Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T11:01:58.615Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

15 (a) - TIMURID ARCHITECTURE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

Peter Jackson
Affiliation:
Keele University
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The architectural achievements surveyed in this chapter range over four hundred years of Persian history. The first half of our period was one of constant shifts in political power accompanied by changing frontiers. Only in the second half did Persia obtain some measure of security under a single political authority. The story opens with the architectural style associated with the Īl-Khāns and its development in western and southern Persia under the successor dynasties. It was this style which was transferred to Transoxiana in the last quarter of the 8th/14th century. The part played by Timur and his house is crucial to the story in as much as theirs was the principal building effort, first in Transoxiana and then in eastern Persia – centres of Timurid power. With the political decline of the Timurids in the middle of the 9th/15 th century, the initiative in architecture returned to western Persia under the patronage of the Türkmen dynasties. Thanks to Shah Ismā'īl and his successors, the strands were drawn together and a homogeneous style was created and disseminated throughout the Safavid kingdom.

Initiative in public works was with members of the royal house and the high officers of state: many civic undertakings were due to the enterprise of local dignitaries. The religious was the most powerful of motives: for at least in the first half of our period it is only the religious foundations which survive. Apart from the public and private mosque, the madrasa and kbāngāh, the principal effort was concentrated on the embellishment of the great shrines – above all, those of the Imām Ridā at Mashhad and of Shaikh Safī at Ardabīl.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

A Narrative of Italian Travels.
Afshār, Iraj. Yādgārhā–yi Yazd, 2 vols in 3. Tehran, 1348–54/1969–75. Google Scholar
Akten des VII. Internationalen Kongresses für Iranische Kunst und Archäologie Berlin, 1979.
Ardalan, N., and Bakhtiar, L. The Sense of Unity. The Sufi Tradition in Persian Architecture. Chicago and London, 1973.Google Scholar
Bakhtiyar, A. A.The Masjid Ali of Isfahan”, Bulletin of the Asia Institute of Pahlavi University I (1969).Google Scholar
Bāstāni-Parīzī, M. E.L'Ensemble de Ganj Ali Xân à Kerman”, in VIth International Congress of Iranian Art and Archaeology. Memorial Volume (Tehran, 1976)Google Scholar
Bāstāni-Parīzī, M. E. Rahnumā-yi āsār-i tārīkhī-yi Kirmān. Tehran, 1355/1956.Google Scholar
Baudouin, E. E.Isphahan sous les grands Chahs”, Urbanisme X (Paris, 1932).Google Scholar
Beveridge, . The Bābur-nāma in English.
Brandenburg, D. Die Madrasa, Ursprung, Entwicklung, Ausbreitung und künstlerische Gestaltung der islamischen Moschee-Hochschule. Graz, 1978.Google Scholar
Bruin, C.. Voyages, 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1718.Google Scholar
Carswell, J. New Julfa: The Armenian churches and other buildings. Oxford, 1968.Google Scholar
Clavijo, , trans. Strange, Le.
Cohn-Wiener, E. Turan. Islamische Baukunst in Mittelasien. Berlin, 1930.Google Scholar
Coste, P. Monuments modernes de la Perse. Paris, 1865.Google Scholar
Daridan, J., and Stelling-Michaud, S. La peinture séfévide d'Ispahan. Le palais d'Ala Qapy. Paris, 1930.Google Scholar
Dībāj, Ismā'īl. Āsār-i bāstānī va abniyā-yi tārīkhī-yi Āzarbāījān. 1346.Google Scholar
Dībāj, Ismā'īl. Rāhnumā-yi tārīkhī-yi Āzarbāījān-i Sharqī. Tabrīz, 1343/1955.Google Scholar
Diez, E. Churasanische Baudenkmäler I. Berlin, 1918.Google Scholar
Foroughi, M. , et al. Masterpieces of Iranian architecture. Tehran, n.d. (c. 1975).Google Scholar
Galdieri, E. Esfahān: Alī Qāpū; an architectural survey. Rome, 1979.Google Scholar
Galdieri, E.Relecture d'une gravure allemande du XVIIe siècle comme introduction à une recherche archéologique”, in Akten des VII. Internationalen Kongresses
Galdieri, E.Two Building Phases of the Time of Šah 'Abbās I in the Maydan-i Šāh of Isfahan. Preliminary Note”, East and West n.s. XX (1970.Google Scholar
Galdieri, E., and Orazi, R. Progetto di sistemazione del Maydan-i Šāh. Rome, 1969.Google Scholar
Godard, A.Historique du Masdjid-é Djum'a d'I⊡fahān”, Athār-é Irān I (1936.Google Scholar
Godard, A.Les anciennes mosquées de l'Īrān”, Athār-è Irān I (1936, and Arts Asiatiques (Paris) III (1956.Google Scholar
Godard, A.I⊡fahān”, Athār-é Irān II (1937.Google Scholar
Godard, A.Khorasan”, Athār-é Irān IV (1949.Google Scholar
Godard, A.Muḥammad Riḍā al-Imāmī”, Athār-é Irān III (1937.Google Scholar
Godard, A.Le tombeau de Mawlânâ ḥasan Kâshî à Sulṭânîyè”, Arts Asiatiques (Paris) I (1954 Google Scholar
Golombek, L.Anatomy of a mosque – the Masjid-i Shah of Isfahan”, in Iranian Civilization and Culture, ed. Adams, C. J. (Montreal, 1972)Google Scholar
Golombek, L.The chronology of Turbat-i Shaikh Jām”, Iran IX (1971.Google Scholar
Golombek, L.The Cult of Saints and Shrine Architecture in the Fourteenth Century”, in Near Eastern Numismatics, Iconography, Epigraphy and History. Studies in Honor of George C. Miles, ed. Kouymjian, D. (Beirut, 1974).Google Scholar
Golombek, L. The Timurid Shrine at Gazur Gah. Toronto, 1969 (Royal Ontario Museum Occasional Papers 15).Google Scholar
Golombek, L.Urban patterns in pre-Safavid Isfahan”, IrSt VII (1974.Google Scholar
Grabar, O.Isfahan as a Mirror of Persian Architecture”, in Highlights of Persian Art, ed. Ettinghausen, R. and Yarshater, E. (Boulder, Co., 1979)Google Scholar
Gray, B.The Tradition of Wall Painting in Iran”, ibid.
Gropp, G., and Najmabadi, S.Ein Gedicht von Hafez in einem Safavidenpalast”, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran (old series 9 vols 1929—38; new series 1968—) (Berlin) II (1969.Google Scholar
Grube, E. J.The Language of the Birds; the seventeenth-century miniatures”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (New York) XXV (1967.Google Scholar
Grube, E. J., and Sims, E. G.Wall paintings in the seventeenth century monuments of Isfahan”, IrSt VII (1974.Google Scholar
Hill, D., and Grabar, O. Islamic Architecture and its Decoration, A.D. 800–1500. London, 1964.Google Scholar
Hinz, W.Beiträge zur iranischen Kulturgeschichte”, Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft (Wiesbaden) XCI (1937.Google Scholar
Historical Monuments of Islam in the U.S.S.R. (Muslim Religious Board of Central Asia and Kazakhstan) Tashkent, 1962.
Hrbas, M., and Knobloch, E. The Art of Central Asia. London, 1965.Google Scholar
Hunarfar, . Ganjina.
Hunarfar, . “Maidān-i Naqsh-i Jahān-i I⊡fahān”, Hunar va Mardum CV (July 1971).Google Scholar
Kaempfer, E. Amoenitatum exoticarum. Lemgo, 1712.Google Scholar
Khoubnazar, H., and Kleiss, W.Die Madrasa-yi Ḫān in Schiras”, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran (old series 9 vols 1929—38; new series 1968—) (Berlin) VIII (1975.Google Scholar
Kiani, M. Y.Robat Zayn al-Din: a masterpiece of Safavid architecture”, Bāstān-shināsī va Hunar-i Irān IX–X (1972.Google Scholar
Kiani, M. Y.The British Museum manuscript on Safavid caravansarais in Isfahan”, Bāstān-Shināsī va Hunar-i Irān V (Tehran, 1970).Google Scholar
Kleiss, W.Bericht über Erkundungsfahrten in Iran im Jahre 1971”, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran (old series 9 vols 1929—38; new series 1968—) (Berlin) V (1972).Google Scholar
Kleiss, W.Der safavidische Pavilion in Qazvin”, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran (old series 9 vols 1929—38; new series 1968—) (Berlin) IX (1976.Google Scholar
Lane, A. Later Islamic Pottery. 2nd ed. London, 1971.Google Scholar
Lane, A. A Guide to the collection of tiles. London, 1960.Google Scholar
Les Mosquées de Samarcande, fasc. i. Le Gour-Emir. (Commission Impériale Archéologique) St Petersburg, 1905.
Luschey, H.Der königliche Marstall in I⊡fahān in Engelbert Kaempfers Planographia des Palastbezirkes 1712”, Iran XVII (1979)Google Scholar
Luschey-Schmeisser, I.Ein neuer Raum in Nayin”, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran (old series 9 vols 1929—38; new series 1968—) (Berlin) V (1972.Google Scholar
Luschey-Schmeisser, I. The Pictorial Tile Cycle of Hašt Behešt in Isfahan and its Iconographic Tradition. Rome, 1978.Google Scholar
Luschey-Schmeisser, I.Der Wand- und Deckenschmuck eines safavidischen Palastes in Nāyīn”, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran (old series 9 vols 1929—38; new series 1968—) (Berlin) II (1969.Google Scholar
Man'kovskaya, L. Yu. “K izucheniyu priemov sredneaziatskogo zodchestva, kontsa XIV V. (Mavzolei Khodzha Akhmeda Yasevi)”, in Iskusstvo zodchikh Uzbekistana (Tashkent, 1962).Google Scholar
Masterpieces of Iranian Architecture, published by the Ministry of Development and Housing with cooperation of Society of Iranian Architects. Sept. 1970.
Maulavī, A. Āsār-i bāstānī-yi Khurāsān. Mashhad, 1354/1975.Google Scholar
Mechkati, N. Monuments et sites historiques de l'Iran, trans. Sepahbodi, I. and Behnam, I.. Tehran, n.d.
Mora, P.La restauration des peintures murales de Čihil Sutūn”, in Zander, , Travaux
Morton, A. H. , “The Ardabil Shrine in the Reign of Tahmasp I”, Iran XII (1974; (concluded) XIII (1975.Google Scholar
Müllėr, K. Die Karawanserai im Vorderen Orient. Berlin, 1920.Google Scholar
Narāqī, H. Āsār-i tārīkhī-yi shahristānhā-yi Kāshān va Naṭanz. Tehran, n.d.
O'Kane, B.The Madrasa al-Ghiyāsiyya at Khargird”, Iran XIV (1976.Google Scholar
O'Kane, B.Taybād, Turbat-i Jam and Timurid Vaulting”, Iran XVII (1979.Google Scholar
Orazi, R. Grate lignee nell'architettura safavide. Studi e restauri a Esfahān. Rome, 1976.Google Scholar
Pickett, G. D.Inscriptions by Muhammad Riḍā al-Imāmī”, Iran XXII (1984.Google Scholar
Pope, A. U. Persian architecture. London, 1965.Google Scholar
Pope, A. U.Representations of living forms in Persian mosques”, Bulletin of the Iranian Institute VI–VII (1946.Google Scholar
Pope, A. U., and Katchadourian, S. Persian Fresco Paintings. New York, 1932 (Publications of the American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology 4).Google Scholar
Pugachenkova, G. A., and Rempel', L. N. Istoriya Iskusstv Uzbekistana. Vydayusbchiîsya Pamyatniki Arkhitektury Uzbekistana. Tashkent, 1958.Google Scholar
Ratiya, E. E. Mechet' Bibi-Khanym. Moscow, 1950.Google Scholar
Rempel', L. I. Arkhitekturnyî Ornament Uzbekistana. Tashkent, 1961.Google Scholar
Sa'ādat, Bīzhan. Bārgāh-i Riżā (The Holy Shrine of Iman Reza, Mashhad), 4 vols. (Persian and English). The Asia Institute, Pahlavi University, Shiraz, 1976.Google Scholar
Sarre, F. Denkmäler persischer Baukunst. Berlin, 1901–10.Google Scholar
Sauvaget, J.Notes épigraphiques sur quelques monuments persans”, Ars Islamica = Ars Orientalis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) V (1938.Google Scholar
Seherr-Thoss, S. P. and , H. Design and Color in Islamic Architecture. Washington, 1968.Google Scholar
Siroux, M. Caravansérails.
Siroux, M.Les caravanserais routiers safavids [sic]”, IrSt VII (1974.Google Scholar
Siroux, M. Anciennes Voies et Monuments Routiers de la Région d'Ispahan. Cairo, 1971.Google Scholar
Siroux, M.La Masjid-e djum'a de Yezd”, Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale (Cairo) XLIV (1947.Google Scholar
Stevens, Roger Sir. “European visitors to the Safavid court”, IrSt VII (1974 Google Scholar
Sutūda, M. Az Āstārā tā Astarābād, 2 vols. Tehran, 1349–51/1970–2.Google Scholar
Sykes, P. M.Historical Notes on Khurasan”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (London) 1910.Google Scholar
Ṭabāṭabā'ī, M. Turbat-i Pākān, 2 vols. Qum, 1354/1975.Google Scholar
Watson, O.Persian lustre ware from the 14th to the 19th centuries”, Le Monde Iranien et l'Islam III (1975).Google Scholar
Weaver, M. E. Preliminary Study on the Conservation Problems of Five Iranian Monuments. Paris, 1970.Google Scholar
Weaver, M. E. The Conservation of the Shrine of Sheikh Safi at Ardabil: Second Preliminary Study. Paris, 1971.Google Scholar
Welch, A. Shāh 'Abbās and the Arts of Isfahan. New York, 1973.Google Scholar
Wilber, D. The Architecture of Islamic Iran, the Il-Khanid Period. Princeton, 1955.Google Scholar
Wilber, D.Aspects of the Safavid ensemble at Isfahan”, IrSt VII (1974.Google Scholar
Wilber, D.The Development of Mosaic Faience in Islamic Architecture in Iran”, Ars Islamica = Ars Orientalis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) VI (1939 Google Scholar
Wilber, D. Persian Gardens and Garden Pavilions. Rutland, Vermont, and Tokyo, 1962.Google Scholar
Yate, C. E. Northern Afghanistan, or Letters from the Afghan Boundary Commission. London, 1888.Google Scholar
Zander, G.Observations sur l'architecture civile d'Ispahan”, IrSt VII (1974.Google Scholar
Zander, G.La restauration de quelques monuments historiques d'Ispahan: une nouvelle lumière sur les problèmes d'histoire de I'architecture s'y rattachant”, in Vth International Congress II.
Zander, G. (ed.) Travaux de restauration de monuments historiques en Iran. Rome, 1968.Google Scholar
Zander, G. Vth International Congress of Iranian Art and Archaeology. Memorial Volume II. Tehran, 1972.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×