Gonbad-e Qabus or Gonbad-e Qabus Tower ( fa, برج گنبد قابوس) is a monument in

Gonbad-e Qabus Gonbad-e Kavus ( fa, گنبد کاووس, Gonbade Kâvus) is a city in Golestan province, Iran. The modern name, meaning "the tower of Kavus", is a reference to the most imposing ancient monument in the city. The historic name cannot now be rest ...

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 ...

, and a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

since 2012. It marks the grave of

Ziyarid The Ziyarid dynasty ( fa, زیاریان) was an Iranian dynasty of Gilaki origin that ruled Tabaristan from 931 to 1090 during the Iranian Intermezzo period. The empire rose to prominence during the leadership of Mardavij. After his death, his ...

ruler

Qabus Qabus ibn Wushmagir (full name: ''Abol-Hasan Qābūs ibn Wušmagīr ibn Ziyar Sams al-maʿālī'', ; (died 1012) (r. 977–981; 997–1012) was the Ziyarid ruler of Gurgan and Tabaristan in medieval Iran. His father was Vushmgir and his mother wa ...

(978–1012), and was built during his lifetime in 1006/7. It is a cylindrical tomb tower that reaches c. and can be seen from some away.; ; . The eponymous city is named after the monument. Considered to be a masterpiece of

Iranian architecture Iranian architecture or Persian architecture ( Persian: معمارى ایرانی, ''Memāri e Irāni'') is the architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its history dates back to at least 5,000 BC ...

, according to

Oleg Grabar Oleg Grabar (November 3, 1929 – January 8, 2011) was a French-born art historian and archeologist, who spent most of his career in the United States, as a leading figure in the field of Islamic art and architecture. Academic career O ...

, it achieves an "almost perfect balance between a purpose (princely glory beyond death), a form (cylindrical tower transformed into a star), and a single material (brick)". The Gonbad-e Qabus tower is the best known tower tomb in northern Iran and was featured in many publications.

Construction, plan and design

The inscription bands on the tower, written in

rhymed prose Rhymed prose is a literary form and literary genre, written in unmetrical rhymes. This form has been known in many different cultures. In some cases the rhymed prose is a distinctive, well-defined style of writing. In modern literary traditions ...

, state that

ordered the foundation of the tower built during his lifetime, in 1006/7. He was a prince of the Ziyarid dynasty, which was based in the historic

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

region of northern Iran. In the 11th century, this region was still undergoing conversion from

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

to Islam. The foundation date on the monument is given in two calendar styles: Iranian solar and Islamic lunar. The monument has an interior diameter of at its base. According to Sheila S. Blair (2002), the building's entrance contains some of the earliest evidence of the development of the '' moqarnas'' structure (i.e. stalactite vaulting) in Iran. In terms of design, the Gonbad-e Qabus tower resembles other cylindrical tomb towers on Iran's

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

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. However, the Gonbad-e Qabus tower differs from other examples because of its "extraordinary height". Taking its

conical roof A conical roof or cone roof is a cone-shaped roof that is circular at its base and terminates in a point. Distribution Conical roofs are frequently found on top of towers in medieval town fortifications and castles, where they may either si ...

into account, the tower measures c. above ground; this is three times its exterior diameter. Sheila S. Blair notes:

(1975) wrote that the Gonbad-e Qabus tower "clearly belongs to the general category of a secular architecture for conspicuous consumption". While discussing the forms of the tower tombs of northern Iran (which includes the Gonbad-e Qabus tower), Grabar stated that they may be connected with

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

funerary structures. According to him, the link to Zoroastrian funerary structures is "strongly suggested". He cites as examples the use of the Persian solar calendar in the inscription on the Gonbad-e Qabus, as well as the occasional use of

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...

(Pahlavi) on the other tomb towers of northern Iran. According to Melanie Michailidis (2009), Zoroastrian influence is "manifestly present" in the tower tombs of northern Iran, and can be seen in their height, purpose, and forms. She argues that the towers were built by the Ziyarids and

Bavandids The Bavand dynasty () (also spelled Bavend), or simply the Bavandids, was an Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (present-day Mazandaran province) in what is now northern Iran from 651 until 1349, alternating between outright inde ...

to emulate "the lost princely mausolea of the Sasanians". Though the tower is meant to be Qabus's mausoleum, there is no body buried inside, similar to the other tomb towers of northern Iran. According to legend, Qabus was buried in a glass coffin, hanging from the roof by chains. Michailidis adds that the "failure of the excavators to find a body might seem to lend credence to this story". She explains that the towers were used in a

syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

fashion. Bodies were placed inside the tombs, but lifted off the ground, resting on a platform "composed of some impermeable material". As Tabaristan was still undergoing Islamization at the time, syncretism would be a logical explanation according to Michailidis. Qabus's tower meets numerous criteria for disposing of the dead in the Zoroastrian way, but it does not "obviously" fit the category of an "orthodox Zoroastrian way of disposing of the dead", nor does it match a "proper Muslim burial".

Gallery

برج گنبد قابوس.jpg, An old image of Gonbad-e Qabus. برج گنبد قابوس2.jpg, An old image of Gonbad-e Qabus. Gonbad-e Qabus Tower by Hadi Karimi.jpg, Gonbad-e Qabus in July 2014. برج گنبد قابوس4.jpg, Gonbad-e Qabus in October 2014. Gonbad e Qabous Autumn of 2014.jpg, Gonbad-e Qabus in February 2015. گنبد5.jpg, Gonbad-e Qabus in May 2016. ، برج قابوس، گنبد کاووس.jpg, Interior of Gonbad-e Qabus. کلاهک.JPG, The conical roof of Gonbad-e Qabus. 1گنبد.jpg, The stairway of Gonbad-e Qabus.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links