Masjed-e Now (New Mosque)

🕰️When was it built?

The mosque was built in 590 AH (1194) by the Atabeg Sa'd ibn Zangi. Earthquakes in several periods damaged it, and it was rebuilt; the name Masjed-e Now, the New Mosque, is linked to these rebuildings. It was added to the National Heritage List in the winter of 1931–32 as number 73.

🏛️What was it built for?

The building was used for prayer and religious gatherings, and in the Constitutional era it was also a meeting place for those seeking freedom. In later periods its grounds were used for Friday prayers, and some building work changed the look of its historic space.

👀What you will see

• To the north and south are two very tall iwans, about 30 metres high and about 25 metres wide.
• On each side of the great iwans is a row of twelve lower arches, clearly different in height.
• Behind the south iwan lies a wide prayer hall, one of the main spaces for worship in the mosque.
• On the east and west sides, the middle iwan on each side is flanked by six rooms.
• The fronts of the great arches are decorated with mosaic tiles and thuluth inscriptions; the decoration is concentrated in these parts.

💡Something interesting

The story of the mosque's building says this was first the private quarters of Sa'd ibn Zangi. When his child fell ill, he vowed that if the child recovered he would build a mosque in place of the house. This is told as the story of the building's founder.

Good to know before you go