Shahshahan mausoleum

Shahshahan Mausoleum
A composite of two images. On the left is the gateway of the mausoleum, on the right is the mausoleum itself.
Religion
AffiliationIslam
DistrictEbn-e Sina
StatusActive
Location
LocationIsfahan, Iran
Architecture
Typemausoleum
StyleTimurid
Completed15th century
Materialsbrick
Website
http://shahshahani.info/monument/ (Now defunct)

Shahshahan Mausoleum (Persian: آرامگاه شهشهان) is a historical mausoleum in the Ebn-e Sina district of Isfahan, Iran. The mausoleum contains the tomb of Shah Ala al-Din Muhammad, or known simply as Shah Alaeddin. It was built in the 15th century, and it is the 368th national monument of Iran.

History

Shah Alaeddin was executed by hanging in 1446 on the orders of Timurid ruler Shah Rukh for being a close associate of his rival, Sultan Muhammad ibn Baysunghur.[1] His body was dumped in the town of Saveh.[1] A year later, Shah Rukh died, and so Sultan Muhammad came to power.[1] Sultan Muhammad moved the body of Shah Alaeddin from Saveh to Isfahan, and buried him in the old neighbourhood of Hosseiniyeh, where his khanqah was, adjacent to the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan. The Sultan also built a domed mausoleum for him over his new grave.[1]

During the Safavid era, under rule of Shah Abbas I, the mausoleum was repaired by a woman named Khanum Sultan (or Banoo Sultan).[2][1] She was not buried there, however, and was moved to Mashhad instead. [2]

The mausoleum received a revival in 1950, when a descendant of Shah Alaeddin, Hossein Shahshahani, repaired and rebuilt the mausoleum.[3] He also constructed a madrasah and a health centre beside it. His work was assisted by his younger brother Morteza Shahshahani.[4] He was buried in the mausoleum in the year 1962.[5]

Architecture

The Shahshahan Mausoleum is decorated both inside and outside with intricate plasterwork and tiling.[1] All around the inside of the dome, there are calligraphy of fourteen poems in Arabic which describe the execution of Shah Alaeddin in the 15th century.[2] These calligraphy works were done by Seyyed Mahmood Naghash.[3]

Main door leading to the mausoleum
Muqarnas plasterwork visible on the upper part of the entrance to the mausoleum
The calligraphy of Seyyed Mahmood Naghash in the mausoleum

The lower section of the walls of the mausoleum are decorated with tile works that are hexagonal in shape.[1][2] On the top of the entrance door, on the east side, there are three lines of poem from Saadi Shirazi, which are now barely visible and have nearly faded off.[1][3]

A look at underneath the mausoleum's dome

As part his respect to Shah Alaeddin Mohammad, after the construction of the mausoleum, Sultan Muhammad made several major endowments for the Shahshahan Mausoleum.[6] They included, among others, the village of Esfehanak, Isfahan,[7] the village of Valasan in Freidan and Darzian in the district of Kararag, or Keraj Rural District located mostly about few miles south on the road from Isfahan to Shiraz. These properties were primarily cultivated farms and orchards. The intention was to use the income, generated by these endowments, to pay for the upkeep and expenses of the restoration and rehabilitation of the mausoleum and the adjacent Hosseiniyeh.[a]

The scroll documenting the endowment of the aforementioned properties has been certified by several prominent scholars, including Sheikh Baha al-Din Muhammad al-'Amili during the Safavid period.[8]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Hosseiniyeh is a building that dates back to Shah Alaeddin's ancestors. It does not refer to a Hussainiyah, but it refers to a structure known as "House of Sayyids" (Dar al-Sadat) which is attached to the mausoleum.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h سایت, مدیریت (2019-01-04). "آرامگاه علاءالدین شهشهان". اینجا اصفهان (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  2. ^ a b c d "بقعه شهشهان". ایمنا (in Persian). 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  3. ^ a b c "بقعه شهشهان؛ تاریخچه + راه های دسترسی - مجله مِستر بلیط" (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  4. ^ Honarfar, Dr. Lotfollah, A Treasure of The Historical Monuments of Isfahan, (Ganjine-e Asar-e Tarikhi-e Esfahan), Isfahan, 1344 (1965).
  5. ^ Mirza Zamani, Mohammad Reza, Shahshahan Mausoleum and Its Documents, Salname-e Keshvar Iran, 11th Year, 1958 (1336), pp.61-64.
  6. ^ Mirza Zamani, Mohammad Reza, Shahshahan Mausoleum and Its Documents, Salname-e Keshvar Iran, 11th Year, 1958 (1336), pp.61-64.
  7. ^ According to Jean Chardin in his The Travels of John Chardin to Persia, Esfahanak (meaning small Isfahan) is an agricultural area with a population of more than four thousand households.
  8. ^ Balaghi, Seyyed Abdol-Hojjat, Ansab-e Khandanhaye Mardom-e Naien (The ancestors of Naien Families), Sepehr Publisher, 1950 (1329), pp. 176-181.