The Mausoleum of Awn ibn Ali (), also known as the Imamzadeh Awn ibn Ali and the Imamzadeh Zayd ibn Ali, is a

Twelver Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...

Shia 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 ...

imamzadeh An imamzadeh () is a Persian term with two related meanings: a type of holy person in Shia Islam, and the shrine-tomb of such a person. Descendant An imamzadeh is an immediate descendant of a Shi'i Imam. The term is also used in Urdu and ...

and

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

complex, located on the Eynali mountain, north of

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, in the province of East Azerbaijan,

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 ...

. The shrine, one of the many Imamzadeh shrines of Iran, dates from the 14th century and it contains two tombs, said to be of two sons of

Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

History

The site of the building was originally 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 which was converted into a mosque during the Rashidun conquest of Persia. During the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

era, the building was rebuilt into a shrine-mausoleum for Awn and Zayd, two sons of Ali ibn Abi Talib. The mosque and shrine were damaged in the events following the

Battle of Chaldiran The Battle of Chaldiran (; ) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia from Safavid Iran. It marked ...

. The building was then rebuilt during the reign of

Shah Abbas I Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers ...

. Later on, the

1641 Tabriz earthquake The 1641 Tabriz earthquake occurred on the night of 5 February in present-day East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The earthquake had an estimated surface-wave magnitude of 6.8 and an epicenter between Lake Urmia and the city of Tabriz. It was one of ...

completely destroyed the mosque and shrine. Many years after Safavid rule had ended, the building was restored during the

Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

period, by Jalal al-Din Mirza Qajar.

References

{{Mausoleums in Iran 14th-century religious buildings and structures in Iran Awn ibn Ali Awn ibn Ali Mosques in Tabriz Twelver Shia mosques Awn ibn Ali Awn ibn Ali

History

See also

References