The Tarikhaneh Mosque ( fa, مسجد تاریخانه), is a
Sassanid-era monument located on the southern limit of the present day city of
Damghan,
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 ...
.
History
This temple was in the pre-Islamic place of worship of the Zoroastrian and used it as a fire or temple of fire, and is about 2,300 years old.
This structure was initially used as a
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 ...
Fire Temple during the
Sassanid
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
period, however, after the fall of the Sassanid Empire it was converted into a
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, ...
in the 8th century. The monument is, thus, known as the oldest mosque in Iran.
Etymology
"Tarikhaneh" is derived from ''tari'' ("god") and ''khaneh'' ("home"), thus meaning "god's home".
Other names like Tarik Khaneh (Dark House) are false.
Architecture and design
This place was in the pre-Islamic place of worship of the Zoroastrians and used it as a fire or temple of fire, and is about 2,300 years old.
Before the arrival of Islam to Iran and the Qomes area, the people of this city used this place as the ritual of religious ceremonies of Zoroastrian religion.
The main plan consists of a square courtyard which is surrounded by arcades of barrel vaults supported by slightly pointed fired brick arches set on rather stumpy circular pillars, typical of the
Sassanid architecture. The pillars are 3.5 meters tall and almost 2 meters in diameter.
Standing together at a distance from the mosque are the remains of a square column of uncertain date, possibly part of the original construction period, and a cylindrical
minaret from the
Seljuk period. The latter was built in 1026–1029 to replace an older 9th century minaret, and is strikingly divided into six zones of ornamentation, each rendered in brick with a different geometric pattern. The minaret is 4.2 meters in diameter; its top has fallen, but originally it must have measured more the 30 meters high, with a gallery supported on
muqarnas
Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...
corbels.
Gallery
File:Tarikhane mosque Damghan-3.jpg
File:Tarikhaneh1, Damghan, Iran.jpg, A view of the portico of Tarikhaneh
File:Damghan1.jpg
File:Tarikhaneh2, Damghan, Iran.jpg
File:Tarikhaneh, Damghan, Iran.jpg
File:Damghan6.jpg
File:Damghan3.jpg
File:Tarikhane mosque Damghan- 2.jpg
File:Tarikhaneh3, Damghan, Iran.jpg
File:Tarikhane mosque Damghan.jpg
References
External links
Wikimapia EntryTarikhaneh Images
{{Semnan Province
Buildings and structures in Semnan Province
Fire temples
Mosques in Iran
Fire temples in Iran
Sasanian architecture
National works of Iran