Introduction and Archaeological Analysis of Seljuk and Ilkhanid Buildings in Zanjan Province

Subject Areas : Islamic Archaeology

Arz Allah Najafi ¹ , Seyed Ali Asghar Mir Fattah ²

1 - Ph.D. in Archaeology, Department of History and Archaeology, Science and Research Branch,, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor, Organization of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Tehran, Iran.

Received: 2023-07-29 Accepted : 2023-07-29 Published : 2007-02-20

Keywords: Zanjan, Seljuk architecture, Ilkhanid Architecture, Qorveh, Gonbad Soltanieh, Sejas, Dash-Kasan,

Abstract :

Zanjan province has been one of the important centers of political, social and cultural developments in Iran due to its special geographical location during the Islamic era, especially during the Seljuk and Ilkhanid eras, due to many reasons, this importance is doubled. From the Seljuk period, the remains of a number of castles and defensive fortifications along with two mosques and a mausoleum remain in Zanjan province, which makes it possible to study the evolution of the region's architecture. Further, from the Ilkhanid period, in addition to the majestic and magnificent building of the Soltanieh dome as a manifestation of the architecture of the middle ages of Islamic Iran, a tomb and the incomparable building of the Dash-Kasan temple, the remains of a large number of residential settlements and also the remains of four-story houses from the Tarem region have been identified, which shows the expansion of architectural art in the period. Ilkhani is Zanjan province. The 7th and 8th centuries AH were the prosperity period of architecture in the region. In this research, two architectural styles, Razi and Azari, have been studied on the buildings. Anyway, the results of this research indicate that during the Seljuq and Ilkhanate period, Zanjan province was one of the centers of gravity of the culture and art of Islamic Iran, especially in the architecture.