The Darb-e Imam (; ) is a

Twelver Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...

Shi'ite Imamzadeh complex located in the Dardasht quarter of Esfahan, in the province of

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

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 complex comprises two shrines, a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, 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 ...

, and a royal

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

. The complex was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 13 December 1934, administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.

History

The first building in the complex was built during the rule of the Qara Qoyunlu in 1453 CE, as an Imamzadeh shrine dedicated to two saints, "Ibrahim al-Batha" and "Zayn al-Abidin" who were believed to have been descendants of

Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

through

Ja'far al-Sadiq Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...

. The construction of the Imamzadeh was ordered by the son of Jahan Shah, the ruler of Qara Qoyunlu at the time. After the Imamzadeh's construction was completed, many princes belonging to the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

dynasty were buried next to the place, along with princes of

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

descent. A

khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

was also added to the complex during the reign of

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...

ruler, Ya'qub Beg. Later during the

period, some repairs were made to the shrines. Extensive renovations were completed on the complex during 1995 and 1996.

Architecture

There are girih tiles present in the mausoleum as well as other geometric patterns in the tilework and strongly resemble Penrose tilings.

Burials

The site is believed to be the burial place of the saints Ibrahim al-Batha and Zayn al-Abidin, two descendants of

. Local tradition relates that twelve other descendants of

are buried in the complex but the locations of their graves are not known. Historically, the site includes the mausoleum of the wife of Qara Yusuf, who is also Jahan Shah's mother. A prince of Mongol descent, Mahmoud al-Afghani, is also buried in the funerary complex alongside other princes.

Gallery

File:امامزاده_درب_امام1.jpg, Wide view of the court Darb-i Imam shrine spandrel.JPG, Example of the girih tiles, found in a corner of the building. ورودی امامزاده درب امام - اصفهان.jpg, Entrance to the complex, in 2023

References

External links