Shah Mosque (Tehran) Explained

Building Name:Shāh Mosque
Native Name:مسجد شاه
Map Type:Iran Tehran
Location:Grand Bazaar, Tehran, Iran
Coordinates:35.6763°N 51.4221°W
Architecture Style:Qajar
Religious Affiliation:Islam
Province:Tehran Province
Consecration Year:1810 to 1825
Functional Status:Active
Architecture:yes
Specifications:yes
Minaret Quantity:2

The Shah Mosque (Persian: مسجد شاه), also known as the Soltāni Mosque[1] (Persian: مسجد سلطانی) meaning "royal", renamed the Imam Mosque (Persian: مسجد امام), after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, is a principal[2] mosque in the northern section of the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran.[3]

Structure

The Mosque was built to the order of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar of Persia[4] during the Qajar period, as one of several such symbols of legitimacy for the new dynasty.[5] At the time of completion, the mosque was considered to be the most significant architectural monument in Tehran.[4]

During the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the two current minarets were added to the structure. The mosque is topped by a small gilt dome.[6] The mosque also has two Shabestan.[7]

The courtyard is accessed from several parts of the Grand Bazaar,[8] the commercial heart of the capital.[9] There are some significant architectural similarities between the Shah Mosque, the Vakil Mosque in Shiraz, and the Royal Mosque in Borujerd.The Shah Mosque [10] is located in Tehran, Iran. It is recognized to be one of the most gorgeous creations of the Persian empire in the Islamic era. The construction of the mosque began from 1611 and was successfully completed in 1629. Built during the Qajar era under the ruler Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the Shah Mosque[11] serves as a symbol of excellence in the Islamic era. The architectural mastermind behind it all is Ali-Akhbar Isfahani. His innovative way of thinking led him to having an inscription of his name in the mosque above the doorway. The Shah Mosque [12] is detailed with 18 million bricks and 475,000 tiles.

Notable events

On December 11, 1905, the vāli of Tehran ordered the public flogging of 17 prominent merchants of the Bazaar in the main courtyard of the Shah Mosque, blaming them for the increase in the price of sugar. The public humiliation of the merchants was condemned by the Bazaaris and in protest, the Grand Bazaar shut its doors. A public backlash against the government in a series of related incidents ignited the Persian Constitutional Revolution.[13]

On March 7, 1951, Haj Ali Razmara, anti-communist Prime Minister of Iran, was attending the memorial service for Ayatollah Feyz at the Shah Mosque.[14] [15] On his way to the mosque, he was shot dead in the mosque's grand courtyard[2] by Khalil Tahmasebi, who was described as a "religious fanatic" by The New York Times.[16] According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Tahmasebi was a member of the Shiite activist group[17] "Fedaʾeyān-e Eslām (Persian: 'Self-Sacrificers of Islam'), an extremist religious organization with close ties to the traditional merchant class and the clergy."[18] In 1952, Tahmasebi was freed and pardoned by the Iranian Parliament during the premiership of Mohammad Mosaddegh, and he was declared a Soldier of Islam. Following the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, Tahmasebi was re-arrested and tried; he was executed in 1955.[19] [20]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ali-Razmara Ali Razmara – prime minister of Iran
  2. http://english.aawsat.com/2014/06/article55332991/iran-and-the-ikhwan-assassinations-pamphlets-and-meetings Iran and the Ikhwan: Assassinations, Pamphlets and Meetings
  3. Bazaar and State in Iran: The Politics of Tehran Marketplace by Arang Keshavarzian, Page 215 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007)
  4. http://virtualtour.tehran.ir/DnnArticle/view/tabid/71/ArticleId/45/.aspx مسجدامام خمینی / Imam Khomeini Mosque
  5. The Bazaar in the Islamic City: Design, Culture, and History by Mohammad Gharipour, published by The American University in Cairo Press, page 205 –
  6. The City in the Muslim World: Depictions by Western Travel Writers, Mohammad Gharipour, Nilay Ozlu
  7. http://seeiran.ir/%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AC%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AE%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86/ مسجد امام خمینی / Imam Khomeini Mosque
  8. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/iran/tehran/sights/religious/imam-khomeini-mosque Imam Khomeini Mosque
  9. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/feb/15/iran Mosque fire kills 59 in Tehran
  10. Web site: Imam Mosque . live . Iran Tourism and Touring Organization . Mar 25, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230325005439/https://itto.org/iran/attraction/imam-mosque-masjid-shah-tehran . en . 19 June 2023 .
  11. Web site: Imam Mosque: A grand, sparkling jewel of Islamic architecture. Imam Mosque: a grand, sparkling jewel of Islamic Architecture. 8 February 2021 .
  12. Web site: Shah Mosque |. Shah Mosque. 9 July 2018 .
  13. History of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution : Tarikh-e Mashrute-ye Iran by Ahmad Kasravi (Mazda Publishers, 2006), pp. 69-70
  14. در دامگه حادثه / Dar Damgahe Hadese by Erfan Ghaneifard, p. 30, Persian language – ASIN B0075PW2YK
  15. Book: Farhad Kazemi. Said Amir Arjomand. From Nationalism to Revolutionary Islam. 1984. 164. Palgrave Macmillan. London. 978-1-349-06849-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-06847-0. The Fadaˈiyan-e Islam: Fanaticism, Politics and Terror. 10.1007/978-1-349-06847-0.
  16. News: The New York Times. Premier of Iran Is Shot to Death In a Mosque by a Religious Fanatic; PREMIER OF IRAN SLAIN IN MOSQUE Cabinet in Emergency Session VICTIM OF ASSASSIN. Associated Press. 8 March 1951. 12 December 2016.
  17. Book: Denoeux, Guilain. https://books.google.com/books?id=5Dnb6E5s3HwC&pg=PA177. 177. Urban Unrest in the Middle East: A Comparative Study of Informal Networks in Egypt, Iran, and Lebanon. SUNY Press. 9781438400846. SUNY series in the Social and Economic History of the Middle East. 1993. Religious Networks and Urban Unrest.
  18. Web site: Ali Razmara  - Prime Minister of Iran. Encyclopædia Britannica. 25 August 2016. 12 December 2016.
  19. Zabih. Sepehr. Aspects of Terrorism in Iran. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 1982. 463. 1. 84–94. 1043613. 10.1177/0002716282463001007. 145391253 .
  20. IRAN: Time of the Assassin. https://web.archive.org/web/20101125203537/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,817453,00.html. dead. November 25, 2010. 1 December 1952. 12 December 2016. Time.