SalamIran - Province of Semnan

Semnan

Capital of a sizable province of the same name to the east of Tehran (220 kilometers), north of Kevir Desert, and the southern slopes of Alborz mountains, favored with an abundant water supply, surrounded by gardens, laid out according to modern principles of town planning with straight, wide avenues lines with trees, and the largest provincial town, Semnan is a most attractive town with an undistinguished though troubled past. Alborz mountains are the main source of rivers and qanats flowing in the province of Semnan.

Located in an elevation of 1100 meters above sea level and already accommodating a population of more than 140,000 (1991 census) inhabitants, once it was in the second place after Shahrud with greater population roughly ten years ago. So many armies have swept through the town that its history consists primarily of the devastation it has suffered. In a vital position on the great transversal route from northern Iran, it has always risen from its ruins as soon as peace was re-established.

Semnan province is one of the rich provinces of the country in areas such as industry, agriculture, mining, animal husbandry, handicrafts, traditions, tribes, languages, and historic sites. Like every Iranian town of any importance and antiquity, the city of Semnan contains a number of Imamzadehs in addition to other historic relics.

Jom’eh Mosque

The most remarkable building in Semnan in terms of its beauty and architectural technique, is Masjed-e Jom’eh, whose minaret (attributed to it because of its vicinity) in the north eastern corner of the mosque with its Kuffic inscription upon its brick surface dates from the 12th century AD (Seljuk period) and whose high ivan, built in the 15th century AD, contains an attractive carved stucco mihrab, and bears an inscription dated 1425 AD in the name of the Timurid sovereign Shahrokh, son of Tamerlane. The minaret, known as the Minar-e Masjid-e Jam’e, is equipped with 91 spiral steps leading to its peak, and several holes on its body for lighting the inside area of the structure. In three corners of its courtyard, impressive prayer halls have been constructed which seem to defy the passage of time on account of their strong columniation. Several historic firmans (royal decrees) can be seen in the ivan of the mosque, which have been carved on stone and which bears the dates 1554-1612-1629 and 1694 AD.

Imam Khomeini Mosque

Although much more recent and originally known as the Sultani Mosque, the Imam Khomeini Mosque with four entrances is worth seeing. Built at the beginning of the 19th century, under Fath Ali Shah Qajar, it is a charming example of the fragile grace so characteristic of the Qajar style. The mosque consists of a spacious court, several prayer halls, a tile-decorated porch and lecture hall, four ivans, minarets, a marble manbar (pulpit), and numerous inscriptions in beautiful calligraphic styles. The construction date is give in a commemorative poem by the poet Andalib, which is carved on a slab of marble (1826 AD).

Mausoleum of Sheikh Ala od-Dowleh Semnani

This mausoleum where the 8th century AD mystic, Sheikh Rokn od-Din Ala od-Dowleh Biabanaki known as Ala od-Dowleh Rokn od-Din Abolmakarem, is buried, dates from the Mongol period. The structure being of unbaked brick, has fallen into ruins in the past. He was one of the most brilliant thinkers and leaders of Iran during the Illkhanid period.

DAMGHAN

Damghan, in the west of Semnan and some 330 kilometers to the east of Tehran, is a town with a great history. It was the country’s capital in 400 BC. Hecatompylos, the site of which is few kilometers to the south of the town, was one of the principal Greek settlements founded by Alexander. Damghan flourished in Seleucid times and was one of the Parthian capitals. It was still an important place at the time of the Arab conquest and became the site of one of the first mosques in Iran. In addition to being sacked by Chengiz Khan and Timur, Damghan was also laid low by the Afghans in 1732 AD, but Nader Shah made some effort to reconstruct it. With an elevation of 1170 meters from the sea level, it accommodates a population of 75,000 inhabitants in an area of 13,080 square kilometers.

Tappeh Hissar

Three km from the city of Damghan, this Tappeh was excavated by an American Archaeological Mission from 1929 until 1931. The excavations resulted in the discovery of the remains of mud-brick dwellings and other structures; numerous grottoes; objects made of bone, silver, and other metals; plain and glazed pottery; agricultural tools; and statues and figurines of men, animals, and birds, which have been unearthed in an ancient cemetery and which, according to the archaeologists, belong to the third and second millennia BC, when the region had been inhabited.

Tarikhaneh and Its Minaret

Tarikhaneh (God’s House) or mosque of forty columns, together with its minaret, is the oldest surviving Islamic building in Iran, dating from the early Islamic period (circa 775) to the south of the town. It is a four-ivan structure with a columned prayer hall and high arches, and bears full resemblance to Sassanian buildings, of which it is a perfect imitation. Here, traces of the Arab plan are most plainly visible. The mosque once had a square minaret of which the base is still visible. The detached 25-meter high minaret, however, belongs to the Seljuk period and possesses an inscription in Kuffic style, which can be seen on its shaft. It has apparently been built by Bakhtiar ibn-e Mohammad who has also constructed a mausoleum for his father Mohammad ibe-e Ibrahim, known as Pir-e Alamdar. The mosque consists of a central courtyard with covered corridors all around. Its cylindrical columns, each 1.50 meters in diameters, are perfect replicas of those found in the palaces of the Sassanian period in Tappeh Hissar.

Pir-e Alamdar

The mausoleum of Pir-e Alamdar is a circular, lovely domed tomb-tower which, according to an inscription, has been built in 1026 AD. It is the oldest extant building of this type south of the Alborz Mountains. The fame of this eleventh-century monument lies mainly in the use of Kuffic design in its brick decorations and a Kuffic inscription inside the tower. In the vicinity of this tomb-tower, there is also a mosque that has been built in the reign of the Muslim Mongol Illkhan, Uljaitu.

The Minaret of Masjid-e Jam’e

This 31-meter high minaret, to the north of the Jam’e Mosque, dates from the Seljuk period. Altogether consisting of 105 steps, it is made of brick and possesses tile decorations from the twelfth century AD, in its upper part. Its surface has been decorated with a Chapter of the Holy Koran. The Jam’e Mosque has been constructed at a later date. If, as suggested by some experts, the tile work of the minaret be of the same date as the minaret itself, then these tile decorations will probably be older than those of the village Sin, in Esfahan (1131 AD).

Chehel Dokhtaran Tower

Meaning Forty Daughters (a common Persian appellation, forty being regarded as a lucky number), located behind the Imamzadeh Ja’far mausoleum in the west of the town, this circular tower with an onion-shaped cupola, is a 15-meter high Seljuk monument with a 5.5 meters inner diameter and, according to a brick Kuffic inscription, its construction has taken place in 1073 AD. It possesses some very beautiful brick decorations.

Imamzadeh Ja’far

To the north west of Damghan, this brick mausoleum of Imamzadeh Ja’far with its four false-arched walls, eight stalactite-decorated arcades, and dome, ranks among the Seljuk monuments and has undergone some reparations in later period. In the interior of its ivan

The dates 1266, 1412, and 1447 AD can be seen on several tile fragments and stone slabs, where the names of the architect and carpenter are given as Ostad (master) Nizam od-Din ibn Ostad Ali ibn Ali (the carpenter) and Ostad Mohammad ibn…Saffar Damghani (the founder of this benevolent edifice). In there is a mausoleum called Imamzadeh Mohammad which has been built in the reign of the Timurid King, Shahrokh, a fact indicated by the portal inscription in Thulth characters.

SHAHRUD

Some 410 kilometers to the east of Tehran, half-way between the capital and Mashhad, and at the junction with the Gorgan road, this halting place (with more than 202,000 inhabitants) has, in modern times, replaced the historic town of Bastam situated in the hills a few kilometers to the north.

The Seljuk Mosque and Minaret of Bastam

The original structure of the mosque dates from the 11th century AD, and there remains nothing but an ancient wall of this early monument today. The brick Seljuk Minaret of the mosque is, however, extant and its Kuffic inscriptions gives us the date 1120 AD. In the reign of Sultan Mohammad Khodebandeh Uljaitu, the Muslim Moghol Illkhan, other structures were added to it, including an impressive ivan built in 1317 AD by the Damghani architect, Mohammad ibn Hossein, whose name has been inscribed in Masjid-e Jam’e as well as in the mihrab of the adjoining mosque.

Masjid-e Farumad

Located in a village by the same name 165 km to the north east of Shahrud, the original construction of this magnificent historic monument belongs to the 13th century AD. Today nothing but the ruins and demolished columns and prayer hall of that impressive structure may catch the visitor’s eyes. The reason for the building of such a mosque in this village was that Farumad and the surrounding villages had developed into a major center of political activities of Sarbedaran Movement during the later Illkhanid period.

Shahrud Museum

Dating from the later Qajar and early Pahlavi periods, originally belonging to the Shahrud Municipality and already located in the center of the town, this two-storied structure with brick facing was transformed into the present museum in 1988 after a series of major repair and renovation works. It is a remarkable structure in terms of architectural style and exterior tile works. It houses both archaeological and ethnological sections.

Visiting hours: everyday 08:00 a.m. 13:00 p.m., except Fridays. Tel: (02231) 21784.

Soma’eh (Monastery) of Bayazid-e Bastami

The Soma’eh (monastery) consists of a conical domed brick structure, a lofty ivan, a stone minaret, Bayazid’s Mausoleum, and the resting-place of Amir Afghani, which date from the 14th and 19th centuries AD. Most of the structures belong to the reign of Uljaitu, the Muslim Illkan of Moghol period. There is a plaster inscription in Thulth calligraphy, on top of the mihrab and beside Bayazid’s tomb and several others, there is a Char Taqi (four-arched square structure) adjoining the mausoleum, where Amir Afghani is buried, and which is dated 1869 AD. Upon Amir Afghani’s tombstone several lines of verse have been inscribed in Nasta’liq style and the names of the calligrapher and the sculptor are given at the end as Mohammad Rahim Harati and Seyed Hassan Mashhadi, respectively. The Jam’e Mosque stands on the southeastern side of the mausoleum, next to a high, fluted tower called Kashaneh. The whole complex belongs to the 14th century AD. The tower (Borj-e Kashaneh) is of a particular architectural style with pointed brick flutings, two Kuffic inscriptions in relief, and a brick cupola. A further inscription, set in plasterwork inside the Borj, comprises the name of Uljaitu and the date 1323 AD. According to yet another plaster inscription above the portal, the name of the architect is Mohammad al-Hossein architect-engineer from Damghan. Around the portal and along the doorframe, the name Mohammad ibn Ahmad Semnani and the date 1300 AD can still be read, though with considerable difficulty. The brick inscription in Kuffic style comprises the name of Sultan Mohammad Uljaitu, and the whole monument is remarkable for its outstanding stucco decorations and beautifully wrought inscriptions.