Comparative comparison of typology of spatial organization and physical elements of churches in Isfahan and Armenia

Subject Areas : City architect

avideh talaie ^{1 *} , hadi alaei ²

1 - Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - PhD student, Department of Architecture, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2022-08-20 Accepted : 2022-08-20 Published : 2022-07-23

Keywords: Typology, Safavid architecture, Isfahan churches, Armenian architecture, Armenian churches,

Abstract :

Armenia is a land in the northwest of Iran and was considered one of the provinces of Iran during the Safavid period. During the Safavid period, Armenians migrated to Isfahan by the order of Shah Abbas, and their settlement in this area resulted in a special architecture originating from the rich Iranian and Armenian culture. This research deals with the typology of Jolfa Armenian churches from the point of view of physical system, spatial arrangement, physical communication, ways of defining space (open space, closed space, covered space). The purpose of this study is the typology of the churches of Isfahan and their physical comparison with the churches of the main land of Armenia for a better genealogy of these valuable buildings. The result of this research will provide the possibility of classifying the churches of Jolfa in Isfahan. This research seeks to answer two questions. What are the patterns extracted from the Armenian churches of Isfahan? How are these patterns different from the patterns of churches in the Armenian mainland? The method of collecting information is field and library, and the research method is descriptive-analytical. The obtained results show that we are facing a kind of cultural eclecticism in the churches of Isfahan. Jolfa is a rightful representative of architecture in a foreign land, where both the identity of the original country and the identity and patterns of the destination country have been well respected. Armenians knew the architecture with stone well, but they did not have the ability of architecture with the materials of the central plateau of Iran, so they first got many help from Muslim architects, until they themselves became master craftsmen of Iranian clay and tiles. The architecture of the churches shined with the Armenian charm and Iranian appearance like a gem in Isfahan. The churches of Armenia are in the form of single nave churches, basilicas, single nave dome churches, four-column domed basilicas, full cruciform, radiating style, cruciform, centripetal plan and monastery complexes in the central plateau of Iran. All of them are built in the form of a monastery complex with the plan of a basilica with a four-column dome. Armenian churches were not domed on the facade, or their domes were conical, which is seen in Iranian churches in the form of Iranian domes.