Goharshad Mosque ( fa, مسجد گوهرشاد) is a grand congregational

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

built during the

Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of C ...

period in

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

, Razavi Khorasan Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, which now serves as one of the prayer halls within the Imam Reza shrine complex.

History

It was built by the order of Empress

Goharshad Gawhar Shad ( fa, , Gawaršād; meaning "joyful jewel" or "shining jewel"; alternative spelling: Gohar Shād; died 19 July 1457) was the chief consort of Shah Rukh, the emperor of the Timurid Empire. Life She was the daughter of Giāth ud-Din ...

, the wife of

Shah Rukh Shah Rukh or Shahrukh ( fa, شاهرخ, ''Šāhrokh'') (20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447. He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynas ...

of the

Timurid dynasty The Timurid dynasty ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( chg, , translit=Küregen, fa, , translit=Gūrkāniyān), was a Sunni Muslim dynasty or clan of Turco-Mongol originB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, O ...

in 1418 CE. The architect of the edifice was Ghavameddin Shirazi, who is responsible for so many of Shah Rukh's great buildings, with the architectural and decorative manpower supplied from

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

and

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 ...

. The mosque underwent some renovations during the Safavid and

Qajar Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

eras. It has four ''

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'' and a courtyard measuring , as well as several ''

shabestan A shabestan or shabistan ( fa, ; Old Persian ''xšapā.stāna'') is an underground space that can be usually found in traditional architecture of mosques, houses, and schools in ancient Iran. These spaces were usually used during summers and coul ...

s''. Various inscriptions found on mosaic tile work inside the mosque and its courtyard mention the names of Safavid shahs such as Shah Abbas, Shah Soltan Hussayn, Shah Soleyman Safavid and describe their devotion to the Shrine and the contributions they made to the mosque. The double-layered dome of the mosque was severely damaged in 1911 in bombings by troops of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In the 1960s, over 5 centuries after its initial construction, 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 Reza Shah Pahlavi ( fa, رضا شاه پهلوی; ; originally Reza Khan (); 15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was an Iranian Officer (armed forces), military officer, politician (who served as Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran), ...

during the 1935 rebellion required the dome to be rebuilt. Under the imperial orders of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the tiles from the ancient dome were removed in the 1960s and the external shell was dismantled. In order to address the structural dangers, a new external shell was built with an iron frame and cement covering. The dome was then re-tiled, in a similar fashion to the original. While such repairs were necessary, they permanently altered the historic identity of the mosque. In the 1960s, the mosque's eastern

also received restoration work. It was pulled down to the foundations and rebuilt from concrete in the same aesthetic style as the original. Following the event of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, expansions were planned for the entirety of the Shrine complex, a new courtyard named "Sahn-e-Qods" was added on to the back side of Gowharshad mosque, where the historic bazaar once had led up to.

Design

References

External links

Archnet's entry on Goharshad Mosque
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1418 15th-century mosques Mosques in Iran Timurid dynasty Buildings and structures in Mashhad Tourist attractions in Razavi Khorasan Province Imam Reza shrine

History

Design

See also

References

External links