CHAPTER-3.
Introducing ChehelSotun Palace in terms of time and Space
condition, combination and variety of its architecture and paintings
65
CHAPTER-3.Introducing Chehel Sotun Palace in terms of time and Space
condition, combination and variety of its architecture and paintings
Architecture works of Esfahan
Introducing Esfahan forty colonnades from spatial and temporal situation, arrangement and
type of architecture and its paints:
While shifting the Safavid capital from Qazvin to Esfahan in the first decade of
the Shah Abbas I during 995-1006 A.H., the engineers, architects, designers and it
seems even the great philosopher, Gnostic and thinker, Sheikh Bahaee designed the
Esfahan map at the order of this powerful king. Esfahan map involved collection of
Naqshe Jahan meydan1 along with palaces, gardens, streets, bridges and bazaars.
(fig.11, fig.11A)Shah Abbas I was not the first king who chose Esfahan as his
government’s center, this city was an important city during different periods of history.
It is quite clear from the travel accounts and tourists’ itineraries of the tourists and
explorers who traveled to this city. (fig.12)
Esfahan is one of the greatest and historic cities of Iran located in the south of
Tehran. Esfahan is the center of the Esfahan province and is referred to as “half of the
world” in Iranian culture. This city has been placed in the semi-dessert area in the center
of Iran near Zayndeh rood (PL95) (a famous river in the center of Iran) and is popular
as the sightseeing, cultural and economic centers in Iran. It has temperate weather and
regular seasons and has several names like Apadana, Asef, Han, Aspahan, Jay, etc.
(PL96, PL6A)
Esfahan is full of historic buildings and artworks. Among them meydane
Naqshe Jahan (PL97), Siosepol2(PL98),pole Khaju3(PL99),Menarjonban4(PL100,
PL100A),
6
kabootarkhaneh
borj5(PL101,
PL101A),
Masjide
Imam(shah)
(PL102,PL102A), Chahar Bagh7(PL103,PL103A), Sabzeh meydan, (atiqe square)
(PL104) ,(fig.13), chehel sotun palace ( PL105), Atashkadeh8( ph106,106A), Sheikh
Lotfallah mosque9(PL107,107A), Aliqapou palace10(PL108,PL108A) and Vank
Church11(PL109) are the most famous ones. Therefore, Esfahan having very ancient
history and archaeological remains is one of the most famous cities in Iran and the
world. It was evident from many events in its tumultuous history. This city was
developed during the Buyid12 and Abbasides13 dynasties and was famous as the symbol
66
of the East cities in the 14th century A.D. it was destructed by Timurgurkani14and a lot
of its citizens were killed15.
“Although Timur ruined Esfahan, Shah Abbas Safavid re-established it and
constructed a lot of buildings and constructions. In this regard, Pitter Louie, one of the
world explorers who had traveled to Esfahan writes in his travel itinerary: “ Shah Abbas
in 1565 A.D. decided to place his court in Esfahan, and re-establish this old city-which
was ruined because of the dreadful Timur’s attack- in such a way that admire the world
would admire In the era, when even in the West or European cities, circles were narrow
and the streets were ugly and irregular and even one century before drawing the
Versailles palace design in the mind of its designer, this eastern man designed maps of
the big and wide symmetrical buildings and constructing avenues. No one could create
such designs after him. The modern Esfahan, which was founded by Shah Abbas, was
beyond expectations of that time from design and map view”16.
Safavid age is the age of perfection, splendor and innovation of architecture and
urbanization in Iran. The most beautiful and grandeur Iran architecture works have been
created by the innovative architects and famous artists during this age. This city being
the center of Safavid Empire was located in a geographical position, which could make
Shah Show rapid and quick reaction in the case of any threats from the Uzbek or the
Ottoman. Shah Abbas added new parts to the city without major changes in the old
parts. NaqsheJahan circle, Daulatkhaneh and 4 Gardens Street were built up nearby the
old parts.
In addition to elegance and fortification, rhetoric shine is another main
characteristic of architectures in this city. Colour and light radiation and surface
attractiveness and their significant splendor create an impudent beauty feeling in the
seer. Nevertheless, colour tintinnabulation and the shiny tiles repeated surfaces are
converted to a clear, spiritual and solitary scene. One of the Esfahan architect indices
during Shah Abbas I age is Shah Circle. This Circle had various buildings like mosque,
bazaar, house and caravanserais. Moreover, this Circle itself was a land speculation and
a splendor at night. It was a place ready to present any kind of court and kingly
entertainments. This collection involves an entrance door, which its vanished platforms
show battles of Shah Abbas with the Uzbek. Qaisarieh arched (PL110) bazaar is opened
towards the main door, which is a very beautiful sample of bazaar during Safavid
67
period. Ali Qapu palace is located in the west of this Circle placed facing to the Circle.
This building has been decorated with small rooms like the modern day office
buildings. A number of windows have been placed on the side facades for ventilation
and lighting and its main façade is a bright and cheerful columned auditorium. Shah
could see and be seen from this place and hence participate in the daily affaire of his
people. The palace floor plan differs in each floor. Judicial and tribunal court affairs
section was in the ground floor. A Drawing hall with water tank and fountain was
placed at the hall surface and the music room (PL111, PL111A) was in the first floor,
decorated with fine and precious chinaware and plaster molding. However, the function
of the other rooms is unclear and most of them are small but their roofs have created
specific prettiness. Frescos with various styles have decorated the walls; some of them
showing drunken youths and maidens, which are of the famous artist, Reza Abbasi’s
work (PL112, PL112A). However, some others have created strange and free style,
from which consists of birds, clouds, trees and flowers (with Chinese origin).
Moreover, other designs, which are reminiscent of carpet patterns and designs, have
been made on the thin layer of wall plaster. Ali Qapou’s decoration rather than its
architecture is one of the excellent palaces of that period.
In addition to Ali Qapou, two mosques in this Circle are among the most
beautiful remains of that age. These two mosques are completely genuine and Safavid
from plan, decoration and index layout view. Sheikh Lotfollah and Shah Mosques show
the architectural apogee during Safavid period, which display a kind of external and
apparent splendor.
Another important urbanization measures taken during Shah Abbas I age is
constructing beautiful and lengthy 4 Gardens street and various gardens on the both
sides. This garden in the margin of NaqsheJahan Circle involves an old garden named
JahanNama, which is in the center of NaqsheJahan Gardens. Shah Abbas gave value to
JahanNama Garden by constructing 4 Gardens axis and constructed a small palace in
its center, which is considered the prime core of Forty Colonnades Palace. It consists
of a middle auditorium and rectangular rooms.
Forty Colonnades Palace
Forty Colonnades Palace (PL113) built out of the Circle has such splendor and
unimaginable greatness that Sharon, tourist and world explorer calls it as the biggest
68
and greatest buildings of the royal palace. This 67000 m2 area palace was constructed
during Shah Abbas I age and there is a building in its center. The construction was
completed during Shah Abbas II age and complete changes were made in the central
building.Ayeneh
(mirror)
auditorium,(PL114,PL114A)
Eighteen
colonnades
auditorium,(PL115) two big northern and southern rooms in Ayeneh auditorium, side
auditoriums in the royal hall and a big pond in front of auditorium with complete
painting, mirror works and tiling walls and roofs have been added.(fig.14&fig.fig14A)
“Based on the investigation and studies of some historians, Forty Colonnades
Palace building has been constructed on an old building of Sasanian17 dynasty”.
“Moreover, this palace has some similarities with Forty Colonnades Palaces of
Takhte Jamshid (JamshidThrone) 18(PL116, PL116A) and also auditorium of some of
the northern houses in Iran but none of these similarities are complete. On the contrary,
because of the indented central entrance, which face the platform, it acts like a veranda
of Sasanian period and in spite of pillar and heelpiece in the doorway is more similar
to the Sasanian palaces rather than other palace”.19
“One of the points about this palace is its name, which has created different
opinions. Among them, a few followings can be mentioned: For example, Chardin, 20
writes “Iranian use forty when they exaggerate in numbers” and for justifying his words
gives Candelabrum (Forty Lights) example, which is used for normal lights. Felanden21
has the same French tourist reason and says that forty is not referred to forty in Iran,
but they call the places having so many pillars as Forty or Fred Richards has a literature
view to Forty and talks about special popularity of the numbers Forty among the East.
“In the literature of Near East, the expressions like forty days, forty thieves, forty towers
and forty nights are often used. However, the Forty Colonnades has come from the
summation of the twenty colonnades in the veranda and their reflection in the pond
water, which has been built up in front of the building”22.
“In fact, Forty Colonnades building has only twenty colonnades, which 18
colonnades support the veranda shielded roof and the other two are located in front of
the next auditorium. These pillars have been constructed in a veranda 38 m length, 17
m in width and 14 m in height towards the east. The Columns are rounded and polygons
;( ph117) four central pillars are placed on a stone pedestal, which looks like a lion from
all four directions. (PL118) This veranda was built especially for Shah’s hospitality of
69
his guests .(PL119) On both sides of this palace veranda there are two rooms, which
are the indices of the Shah Abbas II age and each has paintings of Reza Abbasi’s works,
worked on plaster. The third veranda with 7×5.5m areas is a dais and was used
specifically for his sittings. The plinth and floor of this veranda has been covered by
tiles and marble and the plinths themselves are engraved and its roof has been covered
by mirrors. On both sides of the veranda, there are four boards inside the shelves
painted; two have been painted by European style with dye and oil technique and the
other two are in Iranian style.(PL120) Moreover, two plates with verses of the holy
Quran have been posted (PL121,PL121A).
There are painting of Iranian style in the western veranda, some of them are
which still exist. On both sides of the dais, two northern and southern rooms are seen,
which belong to the Shah Abbas I age. The northern room has 12 paintings, which have
been painted in the Esfahan School style (PL122). In the southern room, some pictures
are in Iranian style and paint with Indian style have been worked” (PL123).23
The main auditorium of Forty Colonnades is 22 m in length and 11 m in width
from the north to the south and 21 m in height (PL124). It has three domes with
Karbandi and Rasmibandi24 decoration. (PL125)
“From the plinth to upward, 24 paintings can be seen on the four faces of the
auditorium; they like the other two rooms belong to the Shah Abbas I age. (PLs: 126,
126A, 126B, 126C, 126D, 126E) There are certainly 6 more paintings on the western
and eastern faces of this auditorium, which have been painted during the next periods
and have a different style and technique”25. (PLs: 127, 127A, 127B, 127C, 127D, 127E,
127F)
“Despite the mentioned elements, one of the main aspects of the Forty
Colonnades Palace, like Ali Qapou Palace is the hardness and solidity of the building
back and side rectangular, which is different from the opposite facade and is not
coherent Long entrances with 5 m depth are opened parallel to the side facades; each
of them having four pillars is also another characteristic of this building26. Forty
Colonnades in spite of architectural elegance and preciousness, has natural beauty”.27
This building has been constructed in the middle of a garden known as Hasht
Behesht (Eight Paradises). In this garden there were not only many flowers but also
was a place for growing rare and extinct plants and trees. Therefore, such environment
70
along with this type of building has caused the building to have a clean and cool
weather. Moreover, the existing three ventilations in the building let entrance of fresh
air along with the plant’s fragrance. (PL128, PL128A)
“There was a wide street with a big door opening from Four Garden’s side to
reach to the Forty Colonnades building. There was also a pond in front of the building
with water was continuously erupting from its fountain. Half of this pond was in front
of the building and the other half was located in the backside and now has been extended
to the end of the garden. It is the pond water, which reflects the pillars and accounts
them twice. (PL129)The wooden columns in front of the building have been covered
by the almond-shaped lathy mirrors and the central pillars were placed on the stone lion
statues continuously erupting water from their mouth and were discharged in a pond in
front of the royal throne”28.
The roof of the verandas of this building shows skilfulness of the carpenters and
builders of Safavid age. Nevertheless, the big plane trees have been used in constructing
this building and its roof has been fixed by the full log of the tree cut precisely.
Forty Colonnades building has been damaged extensively because of the firing
during Shah Hussein and Afghans attack and also lack of attention and knowledge of
the dynasties after Safavid.
The wall paintings at the Chehel Sotun
The wall paintings at the Chehel sotunin Esfahan are the best preserved of
Persian mural decorations; they include intriguing narrative painting of historical
subject matter in addition to the conventional literary themes and scenes of courtly life
.The palace contains many frescoes and paintings on ceramic. Many of the ceramic
panels have been dispersed and are now in the possession of major museums in the
West.
“When Chardin visited the palace in 1666, he mentions seeing the four largest
of them in the audience hall which he described as depicting three royal entertainments
and one battle scene. The evidence of Chardin’s description is to some extent the basis
for the common, scholarly consensus that the large narrative paintings were added some
twenty years after the completion of the building in 1647”29.
71
As we shall see, the location and themes of the wall paintings at the Chehel
Sotun were governed by a deliberate scheme. In this scheme, the events documenting
the relations between the Safavid court and its eastern neighbours are depicted in the
audience hall which is at the center of the building. Royal feasts and literary themes of
romance are relegated to the small corner rooms, the private domain of the palace. The
presence of foreigners at the cosmopolitan Safavid court is evoked in the paintings’ of
the verandas. Throughout the building, the small paintings of showing and hunting
reinforce the image of a life of leisure and plenty.
Wall paintings constitute the most important part of the palace' decorative
program." The overall scheme of the wall paintings in the interior as well as the
verandas and the back iwan30 consist of floral and depicted on the framing bands,
architraves s, spandrel, the niches, and the interior surfaces of the vaults; figural
Paintings appear in rectangular frame, pointed niches, and lunettes. (PL130, PL130A)
Thematically, the narrative paintings at the ChehelSotun can be broadly divided into four
categories. Prominent among them are the historical scenes in the audience hall.

A scene generally identified as the battle between Shah Isma'il 1 and the Uzbeks
on the southeastern wall.

The reception given by Shah Tahmasb for Humayun occupies the wall opposite
that is on the southwestern site.

Shah Abbas I and Vali Muhammad Khan, the Uzbek ruler of Turkestan, is 0n
the northwestern wall.

Shah Abbas and Nadr Muhammad Khan, also a ruler of Turkestan, is on the
Northeastern flank.
Two large oblong paintings in the niches of the central bays show the battle of
Nadir Shah and the Mughals .on the eastern wall and the battle of Chaldiran31between
Shah Ismail I and the Ottomans on the western bay. Both were added in the Qajar
period. (Pictures127)
A second group, numerically the largest, consists of the small panels of scenes
of feasting and hunts at the dado level of the audience in, all the rooms, the verandas,
and the back iwan (pictures126).Large scenes of either royal feasts in the outdoors or
of literary themes placed in niches of the corner rooms form a third group. (PL131)
Finally, there are the standing figures and seated groups in what may be European
72
costumes but may also depict Local Christians such as the Armenians. Unlike the
historical scenes in the audience hall, these paintings do not appear to represent
identifiable personages. This last group is found on the walls of the two verandas.
(pictures126)
Since there are neither signatures, nor dates; nor any other direct documentation
for the wall paintings at the Chehel sotun their dating depends upon indirect references
in contemporary sources and above all stylistic and internal criteria. Not surprisingly,
there is some disagreement about the dating of the different sections of these wall
paintings. Controversy arises from the two distinct styles of painting found in the
Chehel sotun murals, a difference often explained by the commonly held assumption
that he building itself is the result of two distinct phases of construction.
“A brief resume of the problem of the building's date is needed here."
Architectonic discrepancies between the core of the palace, which is the audience hall
and the corner rooms, and the talar/porch section have led the experts of the Institute
Italiano peril Medioed Estremo Oriente (IsMEO) 32 to conclude that the core building
was constructed during the reign of Abbas I and the talar front during that of Abbas 11.
There is, however, virtually no historical evidence to support these hypotheses. On the
contrary, all the sources pertaining to the Chehel sotun postdate the ascent to the throne
of Abbas II. The two contemporary historians of 'Abbas II, Muhammad Tahir-i
Vahid33and Vali Quli Shamlu34, record the construction of the Chehel sotun in the ear
1056-57 (1647). An inscription in twelve verse on the entablature along the back wall
of the talar35 gives the date 1057 (1647) in its last hemistich. Tahir-i Vahid quotes this
last hemistich and also adds that the date is inscribed on the building itself."36
“The most informative Persian source for the identification of the component
parts of the building at its completion date is the panegyric of Muhammad Ali Saib-i
Tabrizi37, the poet laureate at the court of AbbasII. In this poem, Saib itemizes the
sections most worthy of praise: the vaulting and vast space (presumably of the audience
hall) the wall paintings, the talar, the pool, and the garden .Sa'ib's poem, together with
the evidence of the inscription, and the dates given by Shamlu and especially Tahir-i
Vahid are strong indications of a single - construction campaign at the Chehel sotun.
Furthermore, it can be demonstrated that the architectural configuration a Chehel sotun
73
belongs to a phase in the evolution of Safavied palace that occurred only after the reign
of Abbas I”38.
The dating of the wall painting can be resolved to be satisfactorily within the
context of the development of Persian painting in the first half of the seventeenth
century. There is ample evidence to demonstrate the coexistence of the traditional
Persian and European-inspired styles in painting throughout that century for example,
Shafi Abbasi39and Muin Musavvar40.
“Both students of Reza Abbasi, worked in the Europeanizing and traditional
style , respectively, before the middle of the century" and Muin preserved his style well
into the second half of the century when most other Persian artists had adopted the
modes of Western painting.22 One may then raise the possibility that the stylistic
discrepancies in the wall paintings at the Chehel sotun result not from a pan of time
separating the traditional panels from the Europeanizing scene , but from
the
collaboration of a large workshop of artists with varying technical abilities and formal
language. The large oil paintings pose several problems”.41
The most obvious one is that absolutely no documentary evidence, no dates or
signature accompany them. It is beyond the scope of this study to go into the complexity
of placing these painting in a historical context; suffice it to note that the facial types,
costumes, and objects depicted in these paintings suggest a late Safavid date. Whether
they are by a Persian, a European, or an Armenian artist remains an open question.
74
REFRENCE AND NOTES:
Chapter-3.
1-
Naqshe jahan square
2
- 33 Bridge
3-
Khaju Bridge
4- Menar
Jonban, a historical building with a mausoleum and two minarets, is located 7 km west of
Esfahan. It is mausoleum of a hermit named Amo-Abdollah-e-Karladani and was built in 716
A.H. (1316 A.D.), in the Ilkhanian period. The minarets are made so that if one of them is moved
the second one and the whole building will shake.
5-
Dovecote or Pigeon house tower, 17th-century traveler estimated there were more than 3000
pigeon towers near Esfahan, and today some 250 to 300 survive in various states of decay. Though
many look alike, no two are precisely the same. (An abandoned tower shows a typically
honeycombed interior that could house 5000 to 7000 pigeons. To the birds the towers offered
refuge from nocturnal predators.)
6-
Imam Mosque previously called the Shah's mosque, this Safavid masterpiece was built by Shah
Abbas I (1611 to 1629). It is located on Esfahan's famous Naqsh-e Jahan square, which in itself
carries a UNESCO World Heritage designation.
7-
Four garden passage
8-
Fire temple
9-
Sheikh Lutfollah Mosque is one of the architectural masterpieces of Safavid Iranian architecture,
standing on the eastern side of Naghsh-e -Jahan Square, Esfahan, Iran. Construction of the mosque
started in 1603 and was finished in 1618. It was built by the chief architect Shaykh Bahaie, during
the reign of Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty. It is registered, along with the Naghsh-e Jahan
Square, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
10-
Aliqapou palace is a massive structure built during Shah Abbas Safavi standing high in Seven
floors and 48 meters on the West side of the "Naghshe Jahan Square".The balconeis are formed in
ideal place from which the royal family used to watch the Polo games taking place in the Square.
11-Vank
Cathedral was one of the first churches to be established in the city's Jolfa district by
Armenian immigrants settled by Shah Abbas I after the Ottoman War of 1603-1605. The varying
fortunes and independence of this suburb across the Zayandeh River and its eclectic mix of
European missionaries, mercenaries and travelers can be traced almost chronologically in the
cathedral's combination of building styles and contrasts in its external and internal architectural
treatment.
Buyid dynasty, also known as the Buyid Empire or the Buyids (Persian: Āl-e Buye), also
known as Buwaihids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, were a Shī‘ah Persiandynasty that originated from
Daylaman in Gilan. They founded a confederation that controlled most of modern-day Iran and
Iraq in the 10th and 11th centuries.
12-The
75
13-
The Abbasid Empire was the second of the two great Muslim caliphates of the Arab Empire. It
overthrew the Umayyad caliphs from all but Al-Andalus. It was built by the descendant of
Muhammad's youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. It was created in Harran in 750 of the
Christian era and shifted its capital in AD 762 from Harran to Baghdad. It flourished for two
centuries. Abbasid rule was ended in 1258, when Hulagu Khan, the Mongol conqueror, sacked
Baghdad. But they continued to claim authority in religious matters from their base in Egypt.
14-
Timur c.1336–1405, Mongol conqueror. He is also called Timur Leng [Timur the lame]. He was
the son of a tribal leader, and he claimed (apparently for the first time in 1370) to be a descendant
of Jenghiz Khan With an army composed of Turks and Turkic-speaking Mongols, remnants of the
empire of the Mongols .Timur spent his early military career in subduing his rivals in what is now
Turkistan by 1369 he firmly controlled the entire area from his capital at Samarkand
15-Esfahani,
16-
R.M, Ismaili, A.R. (2006), Esfahan Art from Tourists view, p.51
Ibid, p.60
17-The
Sassanid Empire (also spelled Sasanid Empire, Sassanian Empire, or Sasanian Empire),
known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān, was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by
the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651. The Sassanid Empire, which succeeded the Parthian
Empire, was recognized as one of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe, alongside the
Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than 400 years.
18-Persepolis
(Old Persian Pārsa, Takht-e Jamshid or Chehel Minar) was the ceremonial capital of
the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-330 BCE). Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of the modern
city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as
Takht-e Jamshid (Throne of Jamshid). The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515
BCE. To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa, which means "The City of Persians".
Persepolis is a transliteration of the Greek (Persēs polis: "Persian city"). UNESCO declared the
citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.
19-Ajand,
Y. (2008), Iran Painting during Safavid Dynasty, p. 442
Chardin (November 16, 1643 – January 5, 1713), also known as Sir John Chardin, was a
French jeweler and traveller whose ten-volume book The Travels of Sir John Chardin is regarded
as one of the finest works of early Western scholarship on Persia and the Near East.
20-Jean
21-French
tourist, who visited Iran in Safavid dynasty.
22-Esfahani,
23-Aqajani,
R.M., Ismaili, A.R. (2006), Esfahan Art from Tourists view p.160
H. Javani, A. (2007) Wall-painting during Safavid Dynasty in Esfahan, p.10
24-Karbandi
and Rasmibandi is constructed based on the bearing of vault berm (vault rib) and the
in-between cover by thinner covering vaults. In this system, the bearing vault ribs cross each other
before they reach to the center of the dome and create a junction pattern in the space which is
considerable from aesthetic and meaning point of view in the architecture. It should be mentioned
that the method of making masonry bond, dimension and the good quality of masonry are
effective in strengthening the building which are not taken into consideration in this article.
25-
Aqajani, H and Javani, A. (2007) Wall-painting during Safavid Dynasty in Esfahan, p.10
76
26-
Ajand, Y, (2008), Iran Painting during Safavid Dynasty, p.467
27-
Esfahani, R.M., Ismaili, A.R. (2006), Esfahan Art from Tourists view, p.70
28-
Ibid, p.71
29-
Ajand, Y, (2008), Iran Painting during Safavid Dynasty, p.478
30-
An iwan is defined as a vaulted hall or space, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open.
The formal gateway to the iwan is called pishtaq, a Persian term for a portal projecting from the
facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and geometric
designs .Iwans were a trademark of the Parthian Empire (247 BC–AD 224) and later the Sassanid
architecture of Persia ( 224 -651.), it was also used by Arabs of Hatra and by Lakhmids in the so
called 'Hiri-Style', later finding its way to the Islamic architecture which started developing in 7th
century AD, after the period of Muhammad (c. 570 – 632). This transition reached its peak during
the Seljuk era, when iwans became established as a fundamental design unit in Islamic
architecture, and later the Mughal architecture, Typically, iwans take the form of a four-centred
arch and open on to a central courtyard or Sehan, and have been used in both public and
residential architecture.
31-The
Battle of Chaldiran or Chaldoran occurred on 23 August 1514 and ended with a victory for
the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire of Persia (Iran). As a result, the Ottomans gained
immediate control over eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq.
32-Italian
Institute for Middle and Far East. The IsMEO was founded in 1933 by Royal Decree no.
33-Vahid
Ghazvini belongs to a family who has earned his life as a civil servant and like many civil
servants in the Safavid era he was a poet and incidentally a prolific one. Vahid’s poetry is
concerned with various subjects such as epic themes to lyrical and moral themes and Shahr
Ashoub. His main poetic style is Esfahani or Indian style which is the style of the poets in Safavid
era.
34-
Shamlu was Governor of Khorassan, Iran, in 1576 and chief of the armies under Shah Abbas I
en 1588.
35-Talar
is the architectural term given to the throne of the Persian monarchs which is carved on
the rock-cut tomb of Darius at Naqsh-e Rostam, near Persepolis, and above the portico which was
copied from his palace
36-Babaie
Sussan (2004), Slaves of the Shah, p. 82
37-Ṣāʾib,
in full Mīrzā Muḥammad ʿalī Ṣāʾib (1601/02-1677) also called Saeb of Tabriz, or Saeb of
Esfahan) was a Persian poet and one of the greatest masters of a form of classical Arabic and
Persian lyric poetry characterized by rhymed couplets, known as the ghazel. In addition to his
Persian works, Mīrzā Moḥammad-ʿAlī Ṣāʾeb Tabrīzī wrote 17 ḡazals and molammaʿs in his native
Azeri .Ṣāʾib was born in the city of Persia (Tabriz) and then educated in Esfahan city of Iran and
in about 1626/27 he traveled to India, where he was received into the court of Shāh Jahān. He
stayed for a time in Kabul and in Kashmir, returning home after several years abroad. After his
return, the emperor of Persia (Iran) Shāh ʿAbbas II, bestowed upon him the title King of Poets.
Ṣāʾib's reputation is based primarily on some 300,000 couplets, including his epic poem
Qandahār-nāma (“The Campaign against Qandahār”). His “Indian style” verses reveal an elegant
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wit, a gift for the aphorism and the proverb, and a keen appreciation of philosophical and
intellectual exercise. Saib was especially well known for his Persian panegyric poetry during the
reigns of Persian Emperors Safi, Abbas II, and Sulayman.
38-
Gray, basil, (1979), p.322
39-
Persian painter (Esfahan, 1628-c. 1674) the son of Reza, Muhammad Shafi` developed and
popularized bird-and-flower painting, a genre his father had introduced to the Esfahan school, (b
c. 1617; Esfahan, 1635-97). Persian illustrator and painter. Numerous works clearly signed in
black ink.
40-
Muin Musavviar (1638–1697) was an Iranian painter. He is considered as one of the most
famous painters in the Persian miniaturist during the Safavid period. He received his training from
Reza Abbasi who pioneered Persian miniaturist of the Esfahan School at that time. Initially
Muin's style was very close to that of his brilliant master, Reza Abbasi, the salient characteristics
of whose works he could imitate with great virtuosity, but he soon developed a broad and fluid
style unmistakably his own. He illustrated various Shahnama manuscripts, including one in the
Museum's collection to which he contributed twenty-one miniatures during the 1690s, toward the
end of his career.
41-Eleanor
Sims, (1976) pp. 222-48
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