Sōltaniyehسلطانیه
Location: Sōltaniyeh is the name of a large 14th-century mausoleum and its architectural complex, in northwestern Iran, Zanjan Province.
36°26’00.5″N 48°47’46.9″E
Map
Historical Period
Islamic
History and description
The site of Sōltaniyeh lies 40 km southeast of the city of Zanjan. The monument and its surrounding structures were originally built in the Pasture of Sōltaniyeh mentioned in contemporary historical texts as the Ghonqūr Olang or the “Prairie of the Alezans” or the “Falcon’s Hunting Ground”. This fertile meadowland had previously an area of 35 km² with a length of 20 km and a width of about 2 km.
According to contemporary sources, it was Ilkhān Arghūn who decided first to build a city in the plain of Sōltaniyeh due to the presence of pastures. These sources also mention the construction of an organized city at the time of Üljāytū, including mosques, schools, a hospital, a bazaar, and a caravanserai. The Mongol Ilkhān Üljāytū, who had recently converted to Shi’ism and adopted the name Soltan Mohammad Khodābandeh, decided to establish his capital city, distinguished by a grand monument that would serve as his mausoleum. The site exemplifies a successful fusion of the Mongol way of life—centered on horse breeding and nomadism—with the sedentary society that prevailed in Iran. Archaeological excavations conducted outside the mausoleum of Üljāytū have uncovered remains of the old city, including stone structures, architectural units, pottery, and ostraca referring to the city’s important neighborhoods known as Abvāb-ol Barr. The vestiges have been since conserved and are now part of the protected area of the mausoleum.
The focal point of the medieval town was the mausoleum of Üljāytū, built between A.D. 1302 and 1312. The monument consists of a massive drum surmounted by a large dome, and an adjacent four-columned hall in the northeast corner. Annexed to the south of the domed hall is the room called torbat-khanhe; beneath which lies is a crypt (sardāb). The plan of the torbat-khaneh is a trapezoid 17.60 m long and 7.80 m wide, with a height of 16 m. There are remains of a Koranic inscription in Kufic on one of the walls. The building was designed to be the tomb of the Ilkhān. So, it is, in fact, the real burial place of the monument. Under the torbat-khāneh lies a crypt called sardābeh that can be reached using a stairway in the southern part of the torbat-khāneh. The sardābeh comprises small niches and rooms of different sizes. The other significant aspect of Üljāytū’s mausoleum is its remarkable interior decorations in the form of glazed tiles, brickwork, marquetry, stuccos, and frescoes. The decorated surface in the monument was estimated to be 9000 square meters and is one of the most decorated monuments in Iran. Two phases of decoration can be observed in Üljāytū’s mausoleum. The outside of the dome is entirely covered with turquoise blue tiles. A wide band of square Kufic around the drum makes a transition between this light blue and the lapis lazuli blue of the main stalactite cornice. The minarets and the façade of the arcaded gallery are decorated with interlaced patterns. The exterior decoration of the monument likely dates to the first phase of ornamentation, particularly those on the side walls of the highest gallery level. The spiritual significance of the mausoleum is revealed by its ample decorative and calligraphic designs which bespeak the builder’s attachment to Shi’ism faith. The initial decorative program, applied to both the interior and exterior of the building, was almost certainly intended for the monument’s conversion to a shrine of Shi’ism.
The drum, set on an octagonal base, consists of two parts: a lower and an upper section. It has an interior diameter of 26 m. with walls that are 7 m. thick. The north wall is extended on either side to meet the extensions of the east and west walls, forming two triangles in which staircases lead to the gallery that runs around the building below a great stalactite cornice. A third staircase leads to the upper platform, which supports the dome and the surrounding crown of eight minarets, projecting outward on the northwest side. Each of the eight sides of the main domed room form two-storied arcades. The exterior gallery below the great cornice forms the third story, but it does not open into the building. The dome crowns the monument above the stalactites which rest on the upper part of the octagonal drum. It is a thick heavy dome, built on corbels atop a wall 7 m. thick, more than sufficient to absorb the thrust without the need for pinnacles. The thrust of a dome with such a high curving profile is minimal. The dome, spanning 25 m., rises from the upper terrace to a height of approximately 50 m. above ground level. It remains structurally independent from the lower part of the building, standing on an immense platform without buttresses. Some scholars believe that the presence of the highest dome ever constructed on an octagonal plan at Sōltaniyeh, which became possible merely by the ingenious construction of a double-shelled structure, shows an innovation that inspired the construction of the high dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence almost a century later. Surrounding the dome are eight entirely brick minarets, originally 15.5 m. tall.
Archaeological Exploration
The monument at Sultaniyeh has been the object of research, studies, and restoration throughout the twentieth century. But the archaeological excavations were conducted by Ali Asghar Mirfattah on behalf of the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research in the 1990s.
Bibliography
Godard, A., “The mausoleum of Öljeitü at Sultāniya,” in A Survey of Persian Art, vol. III: Islamic Architecture, edited by Arthur Upham Pope, Tokyo, 1965, pp. 1103-1119.
Mehryar, M., A. Kabiri, A., and F. Towhidi, “Barresi va peygardi moqadamāti dar borj-o bārūyeh arg-e shahr-e qadim-e Soltaniyeh,” Asar, Nos 12, 13, 14, 1365/1986, pp. 209-264.
Mirfattah, S. A. A., “Soltaniyeh,” in Shahrhāy-e Irān, edited by M. Y. Kiani, vol. 4, Tehran, 1370/1991.
Sanpaolesi, P., “La Cupola di Santa Maria del Fiore ed il Mausoleo de Soltanieh,” Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, xvi/3, 1972, pp. 221-260.
Sanpaolesi, P., Progetto di Restauro del Mausoleo di Olgeitu a Soltanieh, in collaboration with R. Kasa’i, no date.
