Jameh Mosque of Isfahan

🕰️When was it built?

The mosque goes back to the 8th century (2nd century AH). In the 9th century the earlier building was replaced by a hall of columns with a wooden roof, of which some walls and columns survive. The next major change came in the Seljuk era, and later the Ilkhanids, Timurids, Safavids and Qajars all altered the building.

🏛️What was it built for?

This was the main congregational mosque of the city, and the neighbourhoods and bazaars around it grew as it grew. In the Seljuk era four iwans were built around the courtyard, which changed the form of the mosque. This plan went on to shape mosques elsewhere in Iran and beyond.

👀What you will see

• Four iwans stand around the main courtyard, and their decoration comes from different periods, so no two look alike.
• The Taj al-Mulk dome in the north, also called the Brown Dome, stands beside the Darvish iwan and the prayer halls.
• The Nizam al-Mulk dome in the south is double-shelled, so the divisions inside are hidden behind the outer shell.
• The Oljeitu mihrab and the winter prayer hall are in the western part; the carved stucco mihrab is one of the highlights of the mosque.
• Inscriptions in stucco and brick, in Kufic, Thuluth, Nastaliq and banna'i scripts, show the different building periods.

💡Something interesting

The mosque burned in 515 AH (1121–22) and was repaired afterwards. The rebuilding means not every part is the same age, so next to a Seljuk section you also find work from later periods.