The Ali Dome (; ) is a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

tower located in

Abarkuh Abarkuh () is a city in the Central District of Abarkuh County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology A folk etymology of the name Abarquh, related by Hamdallah Mustawfi in 1340, is from '' ...

, in the province of

Yazd Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The mausoleum was completed in the

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

style in CE on the order of Firuzan, a son of Amir Shams ad-Dowleh ibn Ali Hezarasb, a

Daylamite The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprising the southeastern ...

ruler. The mausoleum is the resting place for Ali Hezarasb and his mother. The mausoleum was added to the

Iran National Heritage List Iran National Heritage List is a register of nationally significant monuments, places, buildings, events, etc., officially registered under the National Heritage Preservation Act of 1930. According to Article 1 of this law, "All the industrial mon ...

on 31 July 1933 and is administered by the

Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran () is an educational and research institution overseeing numerous associated museum complexes throughout Iran. It is administered and funded by the Government of Iran. It was f ...

Architecture

Built at the summit of a small desert hill, the tomb consists of an

octagonal In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a hex ...

chamber that sits on a low base with eight unequal sides and a tall, projecting

muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...

cornice. The four longer sides of the base are coplanar with four sides of the octagonal chamber above. The chamber tapers inward on the exterior so that the structure is wider at the bottom than it is below the cornice. The entrance to the chamber is located on the northeast side of the building. The structure is domed, but the extension of the cornice beyond this dome suggests that it was also capped by a pyramidal roof, as was customary of tombs in this region. The tomb is constructed almost entirely of rubble masonry with brick used only in the inscriptions and in the construction of the interior dome. The walls are left plain while the cornice and the entrance receive most of the decorative treatment. The cornice of the monument is a three-tier muqarnas, which tapers outward. Below the muqarnas is a band of

Kufic The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts ...

inscriptions in Arabic containing the name of the builder and the name of the person to whom it was dedicated. The entry is set inside a deep niche crowned by a semi-vault and placed within a rectangular outer frame. The entrance is flanked by two columns, of which only the cavities remain. Inside the niche, above the doorway, is another inscription, written in Kufic style that refers to the patron's mother as "seiyyeda", although her full name is not decipherable. Unlike the tombs in Maragha, this tomb has no crypt. The interior of the octagonal chamber is bare, and except for the remains of a plaster mihrab, is faced with the same rubble construction seen on the outside. A band of niches, two on each side, decorate the walls below the drum. The transition to the drum is achieved with eight simple squinches located at the corners of the octagon. Four openings in the dome and a window on the side of the chamber illuminate the interior.

Gallery

(1) کوه گنبد عالی، شهرستان ابرکوه.jpg, (2) کوه گنبد عالی، شهرستان ابرکوه.jpg Abarkuh 2020-04-11 15.jpg Gonbad-e Ali 20190318 15.jpg

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External links

{{Towers in Iran Buildings and structures in Yazd province Daylamites Domes in Iran Mausoleums in Iran Mausoleums, shrines and tombs on the Iran National Heritage List Octagonal buildings in Iran Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1050s Religious buildings and structures with domes Seljuk architecture Towers in Iran Tourist attractions in Yazd province

Architecture

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links