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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.
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