Arg of Tabriz ( fa, ارگ تبريز, also known as ''Arg Alishah'', ''Arg-e Alishah'', ''Arch of Alishah'', ''Arg Citadel'', and ''Masjid Ali-Shāh''), is the remnants of a large acropolis fortification (whence the
metathetic name or plus ) and city wall in downtown
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
. Its structure is visible from far distances in downtown Tabriz, if not blocked by the newly erected highrise buildings.
The structure was initially a compound, containing a great vaulted mosque, adjoining prayer halls and libraries, a vast courtyard containing a huge reflecting pool, and a mausoleum—all surrounded by a containing wall. It was built in 14th century during the Ilkhanate era. The point of pride for the building was that its vaulted ayvan was larger than the famous historic vault of
Khosrow Khosrow ( fa, خسرو; also spelled Khusrow, Khusraw, Khusrau, Khusro, Chosro or Osro) may refer to:
* Khosrow (word), a given name also used as a title
Iranian rulers
* Khosrow I, Sasanian ruler 531–579
* Khosrow II, Sasanian ruler 590–62 ...
s/
Kisra
''Kisra'' (also spelled kissra) is a popular thin fermented bread made in Chad, Sudan and South Sudan. It is made from durra or wheat. There are two different forms of ''kisra'': thin baked sheets, known as ''kisra rhaheeefa'', which is simila ...
or the
Taq Kisra
Tāq Kasrā ( ar, طاق كسرى, translit=ṭāq kisrā), also transcribed as ''Taq-i Kisra'' or ''Taq-e Kesra'' ( fa, طاق کسری, romanized: ''tâğe kasrâ'') or Ayvān-e Kesrā ( fa, ایوان خسرو, translit=Eivâne Xosrow, links=, ...
at
Ctesiphon/Mada'in. However, with the sudden death of the governor of the city and with some construction complications in constructing a roofed building without pillar for such a huge complex, the mausoleum structure remained incomplete. In the 19th century with the rise of tensions between Iran and Russia the structure rapidly turned into the city's fort and additional military installations such as a barracks and cannon foundry were added to the original structure. During the twentieth century the military installations were removed from original construction and the surrounding of the ark turned into a park. In the late twentieth century a big mosque was built next to the citadel.
History
The original construction was made between 1318 and 1339, during the
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
. During the construction, the main
barrel vault collapsed and the construction was stopped afterward. An
earthquake in 1641 severely damaged and collapsed the monument.
Centuries later, between the eruption of the
Russo-Persian War, 1804-1813, and the
Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)
The Russo-Persian Wars or Russo-Iranian Wars were a series of conflicts between 1651 and 1828, concerning Persia (Iran) and the Russian Empire. Russia and Persia fought these wars over disputed governance of territories and countries in the Cauc ...
, the compound was quickly reconstructed as a military compound. During the reconstruction of the Arg compound, a foundry factory for the manufacturing of cannons for the Iranian Army was built as well as a military headquarters, a barrack for the troops, and a small palace.
[B. Ajorloo and A.N. Babaylou, The Alienation of Qajarid Identity at the Arch of Alishah in Tabriz as the Result of Stylistic Restoration Methods, 2015]
/ref> Samson Makintsev
Samson Yakovlevich Makintsev (russian: Самсо́н Я́ковлевич Маки́нцев), more commonly known as Samson Khan or Sam Khan (سامسونخان); (1849 – 1780), was a general of Russian origin in the service of Qajar Ira ...
(better known as ''Samson Khan'') a Qajar Iranian general of Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
origin, lived inside the citadel for years together with his wife, the daughter of Prince Aleksandre of Georgia
Prince Alexander of Georgia ( ka, ალექსანდრე ბატონიშვილი, ''aleksandre batonishvili'') (1770–1844) was a Georgian royal prince (''batonishvili'') of the Bagrationi family, who headed several insurrecti ...
.
File:Arg of Tabriz, 1673.png, Remnants of the Arg of Tabriz, in Jean Chardin
Jean Chardin (16 November 1643 – 5 January 1713), born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book ''The Travels of Sir John Chardin'' is regarded as one of the finest ...
's drawing of Tabriz, 1673.
File:Remains of the Palace Zobeideh , Tabriz by Eugène Flandin.jpg, Ruins of Arg, Eugène Flandin
Jean-Baptiste Eugène Napoléon Flandin (15 August 1809 in Naples – 29 September 1889 in Tours),
French orientalist, painter, archaeologist, and politician. Flandin's archeological drawings and some of his military paintings are valued ...
1840.
File:Arg-Tabriz-USA.jpg, A US flag flies over the US Consulate near Arg of Tabriz during Iran's Constitutional Revolution.
Shelling of Arg by Russian troops, 1911
During the Russian invasion of Tabriz in 1911, the Russians shelled the Arg in initial attacks. Once they captured the city, they used the Arg as a central command center. During their occupation, because of careless handling, the artillery pieces they used set fire to parts of Arg.
File:Russian flag on top of Ark, 1911.png, Russian flag over Arg, during Russian invasion.
File:Spread of fire in, 1911.png, Spread of fire in Arg because of carelessness handling of artillery pieces by Russian troops.
Destruction During Pahlavi era
During the Pahlavi
Pahlavi may refer to:
Iranian royalty
*Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire
*Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979
** Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of ...
era, parts of the Arg which was presume to have been constructed in the 19th century during the Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic origin, ...
were destroyed. In the process, much of the old Ilkhanid
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
and Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often consid ...
remnants were also unwittingly destroyed, leaving behind only a tiny section of the back wall containing the Mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the '' qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla ...
intact. This destruction was with the aim of leaving behind only the original Arg construction, ridding it of its later additions and constructions. Much of the original building was last in the process. The southern part of the Arg was turned into a park, the "Mellat Garden" (lit. ''park of the people''), before the Iranian revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
in 1979.[
File:Ərk qalasının planı.jpg, A plan for reconstruction of Arg's surrounding before the Iranian revolution in 1979.
File:Arg Alishah, Tabriz.jpg, Mellat Garden in South of Ark after initial constructions before revolution in 1979.
]
Destruction by revolutionaries, early 1980s
In the early 1980s after the suppression of uprising of supporters of Muslim People's Republic Party
The Muslim People's Republic Party (MPRP) or Islamic People's Republican Party (IPRP; fa, حزب جمهوری خلق مسلمان ایران, Ḥezb-e jomhuri-e ḵalq-e mosalmān-e Irān) was a short-lived party associated with Shia Islamic cler ...
against the new establishment of mixing religion and state and neglecting of Azerbaijani minorities, Moslem Malakuti
Grand Ayatollah Moslem Malakouti ( fa, مسلم ملکوتی, 5 June 1924 in Sarab, East Azerbaijan – 24 April 2014 in Tehran) was an Iranian Shiite cleric, Marja and third imam Jumu'ah for Tabriz. His son Ali Malakouti is member of the Assemb ...
selected Juma of Tabriz as the new Imam. During his tenure in Tabriz, Juma began the destruction of Ark's Qajar era addendum wall, cultural institutes and ark theater and replaced them with a new mosque for Friday prayers. Some people believe this destruction of local heritage was a systematic destruction of local Azerbaijani identity.
Recent renovation, 1990s-present
In the 1990s and 2000s, a rehabilitation and renovation project was executed by the Iranian Organization for Cultural Heritages. During this rehabilitation, however, all of the remaining Qajar
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م� ...
era development from Arg citadel were destroyed. At the same period, a new big mosque was built next to the Arg citadel. The superstructure of the new mosque undermine the architecture of Arg citadel.[ Despite the regulations of the Iranian Organization for Cultural Heritages and several court hearing the construction of the new structure was completed.
]
Further recent destructions
This action completely destroyed the ancient foundations of the original Arg that still existed underground and were going to be used for a reconstruction attempt at the end of the Pahlavi era. Thus, the new Islamic regime eliminated any chance of methodical reconstruction by wiping out the remaining foundations of the Arg. Ironically, this was done in order to build a new mosque, which could have been built a few dozens of yards farther away from this primary Iranian Islamic archaeological site and spare its destruction. Meanwhile, the main prayer hall of the ancient mosque was turned into a car parking lot, in direct violation of the edict of the Koran which considered a mosque's ground to be sacred and inviolable as long as the traces of it remain. It is visually clear that the new car park is created on nothing but the remains of the main prayer hall of the 700 year old grand mosque.
File:Ark of Tabriz 2.jpg, Arg, the southern view.
File:Arg1.jpg, Arg view at night, the southern view.
File:Ark of Tabriz.jpg, Arg reconstruction, northern face.
File:ارگ علیشاه 2.JPG,
File:ارگ.jpg,
File:Arg Alishah3.JPG
File:Arg Alishah5.JPG
File:Arg Alishah6.JPG
See also
* List of Iranian castles
* Iranian architecture
Iranian architecture or Persian architecture ( Persian: معمارى ایرانی, ''Memāri e Irāni'') is the architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its history dates back to at least 5,000 BC ...
References
Sources
*
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century
Castles in Iran
Mosques in Tabriz
Architecture in Iran
13th-century mosques
Tourist attractions in Tabriz
National works of Iran