausoleum, with a grave inside, near

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

, 1840 drawing by Eugène Flandin File:Samanid Mausoleum.jpg, Samanid Mausoleum File:Sultan Sanjar mausoleum.jpg,

Tomb of Ahmed Sanjar The Tomb of Ahmad Sanjar is a mausoleum commemorating Ahmad Sanjar, a Seljuk ruler of Khorasan. It was built in 1157 in the medieval city of Merv in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. Throughout his reign, Sanjar fought off several invasions and ...

File:Fountain Ibn Tulun Mosque.jpg, Sabil

ablution Ablution is the act of washing oneself. It may refer to: * Ablution as hygiene * Ablution as ritual purification ** Ablution in Islam: *** Wudu, daily wash *** Ghusl, bathing ablution *** Tayammum, waterless ablution ** Ablution in Christianity * ...

fountain at Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo, Egypt File:Barid Shahi tombs.jpg, Tomb of Ali Barid Ali barid Shah, Bidar, India File:Sultanhani-jries.jpg, "Kiosk-mosque" at

Sultan Han Sultan Han is a large 13th-century Seljuk caravanserai located in the town of Sultanhanı, Aksaray Province, Turkey. It is one of the three monumental caravanserais in the neighbourhood of Aksaray and is located about west of Aksaray on the ro ...

caravanserai, Turkey (Seljuq period) ''(see also

Tetrapylon A tetrapylon ( el, τετράπυλον, "four gates"), plural ''tetrapyla'', known in Latin as a ''quadrifrons'' (literally "four fronts") is a type of ancient Roman monument of cubic shape, with a gate on each of the four sides, generally built ...

)'' File:Yerevan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church6.JPG, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan, Armenia

Contemporary architecture

The main plan of the post-modern Azadi Tower in Tehran is said to be influenced by the architecture of chartaqis. File:Shahyad.jpg, Azadi Tower File:Mausoleum of Kashefi 01.jpg, Monument of Molla Hossein Kashefi, Sabzevar, built in 1974.
The post-modern design has incorporated the concepts
of chahartaqi and

iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

s. File:Persian Scholar pavilion in Viena UN (Rhazes&Khayyam).jpg, Scholars Pavilion (the Scholars Chartagi) in Vienna, a
chahartaqi with elements from the architecture of Persepolis File:مسجد سالن اجلاس بین المللی اصفهان.jpg, A sample of modern Islamic architecture - The mosque of international conferences center - Isfahan

References

{{Islamic architecture Domes Architecture in Iran Sasanian architecture Islamic architectural elements Arches and vaults Iranian inventions

History

Contemporary architecture

See also

References