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1313
| Pir-i Bakran, a 14th century mausoleum |
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The mausoleum of Pir-i Bakran is located in the small town of Pir-i Bakran in the Linjan district, thirty kilometers southwest of Isfahan. Situated in a delightful verdant valley with the Zayandeh River passing to its west, the shrine is located near a holy site for the Iranian Jewish community which includes an old cemetery and a synagogue that dates from the second century of the Common Era, according to a Hebrew inscription. The mausoleum venerates the famous Sufi saint and mystic, Sheikh Mohammad ibn Bakran (d. 1303), who taught at the location. The building is made of rubble-stone with baked brick vaults, a unique feature among extant buildings from the Il-Khanid period that is reminiscent of the Sasanian building tradition. The exterior surfaces are coated with plain plaster, except for the surfaces surrounding the arches on the third floor, which bear remains of glazed tile decoration. The interior is extensively covered with plaster incised into a brick bond, with end plugs forming oblique square units of inscription. The Pir-i Bakran shrine is a significant instance of the building program begun at the turn of the fourteenth century with the conversion of the Il-Khanid Mongol ruler of Persia, Ghazan Khan (reg. 1295-1304), and which continued under his immediate successors, Uljaytu (reg. 1304-1316) and Abu Said (reg.1317-1335). Along with the shrines at Bistam and Natanz, the mausoleum of Pir-i Bakran epitomizes the sumptuous architectural patronage of the Il-Khanid rulers, as well as the development of Iranian architecture in the early fourteenth century. The original space was a small domed chamber, probably used for meditation (chelle neshini), outside of which the Sufi master and his pupils would congregate. As the fame of Pir-i Bakran increased, an iwan was erected to provide shelter for his followers. However, the building was not completed during the Sufi saint’s lifetime, and upon his death in 1303, it became his mausoleum. According to inscriptions, subsequent enlargements and modifications were completed in 1312. The existing building consists of three loosely arranged components, constructed and gradually redefined over the beginning of the fourteenth century. The oldest part is a small undated domed chamber on the northeast side of the building. To the south of this chamber is the main hall, composed of a lofty iwan oriented toward qibla (southwest) and surrounded on three sides by thick walls containing open galleries on the second and third floors. The final form of the shrine was shaped after Pir-i Bakran's death, when in order to convert the structure into his mausoleum, a low wall was constructed across the open end of the iwan to hold a carved plaster mihrab, and a screen wall was erected at the rear recess of the iwan to define a tomb chamber. All entries were blocked off and a long entry corridor running at right angles to the iwan's main axis was constructed. The building is accessed from the southeast through a portal that leads to a passageway composed of three bays. The corridor is covered with transverse ribs and is connected to the main hall through a small chamber. Covered with a barrel vault, the main hall is flanked by two arched recesses in two stories on either side. Pir-i Bakran is not only one of the numerous buildings patronized by the Mongol rulers, but also one of the earliest extant examples of buildings directly related to Sufi practices in the Iranian world. Its unique structural and functional features, as well as its exquisite stuccowork, mark the tomb shrine as significant example of Iranian architecture in the Il-Khanid period. (Source: Islamic Architecture Community)   Socialize this Subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch and receive all of TT updates right in your feed reader
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