Chahar Taqi Tomb, Shirvan

🕰️When was it built?

Its exact date is not known, but the building is usually attributed to the Timurid era and to Eid Khajeh, one of Timur's commanders. Its octagonal shape and its crypt have also raised the possibility that it is Ilkhanid. The date on the gravestone is not enough to date the building itself.

🏛️What was it built for?

This is a funerary building, north-east of the shrine of Imamzadeh Hamzeh Reza. Its main body is built of mud brick and brick, with wood used to strengthen some parts. The space below is a crypt, a part lower than the ground that differs from the hall under the dome.

👀What you will see

• The outer face has eight sides, and pointed blind arches lift its walls out of plainness.
• Around the drum of the dome you can see khofteh-o-rasteh brickwork, with bricks set side by side in different directions.
• There are light openings above and below the doorways; from outside, notice where they sit in relation to the entrances.
• Above the portals are decoration and an inscription in turquoise with arabesque designs; look at the surviving details from a suitable distance.

💡Something interesting

In restorations in the 2000s, the entrance to the crypt and a wall around the building were uncovered. The crypt floor lies about one metre sixty below the ground around, a part of the building you would not guess from its outer face.

🎒Good to know before you go