The Jāmeh Mosque of Qazvin (; ) is a

Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

Friday mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...

(''jāmeh''), located in

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

, in the Qazvin province of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Completed in 807 CE, it is one of the oldest mosques in Iran, and was added to the

Iran National Heritage List Iran National Heritage List is a register of nationally significant monuments, places, buildings, events, etc., officially registered under the National Heritage Preservation Act of 1930. According to Article 1 of this law, "All the industrial mon ...

on 6 January 1932, administered by the

Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran () is an educational and research institution overseeing numerous associated museum complexes throughout Iran. It is administered and funded by the Government of Iran. It was f ...

Architecture

The oldest part of the mosque is said to have been constructed by the orders of

Harun al-Rashid Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...

in 807 CE. Later additions were made, the last being during the late

Safavid era The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires. The Safavid Shah Ismai ...

. The double layered main dome of the mosque is from the Seljuk era, and is locked to the public. It houses some examples of relief calligraphy from medieval times. Renovations have also been carried out on many sections of the mosque. The foundation of the mosque is laid on a

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

fire temple A fire temple (; ) is a place of worship for Zoroastrians. In Zoroastrian doctrine, ''atar'' and '' aban'' (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies sregarded as the basis of ritual lif ...

. In spite of the devastating

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

invasion, the mosque still stands today. Parts of the mosque have been turned into a public library. The mosque also contains a

Shabestan A shabestan or shabistan (; 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 could be ventilated by windcatchers and ...

and

Ab anbar An ''ab anbar'' (, literally "cistern") is a traditional reservoir or cistern of drinking water in Greater Iran. Structure To withstand the pressure the water exerts on the containers of the storage tank, the storage itself was built below g ...

, both now under the protection of Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization. Part of the complex caught fire on 28 January 2013. Half of the complex was burnt and destroyed by the fire.

Gallery

Qazvin Jame Maquette.jpg, Qazvin Jameh Mosque Mosaic.jpg Women Iʿtikāf at Jameh Mosque of Qazvin - Rajab 1439 AH 12.jpg Qazvin-Jaameh-03.jpg Jame Mosque of Qazvin مسجد جامع قزوین 06.jpg Jame qazvin4.JPG مسجد جامع قزوین.jpg

References

External links

9th-century mosques Qazvin, Jameh mosque Mosques on the Iran National Heritage List

Mosque buildings with domes in Iran Mosques in Qazvin province Qazvin

Seljuk mosques in Iran Shia mosques in Iran Tiling {{Iran-mosque-stub

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links