مسجد گوهرشاد مشهد مقدس/Goharshad mosque
مسجد گوهر شاد مشهد.
Goohar shad mosque of Mashhaed
The following article deal with Gooharshad mosque . The construction of the mosque was started in 1409 C.E . and it took 12 years to be over. According to sir Percy Syke , diplomat and historian , it is the noblest mosque in the central Asia.
This Islamic architecture complex which is distinctive in its beauty and still stands firm after 6 centuries , hosts millions of p[lgrims every year . The enterance porch is a continiuation of the well-known '' one archway set inside another'' style that developed both in Samarghand and in the hands of the architects of Shiraz. This portal possesses a number of raised and recessed areas that give it extra depth and distinction .The minarets next to the enterance porch are slightly thicker than the usual Saljuke and Ilkhanid examples and stretch upwards from the surface of their marble base platform.A large potion of the motifs includes a wide selection of geometric patterns carefully combined with arabesques and floral designs. The dome is shaped in such a way so as to be seen from a distance of one thousand feet. The decorations are carefully combined into a rich combination that is free of both dullness and confusing contrast . This is one of the aesthetic features of the building and has been achieved through the careful combination of floral arabesques motifs and a variety of geometric designs along with the hollowed and raised areas of the surrounding ravaghs and the open passageways between them.
An inscription , written by Baysonghor Mirza of Timurid Dynasty who was one of the famouse calligraphers of his time , still remains on the margins of the enterance of the veranda. The Sahebozzaman pulpit is located in the cellar of the mosque. The pulpit has been made in 1243 lunar hejrea of walnut wood and decorated with carvings. No nail or iron is used in it.
The mosques comprehensive deed of endowment was written in 1425. The building of the mosque has been renovated several times like the time of Shah Abbas of Safavid dynasty when Mashhad was completely freed from under the yoke of Uzbek sovereignty. On the entablature of the earthquake of Mashhad also caused a major damage to the mosque which was also renovated by Safavid kings. The mosque was also renovated in Qajar era too, but the building still retains its art and historical identity and value.
The double layerd dome of the mosque was severly damaged in 1911 in bombings by Russian troops.
Goharsgad mosque is located in the architectural complex of Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad . It is bound to Dar al – Hafez to the north , to Qods courtyard to the south , to Imam cxourtyard to the west and to sheikh Bahayii to the east.
It was built upon the orders of Goharshad , the wife of Shahrokh of the Timurid Dynasty in 1418, CE and by the accomplished architect Ghavamoddin shirazi . Its foundation is made of brick and plaster and is one of the most important historical monuments of Iran due to its structural charactristics and having rich tile and scripture decoration .
The mosque has an area of 4910 sq m . It has a big azure dome , 4 verandas , a courtyard and 7 big bedchambers .
On the 2 sides of te cella, there are 2 beautiful minarets , each with a height of 40 m . At the end of the cella , there is a big altar with a stone dado and a mosaic faience shell.
A cella is the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture , or a shop facing the street in domestic Roman architecture.
The northern veranda of Goharshad Mosque or Darolsiyadat , which has the shallowest veranda measuring 18>< 12 m , was constructed with respect to the inscription on the portal in 1087 lunar hejrii during the time of Suleymun Shah of Safavid dynasty.
The eastern veranda measuring 7>< 1 meters and the western one measuring 1>< 3 have rich tile work decorations. The mosque has a broad courtyard measuring 56><51 sqm which has been restricted by verandas and colonnades .
The mosaic faience of the courtyard with a height 0f 29.1m is covered by dark stone and the rest of the surface is decorated with tiles of flora , artistic and arabesques designs. The entire surface of these minarets , the walls and the surrounding colonnades are decorated with fine mosaic and glazed tiles produced in a variety of colors including ultramarine, turquoise , white , clear green , yellow , light yellow and ebony.
The main dome of the building constitue 2 dissociated onion –like layers with short shaft and a hatchway diameter of 15 m , circumference of 63 and thickness of 5.2 m . The convex part of the dome's shell is decorated with an inscription in kufic script.
The mosque has a public library which holds 34650 vilumes of books. The old library was located on the eastern side of Imam Khomini courtyard but due to an increase in number of books and users , the new building of the library named central library was built predicting 5 milion vilumes of books and was inaugurated in 1995.
The central library with a capacity of one million volumes holds at present more than half a million books in 43 prevalent language of the world, 32000 of these books are handwritten , 1000 volumes are illustrated copies and th remaining are printed .
From among the printed books , 35000 are in foreign languages . Also there are about 27000 micrrofilm rolls from valuable handwritten copies of this library and other libraries inside and outside the country including Spain.
It is to be mentioned that the museum building located on the eastern side of Imam Khomeyni courtyard. Its artifacts dates back to the 6th century Hejri. The museum is regarded one of the museum of Iran. Among unique artifacts of the the museum is the grave stone of Imam Reza which has been engraved in projected Kufic script in 516 lunar Hejri. Also a number of as Sanjari tile of the 6th century are kept in the museum.
The museum of the holy shrine has hundreds of thousands of visitors every year due to its attachments to imam Reza . A collection of carpets , small carpets and gold woven works which were woven for Imam Reza's grave cover and are unique in their kind are kept at this museum . The gold-woven works date back to 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
Among precious artifacts of this museum are the inscriptions written by Ali Reza Abbasi in hand writing.
Goharshad was a wife of Shah Rukh , the emperor of Timurid Dynasty of Heart. She was the daughter of Giath ud-din Tarkhan , an important and influential noble during Timures reign.
Along with her brothers who were administrators at the Timurid court in Heart , Goharshad played a very important role in the early Timurid history. In 1405 she moved the Timurid capital from Samarkand to Heart.
Under her patronage , the Persian language and Persian culture were elevated to a main element of the Timurid dynasty.
She and her husband led a cultural renaissance by their lavish patronage of the arts, attracting to their court artists , architects and philosophers and poets acknowledged today among the world's most illustrious , including the poet Jami. Many exquisite examples of Timurid architecture remain in Heart today.
After the death of her husband in 1447 Goharshad maneuvered her favorite grandson to the thron. For ten years she became the de facto ruler of an empire stretching from theTigris to the borders of China . When she was well past 80 , she was executed on July 19/ 1457 on the order of Sultan Abusaid.
Source: Tehran Times