The city of Sava (older name Savaj) is the center of the Sava region in the present Markazī province. The mosque, located at the heart of an area known for its water sources, agricultural products, and main roads, is of historical significance for the crucial role it has played. Throughout history, local populations have thrived in this area. The mosque was initially constructed in the early Islamic centuries and was modified numerous times, specifically in the Saljuq, Ilkhanid, and Safavid periods. Despite its importance, further research is called for; there remains more to be discovered.
Since the 1930s, when Pope briefly described it as a Safavid monument, a succession of discoveries regarding the mosque’s development, partly in the 1360s/1980s, has enriched our knowledge about this building.Footnote 1 The preliminary detailed study of this monument started when its conservation program launched in 1349/1971. However, no reports have been published. Further investigations by the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization (hereafter ICHO) in 1362–68/1984–1990 have yielded much new information about its development. Nevertheless, a complete understanding of this mosque depends on further archaeological investigations into the northeast part and the surrounding area.
This study aims to review the new evidence in depth, to clarify the mosque’s evolution, characterize its essential features, and define its position in the history of the Iranian mosque. Initially, it will suffice to note that four major phases can be distinguished in the construction and development of this mosque: pre-Saljuq; Saljuq (early years of the sixth/twelfth century); Ilkhanid (mainly first quarter of the eighth/fourteenth century); and early Safavid (first half of the tenth/sixteenth century). The mosque is a remarkable architectural palimpsest, reflecting the rich heritage of Iranian architecture from the medieval era to the Safavid period.
The ICHO investigation shows that the present building replaced another one, which was initially made of stamped earth and was the earliest Friday mosque at Sava. In the second phase, this rammed-earth mosque was overlaid with another mud-brick structure in a hypostyle (under columns) plan around a central courtyard. In the third stage, a dome chamber was added to the hypostyle mosque in the Saljuq period (431–590/1040–1194). Simultaneously, a freestanding minaret dated 504/1110–11 was built adjacent to the mosque. A plan was developed, and consequently a single colossal iwān, with some other modifications, was erected in the Ilkhanid period (654–755/1256–1353). In the Safavid period (907–1135/1501–1722), a new outer shell dome was added to the previous single Saljuq dome, and the dome chamber interior was redecorated. In addition, an iwan in front of the dome chamber facing the courtyard was possibly added.
Historic Setting
The history of the city before the Islamic period needs to be clarified. Sava was mentioned as a road station in the Parthian (Arsacid) period (247 BC to 224 AD).Footnote 2 According to Schmidt’s aerial survey, Vanden Berghe believes several prehistoric mounds were in the Sava plain.Footnote 3 In Muslim legend, Sava is famous for a great lake in its neighborhood that sank suddenly into the ground due to an earthquake on the night of the birth of the Prophet of Islam, as a sign of this important event.Footnote 4 Mustawfī Qazvīnī says that the city of Sava was built over the place of the lake in Islamic times.Footnote 5 Medieval geographers mention Sava in the Jibāl area, which was administratively attached to both Hamadan and Rayy at various times. The city’s name was first mentioned in Islamic sources by al-Balādhurī in his Futūh al-Buldān (third/ninth century), when he describes the Arab conquest of Hamadan in 23/622–23.Footnote 6 Ibn Khurdāḍbih (third/ninth century), in Kitāb al Masālik w’al Mamālik, mentions the name of Sava on the way from Hamadan to Qazvin.Footnote 7
In the early Islamic centuries, the city was on the route that crossed from Khurasan and Rayy to the southwest of Iran and lower Iraq. It was therefore astride one of the most significant highways of the trading network. Ibn Ḥwaqal, in his Ṣūrat al-Arḍ (367/978), mentions that Sava was a city on the way from Hamadan to Rayy. He also adds that Sava was a fine city whose camels and camel drivers were in demand, not only in Jibāl but also over the length of the Khurasan road, for transporting pilgrims to Mecca.Footnote 8 The anonymous author of Ḥudūd al-‘Ālam (372/982) mentions Sava as a prosperous city with fine weather and adds its location on the pilgrimage route to Khurasan. The people of Sava were firmly Sunnī, and therefore often in conflict with their neighbors in Āva (now Āvaj in the Qazvin Province), who were Shī‘ite.Footnote 9 Muqaddasī (375/985) mentions the city as a part of the Jibāl province, which in his time was ruled by Buyids.Footnote 10 He says the town was fortified and had fine baths and running water. He adds that the Friday mosque was near the high road and some distance from the market.Footnote 11 It is noteworthy that putting a wall around a city signified insecure conditions for a prosperous town. Nāṣir-i Khusraw (437/1046) mentions the name of Sava and notes that it was 30 farsakhs (c. 120 miles) away from its neighbors, Rayy and Hamadan. Minting of coins in Sava reflected its significant position in the Jibāla area during the Buyid era.Footnote 12 Al- Muhallabī (380/990), in his book Kitāb al-‘Azīzī Al-Masālik va Al-Mamālik, mentions Sava as a large and pleasant city on the path of Khurasan pilgrimages, with excellent bazaars and fine houses.Footnote 13 People of Sava, contrary to the Shi‘aites in neighboring Āvaj, were Sunnī Shafi‘is. During the passage of Abū Isḥāq Shirazi (394–476/1003–1083), a prominent Shafi‘i faqih (Islamic jurist), in 475/1083 the people welcomed him warmly, and various guilds of the bazaar such as bakers, fruiterers, and confectioners presented offerings of their particular trades and crafts.Footnote 14
By the sixth/twelfth century, Sava reached its zenith under the Saljuqs. Due to its closeness to the important cities of the Jibāl area, namely Rayy, Hamadan, and Isfahan, and its location on the way to Baghdad, Sava had a significant position in this period. Sam‘anī, a Khurasani muḥaddath ((hadith narrator) and historian, in his book al-Insāb (549/1155), mentions Sava as a considerable city from which came several scientists in various fields. He also says he attended Friday prayer in the town on his trip. The city became the winter base (qishlāq) for the Saljuq rulers.Footnote 15 Sulṭān Muḥammad b. Muḥammad (511–25/1118–31) stayed in Sava during winter and Hamadan during summer. Sava developed and became the center for Saljuqs’ atabegs; Tughril b. Muḥammad (526–29/1132–34) received the iqṭā‘ (an Islamic practice of farming out tax revenues yielded by land granted temporarily to army officials in place of a regular wage) of Ava, Sava, and Zanjan from his father Sultan Muḥammad, and he designated Amīr Shīrgir (Anūsh Tegin Shīrgir), a Saljuq commander in the Qazvin area, as his atabeg. With Amīr Shīrgir’s order, a remarkable bridge containing seventy bays was built over a river between Sava and Ava. From this bridge to Sava there was thick clay soil, preventing pedestrians from crossing it when it rained. The atabeg ordered a path built of paved stones, 2 farsakhs (10 kilometers) long, so pedestrians could walk on it without tiring themselves.Footnote 16 By 513/1119, Sultān Sanjar had defeated Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad in Sava and pushed on through Jibāl as far as Baghdad.Footnote 17 With the decline of Saljuq power, the Ispahbad Shāh Ghāzī Rūstam ibn ‘Alī (534–38/1140– 44) became a significant figure in the politics of northern Iran. He helped the Saljuq Sulaiymān Shāh gain the sultanate and was rewarded by Rayy and Sava. These factors suggest that Sava was a significant city in pre-Mongol Iran, and therefore the apparent place for erecting a remarkable congregational mosque.
Location and Description of the Mosque
The Friday mosque (Masjid-i Jāmi‘) of Sava, 35˚ 00´ 36.27˝ north and 50˚ 21´ 47.52˝ east, is located at the southeastern limits of the city of Sava. The Friday mosque is far from the traditional bazaar and city center.
In modern times, the mosque at Sava is near a highway. Except on the northeast side, the mosque’s perimeter is not limited by any buildings. The mosque’s setting was initially chosen as a freestanding site to be easily seen from a distance.
It is noteworthy that the location of a Friday mosque in early Islamic Iran fell in one of two categories. First, it was in the core of the city near the traditional bazaar, such as in Siraf, Simnan, Amul, Urmiya, Shushtar, Shiraz, Astarabad, Tabriz, Marand, and Hamadan. Alternatively, because of lack of available urban space to construct a large building and other related structures, the Friday mosque was located far from the bazaar, near the city’s ḥisār (wall), such as in Ardabil, Sava, Qum, Ray, and Na’in.Footnote 18
To the south of the mosque, the remains of an adobe wall, probably the previous city wall, stands. Several shreds and building walls from Ilkhanid times were discovered during excavations around the Friday mosque by the ICHO in 1380/2000.Footnote 19 The city wall probably dates back to the Ilkhanid period.
The mosque occupies an area of 5413 square meters. The mosque consists of individual components placed around a central courtyard (Fig. 1). Each side has a different length; the southwest is 44.03 m, the northwest is 36.54 m, the southeast is 39.26 m, and the northeast side is 43.74 m. The exterior borders of the mosque, like those of the interior, are unequal at present. As with every other surviving early mosque in Iran, such as the Tarīkhāna in Damghan (second half of the second/eighth century), Fahraj (early third/ninth century), and Ardistan and Na’in (both in the fourth/tenth century), the large size of the mosque reflects the dimensions of the early medieval city and the need to accommodate a large number of worshipers on Friday. It also may indicate the power of the patron who can afford to construct such an extensive mosque.
Bird view of the mosque of Sava.
In its current form, all significant parts of the mosque, including the courtyard, are asymmetrical. As mentioned, the study of this monument by the ICHO shows that the mosque was built in various periods. The study suggests that the earliest evidence discovered to date is beneath the present dome chamber and comprises the remnants of piers of stamped earth (chīna). So, the earliest building on the site was probably built of stamped earth piers and small intercolumniation.Footnote 20 In addition, the study suggests that the numerous mud-brick piers are set on a stamped earth (chīna) foundation, which can be seen in various places in this mosque. These features indicate that, in the second stage of the mosque’s history, there was a continuous covered area, three bays deep on three sides (southwest, northwest, and southeast) around the present courtyard.Footnote 21 The fourth original side of the mosque, which was the same size, was probably destroyed by the Mongols; there is an obvious need to excavate it.
The recent repair measurements of this building reveal that the monument’s piers were restored several times and consolidated with baked brick. Some massive piers—inside the south of corridors A and B—with elliptical arches between them, show this development (Fig. 2). The average size of the mud bricks used in the piers and the original barrel vaults of the mosque is 36 x 36 x 9 cm.Footnote 22 This is larger than the mud bricks in other early Islamic mosques, such as the Friday mosque at Fahraj, whose mud bricks measure 32 x 32 x 5 cm.Footnote 23 The Sava and Fahraj mosque’s construction style is reminiscent of Sasanian architectural characteristics extending into the early Islamic centuries.
Plan of the mosque and location of its miḥrābs.
According to the ICHO study, the southeast (or qibla) side was originally a hypostyle shabistān (prayer hall in a mosque), eight bays wide and three bays deep. Unlike other early mosques such as the Tārī Khāna at Damghan (second/eighth century) and the Friday mosques at Fahraj (third/ninth century) and Na’in (fourth/tenth century), in the Sava mosque the numbers of bays that are facing the qibla are even. There is no wide bay in the middle. The closest parallel of a mosque with even bays is the Friday mosque at Susa (probably first/seventh century).Footnote 24 The Sava case suggests that the layout of the qibla side was probably superimposed over a hypostyle eight-bay structure, which has now vanished. This arrangement may indicate construction of the Sava Friday mosque in the second-third/eighth-ninth century.
Presently, a dome chamber preceded by an iwan occupies the southwest of the courtyard. As mentioned, a dome chamber was added to the hypostyle plan during the Saljuq period. The erection of the dome chamber involved the destruction of three original mud-brick piers and the construction of two isolated baked-brick piers within the dome chamber on its northeast side. The thickness of the enclosing wall of the dome chamber on the qibla side increased from 0.92 to 1.36 m simultaneously.Footnote 25
The square dome chamber, 10.50 x 10.54 m, has three openings on each side, except the qibla wall. This scheme is similar to that of the Friday mosque at Gulpaygan (508/1114), and Masjid-i Ḥaydarīya at Qazvin and the Friday Mosque of Burūjird (both from the first half of the sixth/twelfth century). The size of the dome chamber at Sava’s mosque can be classified as middle range for the Saljuq period.Footnote 26 It is worth mentioning that these cities were in Jibāl province.Footnote 27 This again gives an impression of a local style of architecture. There are remains of carved stucco decoration on a panel on the dado of pier C inside the dome chamber (Fig. 3). The panel contains a network of eight-pointed stars of different sizes filled with vegetal patterns.Footnote 28 In the center of each star is a circle with the word Allah. Around the stars runs a band that repeats the word al-mulk (the sovereignty). The style of epigraphy and the network of eight-pointed stars propose a date in the sixth/twelfth century.Footnote 29 The use of geometric elements and vegetal patterns of carved stucco can be seen in other monuments in the Jibāl area, such as Imamzada Karrar and the octagonal dome at Natanz, the so-called madrasa at Rayy, and Davazda Imam in Yazd.Footnote 30 Together, these suggest a date for the construction and decoration of the original dome chamber in the early years of the sixth/twelfth century.Footnote 31
The remains of carved stucco inside the dome chamber.
During the era of Shāh Isma‘il I (907–30/1501–24), the city of Sava received significant attention due to the efforts of Khawaja Shams al-Dawla Pīr Muḥammd Savajī, the king’s high-rank amir. As a result, the Friday mosque in Sava underwent a transformation in the reign of Shah Ismā‘il I, which continued throughout the reign of Shāh Ṭahmāsb I (930–984/1524–1576). The dome chamber has an inscription band dated 922/1516–17 (Fig. 4). In front of the dome chamber is the qibla iwan, located on the southwest side of the courtyard. An inscription band dated 936/1546 can be seen in the iwan. It is 9 m wide, 4.5 m deep, and 13 m high.
The Thulth inscription of the dome chamber, dated 922 A.H.
On the northeast side of the courtyard are the remains of a highly irregular building that is eight bays wide and two bays deep. It was discovered during an excavation in 1354/1975.Footnote 32 However, there remains ambiguity about it. This building is not symmetrical, with the opposite side of the courtyard at an oblique angle. A survey of this building by the ICHO shows that its level is higher than that of the other parts of the mosque. In addition, unlike other areas, the building’s floor is not covered with plaster.Footnote 33 In addition, the different types of construction and material, the various sizes of the piers, its low height, and the oblique angle all combine to show that this building replaced the original northeast section of the covered area, which presumably followed the standard pattern of the rest of the covered area, namely three bays deep and eight bays wide. It seems that the clumsy reconstructed building served as a shabistān. The carved stucco fragments found during the excavation of the northeast structure support this theory.Footnote 34 The arrangement of all sections around the courtyard suggest that it was originally square, measuring 43 x 43 m.
Adjacent to the east side of the mosque, a distinct freestanding baked brick minaret stands, dated 504/1110–11 (Fig. 5). This date potentially aligns with the construction of the mosque’s Saljuq dome chamber. The cylindrical minaret is 4.50 m in diameter and approximately 15.87 m high. The door of the minaret measures about 90 cm wide and 1.5 m high. It is located at a height of 4 m, above the ground level on the southwest side of the minaret shaft.Footnote 35
General view of the Saljuq minaret.
Similar door location are to be found in the other minarets, such as at Chihildūkhtarān (501/1108) and Kashan (466/1074), both in the Jibāl area. By 561/1165, a strong wind overturned the upper part of the minaret.Footnote 36 The exact height of the minaret is uncertain. However, the large upper part of the minaret may not have been destroyed due to the placement of the third inscription band, which contains the name of the caliphate; this is usually the highest one. A heavy flood caused severe damage to Sava in 1051/1641– 42. The flood caused the upper part of the minaret to incline, and later, this part was destroyed because of instability and the risk of falling.Footnote 37 The north side of the minaret is unadorned. This might suggest that it was destroyed and never rebuilt. Inside the minaret, spiral stairs provided access to the upper part. Construction of a single decorated minaret adjacent to a Friday mosque appeared in the fourth/tenth century and continued throughout the Saljuq period.Footnote 38 The closest parallels to the example at Sava are those of Damghan (late years of the fifth/eleventh century), Kashan (466/1073), Masjid-i Malik in Kirman (477–90/1084–98), Barsiyan (491/1097), Gar (515/1121–22), Sin (526/1132), Zavara (530/1135), and Nushābād (second half of the sixth/twelfth century), each showcasing unique architectural features.
Three inscription bands of baked brick exist on the shaft of the minaret.Footnote 39 The first one is of baked brick in relief containing pious text, at the hight of 4.5 m, repeats three times in a row. The text is as follows:Footnote 40
لانبی بعد محمد
Translation:
“Muḥammad is the last prophet.”
The Kufic inscription on the middle of the minaret’s shaft at a height of 7.35 m gives the possible patron’s name and date of construction. The text is as follows:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم …[غیا] ث الدنیا و الدین ابی شجاع محمد بن ملکشاه سنه اربع و خمسمائه
Translation:
“In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful … rescuer of this world and religion, Abu Shuja‘Muḥammad ibn Malikshāh’,Footnote 41 In the year five hundred and four (504/1110).”
Beneath the second band, originally a smaller band in Naskhi, only the phrase “through the effort of the mosque’s custodian (mutivallī)” remains.Footnote 42 The term mutivallī was typically used to introduce the building’s manager. The closest parallel is seen in the mausoleum of ‘Abdallah ibn Burayda in Turkmenistan (c. 500/1106).Footnote 43
A further Kufic inscription band is seen at the top of the minaret, at the height of 12.11m. The text is as follows:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم اطال الله بقاء مولانا عبدالله و ولیه و خلیفه الامام المست [ظهربا] الله امیرالمومنین.
Translation:
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. May God prolong the life of our lord ‘Abdullah, his guardian and successor, the Caliph al-Must[ażhir bi]llāh, the Commander of the Faithful.”Footnote 44
The name of Caliph al-Mustażhir survives in two inscription bands, both on the north entrance of the great mosque of Damascus (503/1109–10).Footnote 45 Unlike other Saljuq minarets, such as Barsian (491/1098), ‘Ali (501/1108), Khusrugird (505/1112), Gulpaygan (c. 508/1114), Gar (515/1121), Chihil Dukhtaran (501/1108), and Bastam (c. 514/ 1120), there is no Quranic verse on the minaret at Sava. In addition, mentioning the name of an Abbasid caliph is unprecedented on the shaft of Iranian minarets. By saying the name of the Abbasid caliphate, Abu Shujā’ apparently aimed to display his loyalty and religious legitimacy and strengthen his sovereignty. The minaret was a religious structure and a political symbol.
As standard in Saljuq architecture, the shaft of the minaret at Sava is richly adorned with brickwork comprised of two geometric patterns of interlaced octagonals. Geometric patterns on minarets first appeared in the fifth/eleventh century, including those adjacent to the Tarīkhāna mosque (417/1026–27), the Friday mosque of Simnan (c. 422–25/1031–33), and Damghan (late years of the fifth/eleventh century). The minaret’s size and decoration at Sava display the city’s sociopolitical significance.
Jane Dieulafoy’s 1989 photograph shows the remains of a further structure, which looks like a squat column, beside the Saljuq minaret.Footnote 46 The remains recall the mosque entrance with a pair of minarets, as al-Qazvīnī had already mentioned in the seventh/thirteenth century. However, due to the latter structure’s small size and the short distance between them, they are unlikely to be paired.
Sava suffered severely from the Mongol attack in 617/1220. The Mongols burnt down Abu Ṭahir-i Khatūnī’sFootnote 47 kitābkhāna (library), which Yāqūt (623/1225) describes as being of a richness unparalleled throughout all of Persian Iraq. According to al-Qazvīnī (674/1275), the kitābkhāna was located in the Friday mosque at that time, and, in addition to books on all subjects, possessed astrolabes and spheres for the study of astronomy.Footnote 48 Despite al-Qazvini’s indication, there is no sign of any fire damage to the Friday mosque or its burned library. Except for a building, Dar al-Muṣḥif (Qur'ans house), in the courtyard of the Friday mosque of Shiraz,Footnote 49 There is no report about a structure in the middle of a mosque courtyard during the Saljuq period in Iran. The library was possibly a related building that extended further to the northeast side, whose remains have not yet been found. Beyond the present building, the northeastern area of the courtyard needs excavation to reveal its original features.
The design of the present mosque’s main entrance is not straightforward. Al-Qazvīnī describes it as a high portal flanked by two lofty minarets.Footnote 50 This type of entrance, which dates back to the Saljuq period, also is found in other mosques such as the Masjid-i Imām Ḥasan at Ardistan (555/1179–80) and Madrasa-i Dūminār at Ṭabas (second half of the sixth/twelfth century). This type of entrance appeared in later mosques, such as the Friday mosque at Ashtarjan (715/1315–16) and the Niżāmiyya at Abarku (725/1325).Footnote 51 The main entrance at the Sava mosque was likely opposite the qibla on the northeast side of the courtyard, which still needs to be excavated. The vanished entry was probably destroyed during the Mongol attack. One of the mosque’s original entrances was discovered on the northwest side of the courtyard, adjacent to the northwestern iwan.Footnote 52
Despite the severe damage inflicted by the Mongols, the city of Sava displayed remarkable resilience. In the second half of the seventh/thirteenth century, al-Qazvīnī notes the presence of a hospital (bīmāristān), numerous madrasas, and caravanserais. The construction of the Imāmzāda Sayyid Isḥāq (676/1277–78)Footnote 53 close to the Friday mosque at Sava serves as a testament to the city’s recovery.
By the following century, Ḥamad-Allāh Mustawfī Qazvini (740/1340) describes the Sava area as a fertile agricultural region and a thriving city. He provides a vivid picture of the extensive construction activities in the city, stating: “The walls of the town, having fallen into disrepair, were restored by the noble Khwāja Zahīr al-Dīn ‘Alī son of Malik Sharaf al-Dīn Savajī, who constructed the ramparts and the face of the wall in baked brick. The circuit of these walls spans 8200 common ells.Footnote 54 The noble Khwāja Shams al-Dīn, son of Malik Sharaf al-Dīn Savajī, further has founded the village of Rūdābān over against but in connection with the town and has given it walls which enclose it within the city, the circuit of the latter being near 4000 common ells.”Footnote 55 The remains of the walls still stand to the southwest outside the mosque.
The reign of Ghāzān Khān (694–703/1295–1304) and his successor Uljāitū (703–716/1304–1316) marked the zenith of the Ilkhanid period for patronizing art and architecture. This relatively short period was characterized by vibrant prosperity and intense creativity, leading to the construction of numerous high-quality buildings.Footnote 56
Among the Iranians who served the Mongols, Sa‘d al-Dīn Savajī stands out. He was born in Sava and appointed vizier by Ghāzān Khān in 699/1299. Sa‘d al-Din, an influential figure, served in this capacity until he was accused of betrayal and executed in 711/1312 by order of Uljaitū. His influence was instrumental in the significant development of Sava, a testament to his enduring legacy that continues to shape the city. It is worth mentioning that the shrine complex at Natanz was built by order of Zayn al-Din Mastarī, Sa‘d al-Din’s lieutenant in 704–707/1304–1307.Footnote 57
The Friday mosque of Sava underwent planning for basic changes during this period, the underlying aim of which was to monumentalize this structure. The most important part of this program was the construction of a gigantic iwan, a significant architectural element, on the northwest side of the courtyard (Fig. 6). The iwan measured 15.10 m high, 10.84 m wide, and 13.77 m deep. A four-centered arch surmounted the iwan façade, and a round engaged column of baked brick was set on each side. The iwan was of baked bricks, 27 x 27 x 6 cm. Narrow stairs led to the upper floor on the lateral sides of the iwan. The construction of a single gigantic iwan that was not on the qibla side was unprecedented in Iranian mosque architecture. This unique placement was necessitated by the instability of the Saljuq dome chamber and the northeast side after damage by the Mongols, leaving the northwest and southeast sides as the only viable locations for this new structure. The northwest side was likely an apt location for constructing the iwan because it was close to the mosque’s entrance and visually connected to the Saljuq dome and minaret. It indicates that functionality and aesthetic considerations influenced architectural decisions about the mosque’s design. It is uncertain whether the construction of the northwest iwan was the initial phase of building a four-iwan mosque. However, this remained uncompleted for unclear reasons, perhaps the patron’s loss of power or death.
Courtyard view of the northwest īwān.
The size and decoration of the northwest iwan at Sava were not just architectural choices but a deliberate expression of the patron’s power. The construction of an enormous qibla iwan in Tabriz by Tāj al-Dīn‘Alī Shāh (c. 710–720/1310–1320),Footnote 58 Sa‘d al-Dīn Savajī’s successor, indicates that this feature was a particular fashion in this period. The construction of such an iwan symbolized the concept of monumentality at the beginning of the eighth/fifteenth century in Iran.Footnote 59 The iwan possibly was used as a teaching space for a local Sufi leader (sheikh). The closest parallel to this is seen in the Pīr Bakrān mausoleum at Linjān (703–712/1303–1312), where a decorated iwan was built as a teaching space for Sheikh Mūḥammad Bakrān.
The study by the ICHO suggests that to erect the northwest iwan, two rows of piers (in total six piers) in approximately the middle of the northwest interior side of the mosque were demolished. New baked bricks stabilized the mud-brick piers of the hypostyle plan to construct the lateral walls of the iwan and resist its broad span arch.Footnote 60 The back wall of the iwan was built of baked brick. Each wall of the iwan is about 3.5 m thick and originally had three relatively high archways. They were likely blocked due to structural problems, and their sizes have been reduced to small passages. On each side of the iwan, stairs were built into the thickness of the structural walls to provide access to the upper continuous alcoves circling the iwan. From the middle niche of each wall further stairs led to the roof of the building. Functionally, the alcoves were likely isolated spots for praying. In addition, they lightened the thickness of the bearing walls of the iwan and saved on the cost of materials. A plaster frame, 50 cm high, runs along the top of the iwan’s walls, positioned directly beneath the roof arch’s abutment. This was likely intended to bear a missing or incomplete inscription band. An angular Kufic band, painted on plaster, runs beneath the iwan’s intrados inside an outset frame. The text still can not be read.
Two adjacent oval medallions are below the frame at the beginning of the east side of the iwan. Each medallion includes a faded plaster inscription band containing a verse giving the builder’s name as Shāhvirdī (Fig. 7).
The faded inscription containing the builder’s name.
The text is:
این همایون بنای بی کم و کاست عمل شاه وردی بنا ست
Translation:
“This auspicious, perfect building is the work of Shāhvirdī Bannā (builder).”
According to the abjad (an Arabic numerical alphabet) calculation, the second verse may provide the building date as 720/1320–21.Footnote 61 It is noteworthy that this verse is the sole instance of Persian poetry in the mosque. Persian poetry was a common feature of Ilkhanid architecture.Footnote 62 The transverse arches, a distinctive feature of the Ilkhanid period, roof the front part of the iwan. In contrast, the back part of the iwan is roofed by a semidomed vault embellished by a muqarnas (Fig. 8). This unique design, with its closest parallel seen in the south and north iwans at the Friday mosque of Farūmad (c. 720/1320), intrigues and fascinates architectural enthusiasts.Footnote 63 The similar technique of iwan roof construction found in Sava and Farumad may reflect the development of roofing techniques for aesthetic purposes in the early years of the eighth/fourteenth century.
General view of the northwest īwān.
It seems likely that around 922/1516–17, owing to structural failures caused by unclear reasons such as earthquakes, weaknesses of construction techniques, or site ground subsidence, some modifications occurred in the northwest iwan. Its back wall became thicker, the last large archway in each lateral wall of the iwan was blocked, and the size of other original archways was reduced.Footnote 64 The remains of a faded decorative band in plaster, about 30 cm high, with a vegetal pattern and arabesque in blue on white, can be seen on the southwest wall of the first story of the northwest iwan (Fig. 9). The remains of a further Kufic inscription band, inscribed blue on a white ground, contains part of a Qur’ānic verse (Qurān 10: 26) and is found on the southwest of iwān, on the upper floor.Footnote 65 The inscription band is on a wall, about 1.50 m lower than the uppre floor level. The verse refers to people who do good, who will have the finest reward and be the residents of Paradise. This theme is apt to be found in a mosque. The style of epigraphy was typical in the fifth-sixth /eleventh-twelfth century.Footnote 66 It is likely that the inscription band survives from the earliest structure of the mosque. On the first story of the northwest iwan, to the southwest, is the name of “Ali,” in Kufic, painted on plaster. Applying the name of ‘Ali, the first Shi‘ite Imam, may suggest that the building was constructed after Ūljāytū’s conversion to Shi‘ism in 709/1310. The decorated word of ‘Ali is seen in the other Ilkhanid buildings, such as Ūljāytū’s mausoleum at Sultanīya (705–13/1305–13), Pīr Bakrān at Linjan, and Imāmzāda ‘Ali ibn Ṣafī in Qum (761/1359–60).Footnote 67
The remains of the northwest upper floor inscription.
The scheme of the west corner varies from that found in other parts of the mosque. It is a cruciform plan with a central dome chamber, a rare plan in medieval Iranian mosques. On each lateral wall of the cruciform structure is a niche crowned with a corbelled arch of mud brick and adorned with muqarnas. Each niche is about 1 m wide, 1.67 m high, and 25 cm deep. Similar niches are seen in the northwest iwan. It can suggest a date for erection of the cruciform structure: probably at the same time as or close to the time of construction of the northwest iwan.Footnote 68 The building’s function is unclear, but owing to its small size, isolated location, and the remains of a miḥrāb on the qibla wall (to be described), it was probably the oratory (namāzkhāna) or school of a local Sufi or cleric leader (Fig. 10). The closest parallel is seen at Turbat-i Sheīkh Jām, where a cruciform oratory with galleries was built (c.720/1320) adjacent to the dome chamber.Footnote 69 The cruciform plan with a central dome is seen in other monuments in the Jibāl area, such as the Muḥammadābād stony caravanserai (early fifth/eleventh century) near Qum.Footnote 70 It is worth mentioning that the Sufi orders received generous official encouragement during the Ilkhanid period. The other instance is the Sheikh ‘Abd al-Ṣamad Sufi complex in Natanz, where several buildings with various functions have been established.Footnote 71 Several shrines and khanqahs were built or developed for local Sufi leaders, and charitable institutions were established for traveling dervishes.Footnote 72
View of the southwest cruciform space.
In addition to the existing barrel vaults on the northeast, southwest, and qibla sides of the mosque, the study by the ICHO found the remains of the original roof of the hypostyle mosque inside the walls of the northwestern iwan and on the first story of the corridor to the east side of the dome chamber. They show that the barrel vaults of mud brick were laid vertically in mud, and the mosque was originally roofed. Footnote 73 The sizes of the mud bricks were 36 x 36 x 9 cm and 31 x 31 x 6 cm.
The present dome has a double shell of baked brick. The inner shell is a hemisphere, and the outer shell has a double reverse-curve arch form. The inner shell of the dome is 15.90 m high, and the outer one is 21.86 m high. Above the interior dome are several vertical baked-brick walls, radial in direction, attached to the outer shell. The walls, locally known as khāshkhāshī, solidify and support the outer shell, particularly during its erection (Fig. 11).
Cross-section of the qibla side of the mosque.
The transition zone of the dome comprises eight blind-pointed arches. Four such arches of baked brick span each corner. Each squinch is filled with three tiers of quarter dome set in stalactite technique,Footnote 74 a relatively common feature of Saljuq architecture. Joint plaster plugs can be seen beneath the inner dome surface and on the dome squinches. As a standard decoration, the joint plugs suggest that the dome’s inner shell was likely constructed in the Saljuq or Ilkhanid period (Fig. 12). The outer shell was possibly added around 922/1516–17. A Kufic inscription band of black and white glaze tiles on a dark blue background runs below the dome immediately over the transition zone. The band contains Qur'anic verses (29:1–5 and 6 in part).Footnote 75 Over the band is a Thuluth inscription of glazed tiles in a medallion giving the architect’s name as Ustād Mīr Aḥmad ibn Mīr Ḥaj Bannā-yi al-Qumi (Fig. 13).Footnote 76
The joint plugs in the transition zone of the dome chamber.
The name of the builder on glazed tiles.
The inner shell of the dome is of baked brick, and a geometric pattern (locally known as ṭarḥ-i girra) of black and dark blue glazed tiles adorns it (Fig. 14). A round tile medallion in the center of the dome decoration contains a floral pattern of black, gold, white, and blue tiles.Footnote 77 The shell surface is covered with turquoise and blue glazed tiles overlaid with a geometric design. The inner decorative pattern appears mirrored in the outer shell. Three right angular Kufic inscription bands of glazed tiles on three different levels adorn the dome’s drum (Fig. 15). The first one is of a famous Shi‘ite slogan, as follows:
The geometric pattern of glazed tiles beneath the dome.
General view of the dome with its drum inscriptions.
On the top:
لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله علی ولی الله
Translation:
“There is no god but God, Muḥammad is the Messenger of God, ‘Ali is the guardian of God.”
On the middle:
بسم الله الزحمن الرحیم لا اله الا الله علیه توکلت و هو رب العرش العظیم ماشاء الله کان و مالم یشا لم یکن سبحان الله
علی کل شیء
Translation:
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. There is no god but God. I have trusted Him, the Lord of the Mighty Throne.Footnote 78 Whatever God wills will be, and whatever He does not will will not be. Glory be to God for everything.”
On the bottom: The names of Allah, Muḥammad, and ‘Ali.
The above phrase was standard in Timurid buildings, such as Taqi al-Din Dada’s tomb (790/1388),Footnote 79 and continued to appear Safavid buildings. The same geometric pattern and style of epigraphy are seen on later Safavid monuments, such as Mīrzā Raf ‘ī’s mausoleum (1082/1672) and Shāh Ziyd’s tomb (1097/1686), both in Isfahan city.Footnote 80
The qibla iwan and the dome chamber behind it are flanked by two corridors of three bays each. Each corridor is built in two stories for enough resistance to the thrust of the qibla iwan arch. Notably, the dome chamber’s decoration is one of the few surviving architectural designs from the reign of Shāh Isma‘īl I in Iran.
Decoration
Because of the mosque’s development in various stages, several types of decoration in different forms—carved plaster, painted plaster, brickwork, and tilework—are found in this mosque. The main decoration, dated to the tenth/sixteenth century, is in the dome chamber.
The mosque has several inscription bands in Kufic and Thuluth. Apart from two inscription bands, one on the minaret and the other in the dome, the bands are Qur’an or of pious content. The earliest surviving inscription band is the one painted on plaster in Kufic.Footnote 81 Only one word, mūliya (Our Master), remains from this band (Fig. 16). Abdullah Quchānī, who read the text, claims that the word’s correct form is maulānā, part of a Qur’anic verse (Qur’ān 2:286).Footnote 82 He also says that this word is usually written mūliya in Qur’ānic texts. Referring to Ibn Muqalah’s prescribed writing style, he suggests a date in the late years of the fourth/tenth century.Footnote 83 Painting on plaster also is found in other early Iranian Islamic monuments, such as the Friday mosque of Fahraj (third/ninth century) and the Pīr-i ‘Alamdār tomb tower at Dāmghān (417/1026–27).
The remains of an inscription band containing maulānā.
During recent restoration of the northwest iwan, part of its original decoration appeared. The decoration contains joint plugs of different types in plaster, dating to the Ilkhanid period.Footnote 84 Besides the standard decorative elements, the mosque features several decorated miḥrābs of varying dates, sizes, and shapes, highlighting its significance. Having multiple miḥrābs in a single mosque is noteworthy. Constructing a miḥrāb was generally a pious act that may have occurred to commemorate an essential event, such as the stucco miḥrāb (710/1310) that was added to the Jami‘ mosque of Isfahan due to Uljaiytū’s conversion to Shi‘ism.Footnote 85 Some mosques underwent renovations, measurements, or modifications over time. Older miḥrābs might be preserved as a testament to the mosque’s history, even if they are no longer the primary indicator of the qibla. Large mosques might have diverse prayer areas for men and women or different Muslim sects of the community. Multiple miḥrābs might be incorporated into the mosque’s design for aesthetic reasons. They may serve as decorative elements. It is noteworthy that the closest parallel in west Islamic lands is the Aḥmad Ibn Ṭūlūn Mosque (263–65/876–79) in Cairo, which has six miḥrābs, five flats and one concave, from various times.Footnote 86 The six miḥrābs in situ of the Sava mosque are described as follows:
The first miḥrāb is on the qibla wall, to the west side of the dome chamber (Fig. 17). The miḥrāb is as tall as the qibla wall and is 1.40 m wide. It appears that the miḥrāb was modified several times. Above the miḥrāb is an arch curved on plaster. The arch spandrels are decorated with floral motifs painted on plaster. A Thuluth inscription band of carved plaster containing Qur’an 2:254 is on the upper part. Below the band is a further inscription painted on plaster containing Qur’an 112 in part.Footnote 87 A niche is in the center of the miḥrāb. An engaged column can be seen at each corner of the niche. The niche tympanum is ornamented with a floral pattern of carved plaster (Fig. 18). The titles of the awaited Twelfth Shi‘ite Imām (Mahdī) are of Thuluth carved plaster, visible inside the floral pattern. Each title is enclosed in a floral design and painted in red. The names are:
O Master of the Time (یا صاحب الزمان)
O Vicegerent of the Most Merciful (یا خلیفه الرحمان)
O Arbiter of proof (یا قاطع البرهان)
View of the miḥrāb at the northwest corner of the mosque (no.1).
Detail of the carved stucco of the northwest miḥrāb.
In addition, the word ‘Ali in Kufic can be seen. The date of the miḥrāb is unclear; however, decoration mentioning the names of the first and last twelve Shi ‘a imams suggests a date in the Safavid to Qajar period.
The original courtyard façade of the hypostyle mosque is unknown. The remnants of its interior show that a layer of sīmgil (the final plaster coating) with a white layer (possibly a mixture of plaster and lime) over it originally covered the inside of the building.Footnote 88 The mosque floor was covered with multiple layers of a mix of mud and plaster.Footnote 89
Second, on the northwest side of the dome chamber (southeast of the courtyard), a carved stucco miḥrāb is seen attached to a pier (Fig. 19). This flat miḥrāb appeared in the course of mosque conservation measurements taken in the late years of the 1360s/1980s. A pier still hides half of this miḥrāb. It is 1.73 m high, and possibly due to the standard symmetrical design it was initially 87 cm wide. A narrow floral pattern frames this miḥrāb. A Thuluth inscription band containing Qur’an 3:18 runs in the outer border of the miḥrāb (Fig. 20). The band is decorated with floral patterns painted in dark blue. The inner part of miḥrāb is decorated with floral patterns and surmounted by a four-centered pointed arch. A circle of plaster filled with Allah in Kufic is on each side of the arch spandrel. A horizontal inscription band is placed below this arch in the inner part of the miḥrāb. A trilobed blind-pointed arch adorned with floral patterns is seen immediately below this band.
The general view of the flat miḥrāb (no.2).
Detail of the inscription band of the flat miḥrāb.
Third, inside the dome chamber, at the center of the qibla wall, is a broad niche flanked by two narrow niches. In contrast to the less-adorned walls of the dome chamber, the middle niche, which embraces the miḥrāb, is highly decorated (Fig. 21). The broad niche, 3.87 m wide, 6.15 m high, and 1.06 m deep, is crowned by a four-centered arch.Footnote 90 The spandrel of the arch is decorated with a floral pattern and an undulating stem of plaster. Rather than painting on carved plaster, the ornament involves intricate designs of embedded pieces of colored plaster in the plaster. This decoration technique is known as tūkhmia gūzarī, or embedding. The method was used during the Safavid period. Parallels can be seen in other Safavid buildings, such as the Maydān mosque at Sava, and Hārūn-i Vilāyat Mausoleum (918/1513) and Kāsigarān Madrasa (c. 1109/1698), both in Isfahan.Footnote 91 The main miḥrāb of the mosque is set in the niche. The miḥrāb is the sizeable among the surviving decorated miḥrābs, distinguished by its unique features. The tympanum of the arch is ornamented with carved stucco flower patterns painted blue on white. In the center of the tympanum is a medallion filled with floral designs painted on plaster. The intrados of the arch and lateral walls of the niche are decorated with a geometric pattern, including polygonal interlaced forms in carved plaster painted red on white. Bud flowers of carved plaster are seen inside the geometric design. The names (attributes) of God in Islam, such as Ya Jabbār (the omnipotent), Ya Fattāḥ (Oh opener/granter of affluence), Ya Raḥmān (Oh Most Gracious), Ya Raḥīm (Oh Most Merciful), and Ya Sattār (Oh most Veiler) in carved plaster are found inside the pattern. The geometric band is surrounded by two narrow carved stucco bands containing ‘Ali’s name in rectangular Kufic. A close parallel of the intrados design style is seen in the Ilkhanid period, such as in the Friday mosque of Ashtarjān.Footnote 92 In the center of the miḥrāb is a further niche, pentagonal in plan and 1.15 m wide, 3.13 m high, and 1.18 m deep. The central niche is topped with a four-centered pointed arch. The remains of a muqarnas are seen in the tympanum of the arch. On the bottom of the muqarnas, the word Muḥammad in Kufic, executed in carved plaster, is visible. Several decorative panels are below the muqarnas. In the center of each panel is the word ‘Ali in angular Kufic, white on blue in carved plaster (Fig. 22). A narrow floral decorative band is beneath the panels. Under it is a Quranic inscription band (Qur’an 2:254) in Thuluth. A further band in a smaller size in Thuluth, containing Qur’an 2:238, runs immediately from the previous one.Footnote 93 Two inscription bands beside each other, framed by a floral decorative band, run around the miḥrāb. Two stars are in the inner band and continue in the outer one. The first band in Thuluth, which contains Qur’an 17:78, 79, and 62:11 in part, is executed in carved stucco. The second, containing Qur’an 2:18, 26, and 19 in part, is in Kufic carved stucco. The dado of the niche, similar to the qibla iwan wall of the dome chamber, is covered with blue glazed tiles in hexagon form. This tile type became common in Iran during the Timurid period and continued in the early Safavid period. It is worth mentioning that the miḥrāb design is similar to that of the Miydān mosque in Sava, dated 914/1518.
View of the dome chamber’s miḥrāb (no.3).
Detail of the carved stucco of the dome chamber’s miḥrāb.
Fourth, a further miḥrāb of carved plaster is found at the end of a corridor to the east of the dome chamber of the mosque (Fig. 23). The miḥrāb was originally 2.20 m high and 1.40 m wide. This miḥrāb is not flat and comprises a blind arched niche framed by several borders. The niche arch probably once had a double reverse curve profile, used as an ornamental device. The niche is about 35 cm deep, and the remains of carved stucco vegetal patterns, painted in red and green, can be seen below its arch. The appearance of the color green in Ilkhanid miḥrābs is rare. According to the Qur’an (55:76 and 76:21), the green color symbolizes purity and heavenly favor. In addition, the green color is respected by both Shi‘ism and Sufism. So, in the time of Shi‘aite dominion and Sufi veneration in the Ilkhanid court, the presence of the green color was justified. The spandrels of the arch are adorned with vegetal patterns, and two plaster circles are set on the spandrels. The closest parallel is the miḥrāb from the Imāmzāda Rabī‘Khātūn, dated 708/1329, at Ashtarjān.Footnote 94 There was a pair of round engaged columns on both sides of the niche. The remains of green, brown, and black colors are seen on the miḥrāb. Notably, the miḥrāb’s decoration lacks a geometric pattern. A decorative carved plaster form contains four Arabic words, la, intertwined at the center, set diagonally in both top corners of the outer band of the miḥrāb (Fig. 24). Functionally, this element creates a space separating horizontal and vertical lines. The diagonal forms first appeared in the Saljuq miḥrābs, the Friday mosque of Barsian, Masjid-i Pāminār Zavara, and the Friday mosque of Ardistan (all dating back to the sixth/twelfth century), and then continued in the Ilkhanid period. Although the Ilkhanid miḥrāb has mainly disappeared, its inscription bands remain legible. These include the following. (A) A narrow inscription band in angular Kufic (Qur’an 36:8–15) executed on a green background frames the miḥrāb.Footnote 95 (B) An inscription band in Naskhi (Qur’an 2:125–26 in part), decorated with arabesque, runs in the outermost border of the miḥrāb. (C) A further inscription in Kufic (Qur’an 48:2 and the beginning of 3) that is ornamented with a floral pattern is on the outer border of the miḥrāb. The same Qur’anic verses run on the other Ilkhanid miḥrābs, such as the Friday mosques of Varamin (722/1322) and Bastam (702/1302). (D) The remains of a faded Naskhi inscription on a honeycomb plaster design can be seen inside the niche, to the viewer’s bottom left, giving the artist’s name and a date for the miḥrāb construction.Footnote 96
عشر (یا عشرین) و سبعمائه عمل علی ابن احمد …
Translation:
“Ten [or twenty] and seven hundred, the work of ‘Ali ibn Ahmad.”
View of the Ilkhanid miḥrāb (no. 4).
Detail of the Ilkhanid miḥrāb.
The miḥrāb is dated 710/1310 (720–21/1320), which corresponds to the northwest iwan construction phase. It is noteworthy that there is no trace of a miḥrāb inside the northwest iwan. This may indicate that the mosque’s central place for praying was the southwest side, and the northwest iwan was built for other purposes.
Fifth is a flat miḥrāb, attached to a pier on the east side of the dome chamber, 88 cm wide and 1.79 m high (Fig. 25). The remains of floral and vegetal patterns with an arch over them are seen in the miḥrāb. Like other contemporary miḥrābs, this arch was properly rested on two decorative columns; however, there is no trace of the columns. Below, the arch is covered with plaster, but the remains of carved patterns are visible. It is possible that this part was originally not completed. Two circular medallions of plaster, each containing an illegible word (possibly Allah), flank the arch of the miḥrāb. The remains of three vertical panels of decoration, the middle piece wider than the flanking ones, are seen in the miḥrāb. Two further identical narrow decorative strips separate these three panels from each other. A narrow decorative band, which contains an interlaced swastika pattern, separates the inner part of the miḥrāb from its outer border. The miḥrāb contains three plaster inscription bands. The Kufic inscription band in the horizontal frame above the apex of the arch reads bismillāhi raḥmān raḥīm (in the namo God , the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful). The two other inscription bands are Qur’anic. The first one (Qur’anic 9:128–29) runs in the outer border of miḥrāb, and the second one (Qur’anic 3:19 in part) can be seen in the middle blind arch of the miḥrāb, possibly like that of the apex in a horizontal frame.Footnote 97 The style of epigraphy of the miḥrāb is very similar to that of other inscription bands in the fourth/tenth and the fifth/eleventh centuries, such as those of Sabz Pushān in Nishapur (c. 350–75/960–85) and Davāzda Imām in Yazd (429/1038). This inscription is comparable to those in the Na’īn mosque and on the earthenware bowl found at Nishapur, dated fourth/tenth century.Footnote 98 Therefore the construction of the miḥrāb can be attributed to the late years of the fourth/tenth century or early years of the fifth/eleventh century. The flat miḥrāb is generally similar to that found in Ray, which dates back to the fifth-sixth/eleventh-twelfth century. The similarity consists in the location of two inscription bands: one immediately over the arch of the miḥrāb and another below the arch. Notably, Rayy and Sava were in Jibāl province, so this may suggest a local tradition of creating flat miḥrābs that spread to other areas later.
View of the flat miḥrāb (no.5).
Sixth, a further miḥrāb of plaster, to the east side of the previous flat miḥrāb, is attached to a pier. The miḥrāb, like the previous one, is flat and severely damaged. To the viewer’s right, the word bismillah in Thuluth remains at the bottom of the miḥrāb outer band. The trace of an outset pier is seen at the bottom of the miḥrāb, near the ground level. At the bottom of the miḥrāb, a vertical Qur’anic text (Qur’an 3:18–19 in part) is seen. The text is:
لا اله الا هو العزیز الحکیم ان الدین عند الله الاسلام
Translation:
“There is no God but He, the All-mighty, the All-wise. The true religion with God is Islam.”
In the southeast corner of the mosque, there is a further undecorated miḥrāb, topped with a pointed arch. The miḥrāb measures 2.5 m in height, 1 m in width, and 20 cm in depth and was covered with plaster.
The dome chamber is decorated with painted plaster patterns. A Quranic inscription band (Qur’an 76 and 2:254) in Thuluth runs around the dome chamber at a height of 6.30 m. The band is painted on plaster and is 73 cm high, with the date 922/1516–17 visible at the end.Footnote 99 The area beneath the band is decorated with painted plaster comprising salawats (literally, sending blessing or salutation) in 16 medallions. The text is as follows: Footnote 100
اللهم صل علی المصطفی محمد ، و صل علی المرتضی علی، و صل علی البتول فاطمه، و صل علی المجتبی حسن، و صل علی المرتجی حسین، و صل علی زین العابدین علی، و صل علی آل باقر محمد، و صل علی الصادق جعفر، و صل علی الکاظم موسی، و صلی علی الرضا علی، و صل علی التقی محمد، و صل علی العسگری الحسن، و صل علی المهدی، صلوات الله و سلامه علیهم اجمعین، و ائمه الهدی هذه ؟ بهم اتولی و من اعدائهم اتبرا.
Translation:
“O God, bless the Selected One Muḥammad, and bless ‘Ali al-Murtaḍa ‘Ali, and pray for the virgin Fāṭima, and bless ‘Ali al-Mujtaba Ḥassan, and bless the Murtaji Ḥussein, and bless Zain al-‘Abidin ‘Ali, and bless the family of Bāqir Muḥammad, and bless ‘Ali al-Ṣadiq Ja‘far, and blessings be upon al-Kaḍhim Musa, and peace be upon al-Riḍa ‘Ali, and bless the pious Muḥammad, and bless al-Asgarī al-Ḥasan, and pray for the Mahdī. May God’s prayers and peace be upon them all, and these Imāms of guidance? I turn to them and turn away from their enemies.”
Seventh, a plaster miḥrāb was found in the northeast excavation of the mosque in 1353/1974. The original location of the miḥrāb is uncertain; it may have been installed here initially or relocated at an unknown time. The upper part of the miḥrāb has vanished. By contrast to the other miḥrābs of the mosque, this miḥrāb is tiny, 1.13 m high and 68 cm wide.Footnote 101 A Kufic inscription band, carved in plaster, runs on the outer part of the miḥrāb. The inscription band contains Qur’anic verses (Qur’an 29:4, 5 in part) and is placed on a floral background.Footnote 102 A rectangular niche about 13 cm deep is in the center of the miḥrāb. A pair of engaged round columns originally flanked the niche (the remnants of the column left to the viewer survive). Each column is ornamented with a geometric pattern. A floral plaster form crowns each column. Beneath the top and the bottom of each column, the phrase al-mulk li’llāh (The sovereignty belongs to God) can be read. Inside the niche is a rectangular frame. A floral pattern of carved stucco runs outside the rectangular frame. A further flat frame crowned by a triangular arch is in the upper part of the rectangular frame. A Thuluth inscription band containing a hadith runs on the arch surface.
Text:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم انه یعلم بأن النذیری العزة اللة
Translation:
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. He knows that the warning comes from God Almighty.”
Beneath it is a decorative pattern in vase form, which is filled with floral ornament of carved stucco (Fig. 26). The style of foliated ornament, epigraphy, and two decorative engaged columns suggests a date of the sixth/twelfth century for the miḥrāb.
View of the northeast side of the discovered miḥrāb.
Several recessed narrow panels in two tiers set between bays extend to the courtyard façade’s total height. The lower frames adorn a trilobed blind-pointed arch within an interlaced decorative band (Fig. 27). The trilobed form is seen on the façade of the western Saljuq tomb tower at Kharaqān (486/1093). The spandrels of the arches also are decorated with vegetal patterns. The phrase al-mulk li’llāh in Naskhi in two separate medallions can be seen in the spandrels. It appears that the original façade of the mosque around the courtyard was altered in the early years of the eighth/fourteenth century.
Courtyard trilobed blind pointed arch.
The qibla iwan is adorned with various techniques. An outstanding muqarnas is on the top of the qibla iwan rear wall. Below the last row of muqarnas, to the viewer’s left, on yellow bricks, is an inscription that gives the name of the builder as Sheīkh Jamāl Ibn Jamāl al-Dīn Bannā-yi Qumī (builder of Qum; Fig. 28).
The builder’s name on the qibla īwān wall.
Below the muqarnas, a historical text in Thuluth on glazed tiles, 90 cm high, some parts missing, runs horizontally on the qibla iwan at a height of 5.05 m (Fig. 29). The text is as follows:Footnote 103
اوان سلطنه اعلیحضرت من خصه الله تعالی بمعاجز توءتی الملک من تشاء و تعز من تشاء اذل اعدائه بماثر تنزع الملک ممن تشاء و… و [م] فهوم الباقریة الصدق الصادقیة و الحلم کاظمیه … العالمین بره و احسانه حضرة من افاز بالنفس النفسیة القدسیة الکاملة مختار … و لماکان وقوع تلک العمارة هدایة الله ر[به] صار تاریخها تلک هدایة الله کتبه العبد الغریب عبدالله
Translation:
“In sovereign of His Majesty, whom God Almighty has endowed with the power to grant kingship to whom He wills and to humiliate whom He wills, as He removes kingship from those He chooses … and the essence of truthfulness and wisdom … the worlds are blessed by His grace, the presence of the one who has been favored with the complete sacred self… . And because the occurrence of that construction is guidance from God, its date is that guidance from God, written by the humble (foreign) servant Abdullah.”
The remains of the Safavid inscription of the qibla īwān.
According to the abjad calculation, the inscription can be dated 936/1539–40.Footnote 104 The date is concurrent with the reign of Shāh Ṭahmasp I (r. 930–84/1524–76), whose capital was the neighboring city of Qazvin.Footnote 105 He was the son and successor of Shah Isma‘īl, and he tried to consolidate Shi‘ism in Iran by repairing and rebuilding mosques. The closest parallel is seen in the Friday mosque of Barsiyan (sixth/twelfth century), where remains of a Safavid Thuluth inscription band on glazed tiles are in an attached iwan to the northeast of the Saljuq dome chamber.Footnote 106 The other parallel is the qibla iwan, dated 1069/1659, in front of the Saljuq dome chamber (509/1116) in the Friday mosque of Qazvin. It is worth mentioning that the north iwan of the Friday mosque of Ardistan, opposite the Saljuq qibla īwān, was constructed by a pious man in 946/1539–40.Footnote 107 It may demonstrate erecting an iwan as a devout act to promote Shi‘ism in this period in the Jibāl area.
The name of a local builder or artist is not found in the mosque. Due to Sava’s agricultural occupational priority, architectural skills were probably not developed adequately to contribute to the mosque’s construction and embellishment.
In Sava, the qibla iwan’s rear wall has three openings leading to the dome chamber. The middle one seems to have been originally larger than the flanking ones. The closest parallel is seen in the Friday mosque of Ashtarjan.Footnote 108 Below the inscription band, part of the rear wall of the qibla iwan, to the viewer’s left, is covered with the word Allah in Kufic high relief on molded plaster. A square Kufic (banna’i) inscription band containing the words Allah, Muḥammad, and ‘Ali adorns the intrados of the qibla iwan (Fig. 30). The inscription is made of small glazed tiles locally known as mua‘qilī. It first appeared during the Timurid era and was widely utilized in Safavid architecture. Most inscriptions in mosques are Quranic and are written in Thuluth and Kufic scripts.
Muqarnas decoration and square Kufic inscription band in qibla īwān.
It is worth mentioning that a handwritten text attributed to ‘Ali ibn Mūsa al-Riḍa (148–202/765–818), the eighth imam in Twelver Shi‘a Islam, was discovered in the south corner of the Friday mosque of Sava in 2023. The text is written on a mud brick, measuring 31 x 31 x 6 cm, on a pier. It contains a phrase indicating his presence there and expresses a prayer of forgiveness for all. However, some experts have strongly disputed the attribution of this manuscript to ‘Ali ibn Mūsa al-Riḍa, suggesting that further verification is needed.
Conclusion
The Friday mosque of Sava is significant in the history of Iranian architecture. The mosque was built during the early Islamic centuries with pre-Islamic construction features and has undergone significant modifications throughout major Iranian architectural eras, including the Saljuq, Ilkhanid, and Safavid periods. This rich history provides valuable insights into the architectural transition from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic period.
The original dome chamber of the Sava mosque exemplifies the innovative approach of incorporating a domed space within a hypostyle mosque. This technique had been previously used in Isfahan and eventually became popular in the construction of Saljuq mosques. The northwest iwan reflects the concept of monumentality design, which was fashionable in the Ilkhanid period. The decoration of the dome chamber displays a rare surviving example from the reign of Shah Isma‘īl I. The qibla iwan added to the mosque in the reign of Shah Ṭahmāsp I is an architectural testimony to consolidating Shi‘ism in Sava. The Saljuq minaret is a unique example that bears the name of the Abbasid caliph in Iran.
Additionally, decorative elements, including various carved plaster miḥrābs and elaborate inscriptions, showcase the high artistry achieved during its construction. Overall, the Friday mosque of Sava combines architectural styles from various periods, serving as an exceptional case of the continuity and integrity of Iranian Islamic architecture.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the ICHO archive for providing the necessary documents. My warmest thanks to Professor Robert Hillenbrand for his valuable comments on the initial draft of this text. I also thank Dr. Richard P. McClary for sharing the draft of his upcoming edited book.
Alireza Anisi has a M.A. degree in architecture from Tehran University and has a Ph.D. degree (2008) in Islamic Architecturer from the university of Edinburgh. He is currently an associate professor in the Reserach Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, Iran.
