Dome of Soltaniyeh (Soltaniyeh Cupola)

Soltanieh Iran

Soltaniyeh (Persian: سلطانيه) situated in the Zanjan Province of Iran, some 240 km to the north-west from Tehran, used to be the capital of Ilkhanid rulers of Persia in the 14th century. Its name translates as the Imperial. In 2005, UNESCO listed Soltaniyeh as one of the World Heritage Sites.

The central magnet of Soltaniyeh's several ruins is the Mausoleum of Il-khan Öljeitü (Persian اولجايتو), traditionally known as the Dome of Soltaniyeh.

The structure, erected from 1302 until 1312, boasts the oldest double-shell dome in the world. Its importance in the Muslim world may be compared to that of Brunelleschi's cupola for the Christian architecture. The Dome of Soltaniyeh paved the way for more daring Iranian-style cupola constructions in muslim world, such as the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi and Taj Mahal. Much of exterior decoration has been lost, but the interior retains superb mosaics, faience, and murals. Pope have described the building as anticipating the Taj Mahal.

The estimated 200 ton dome stands 49 meters (161 ft) tall from its base, and is currently undergoing extensive renovation.

Soltanieh-Iran

Soltaniyeh (Persian: سلطانيه) situated in the Zanjan Province of Iran, some 240 km to the north-west from Tehran, used to be the capital of Ilkhanid rulers of Persia in the 14th century. Its name translates as the Imperial. In 2005, UNESCO listed Soltaniyeh as one of the World Heritage Sites. The central magnet of Soltaniyeh's several ruins is the Mausoleum of Il-khan Öljeitü (Persian اولجايتو), traditionally known as the Dome of Soltaniyeh. The structure, erected from 1302 until 1312, boasts the oldest double-shell dome in the world. Its importance in the Muslim world may be compared to that of Brunelleschi's cupola for the Christian architecture. The Dome of Soltaniyeh paved the way for more daring Iranian-style cupola constructions in muslim world, such as the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi and Taj Mahal. Much of exterior decoration has been lost, but the interior retains superb mosaics, faience, and murals. Pope have described the building as anticipating the Taj Mahal. The estimated 200 ton dome stands 49 meters (161 ft) tall from its base, and is currently undergoing extensive renovation.

Soltaniyeh

The central magnet of Soltaniyeh's several ruins is the Mausoleum of Il-khan Öljeitü also known as Muhammad Khodabandeh, traditionally known as the Dome of Soltaniyeh in Soltaniyeh city, Zanjan Province. The structure, erected from 1302 to 1312 AD, has the oldest double-shell dome in Iran. This view of the construction was made by Dieulafoy but is disputed by André Godard. In Godard's view it is a normal, if spectacularly large dome, with a thin skin on top for the faience and is in no way a double dome. Its importance in the Muslim world may be compared to that of Brunelleschi's cupola for Christian architecture. It is one of the largest brick domes in the world, just at the theoretical engineering limit for a brick dome and the third largest dome in the world after the domes of Florence Cathedral and Hagia Sophia. The Dome of Soltaniyeh paved the way for more daring Iranian-style cupola constructions in the Muslim world, such as the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi and the Taj Mahal. Much of its exterior decoration has been lost, but the interior retains superb mosaics, faience, and murals. People have described the architecture of the building as “anticipating the Taj Mahal.”

Islamic architecture | Wikipedia audio article

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Islamic architecture

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SUMMARY
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Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day for today it is known as Islamic architecture was influenced by Roman, Byzantine, Persian and all other lands which the Muslims conquered in the 7th and 8th centuries. Further east, it was also influenced by Chinese and Indian architecture as Islam spread to the Southeast Asia. It developed distinct characteristics in the form of buildings, and the decoration of surfaces with Islamic calligraphy and geometric and interlace patterned ornament. The principal Islamic architectural types for large or public buildings are: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for other buildings such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.Many of the buildings which are mentioned in this article are listed as World Heritage Sites. Some of them, like the Citadel of Aleppo, have suffered significant damage in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.Different approaches are taken to study traditional Islamic architecture, historical and conceptual, Nader Ardalan is one of those to analysed traditional Islamic architecture based on Gnosticism