page_title: Iranian architecture
section_title: Islamic architecture of Persia
hierarchical_section_title: Iranian architecture / Islamic architecture of Persia
caption_attribution_description: English: Kharaghan twin towers, Qazvin province, 1067 AD, Iran. Here are the tombs of two Seljukian princes. A devastating earthquake in 2002 severely damaged both towers. Photo by user Zereshk.
context_page_description: Iranian architecture or Persian architecture 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 with characteristic examples distributed over a vast area from Turkey and Iraq to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and from the Caucasus to Zanzibar. Persian buildings vary from peasant huts to tea houses, and garden pavilions to "some of the most majestic structures the world has ever seen". In addition to historic gates, palaces, and mosques, the rapid growth of cities such as the capital Tehran has brought about a wave of demolition and new construction.
  Iranian architecture displays great variety, both structural and aesthetic, from a variety of traditions and experience. Without sudden innovations, and despite the repeated trauma of invasions and cultural shocks, it has achieved "an individuality distinct from that of other Muslim countries". Its paramount virtues are: "a marked feeling for form and scale; structural inventiveness, especially in vault and dome construction; a genius for decoration with a freedom and success not rivaled in any other architecture".
context_section_description: The fall of the Sassanian dynasty to the invading Muslim Arabs led to the adaptation of Persian architectural forms for Islamic religious buildings in Iran. Arts such as calligraphy, stucco work, mirror work and mosaics became closely tied with the architecture of mosques in Persia (Iran). An example is the round-domed rooftops which originate in the Parthian (Ashkanid) dynasty of Iran.  Archaeological excavations have provided extensive evidence supporting the impact of Sassanid architecture on the architecture of the Islamic world at large.
  The Razi style (شیوه معماری رازی) is a term for the used between the 11th century and the Mongol conquest of Iran, reflecting influences from Samanid, Ghaznavid, and Seljuk architecture.  Examples of the style include the Tomb of Isma'il of Samanid, Gonbad-e Qabus, the older parts of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan and the Kharaqan towers.
  Many experts believe the period of Persian architecture from the 15th through 17th centuries CE to be the pinnacle of the post-Islamic era. Various structures such as mosques, mausoleums, bazaars, bridges and palaces have survived from this period.
  Safavid Isfahan tried to achieve grandeur in scale (Isfahan's Naghsh-i Jahan Square is the sixth largest square worldwide), by constructing tall buildings with vast inner spaces. However, the quality of ornaments was less compared to those of the 14th and 15th centuries.
  Another aspect of this architecture was the harmony with the people, their environment, and the beliefs that it represented. At the same time no strict rules were applied to govern this form of Islamic architecture.
  The great mosques of Khorasan, Isfahan and Tabriz each used local geometry, local materials and local building methods to express, each in their own way, the order, harmony, and unity of Islamic architecture. When the major monuments of Islamic Persian architecture are examined, they reveal complex geometrical relationships, a studied hierarchy of form and ornament and great depths of symbolic meaning.
  In the words of Arthur U. Pope, who carried out extensive studies in ancient Persian and Islamic buildings:
  The meaningful impact of Persian architecture is versatile. Not overwhelming but dignified, magnificent and impressive.
  However, Pope's approach toward Qajar art and architecture is quite negative.
caption: The Kharāghān twin towers, 1067 and 1093
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