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Shah Mosque (Tehran)

Coordinates: 35°40′35″N 51°25′20″E / 35.6763°N 51.4221°E / 35.6763; 51.4221
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other places with similar names, see Shah Mosque.
Not to be confused with Jameh Mosque of Tehran.
Shāh Mosque
مسجد شاه
The mosque in 2017
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusMosque
StatusActive
Location
LocationGrand Bazaar, Tehran, Tehran province
CountryIran
Shah Mosque (Tehran) is located in Tehran
Shah Mosque (Tehran)
Location of the mosque in Tehran
Geographic coordinates35°40′35″N 51°25′20″E / 35.6763°N 51.4221°E / 35.6763; 51.4221
Architecture
Architect(s)Ali-Akhbar Isfahani
TypeMosque architecture
StyleQajar
Founder
Groundbreaking1810 CE
Completed
  • 1825 CE
  • 1879 CE (minarets)
  • 1905 CE (clock tower)
Specifications
Dome(s)One (maybe more)
Minaret(s)Two
MaterialsBricks; plaster; tiles
The mosque by Eugène Flandin in 1851
Official nameImam Mosque of Tehran
TypeBuilt
Designated23 September 1984
Reference no.1667
Conservation organizationCultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran

The Shāh Mosque (Persian: مسجد شاه, romanized: Masjid-e Shah; Arabic: مسجد الشاه), also known as the Soltāni Mosque[1] (مسجد سلطانی) meaning "royal", renamed the Imam Mosque (Persian: مسجد امام, romanized: Masjid-e Emam)[a] after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, is a mosque in the northern section of the Grand Bazaar in the city of Tehran, in the province of Tehran, Iran.[2][3]

The mosque was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 23 September 1984, administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.

Structure

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The mosque was built by the order of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, the second Shah of Qajar Iran,[4] as one of several such symbols of legitimacy for the new Qajar dynasty.[5] At the time of its completion, the mosque was considered to be the most significant architectural monument in Tehran.[4] The mosque was designed by Ali-Akhbar Isfahani.[citation needed]

During the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the two current minarets were added to the structure. The mosque is topped by a small gilded dome.[6] The mosque also has two Shabestans.[7]

The courtyard is accessed from several parts of the Grand Bazaar.[8][9] There are some significant architectural similarities between the Shāh Mosque, the Vakil Mosque in Shiraz, and the Soltāni Mosque in Borujerd.[citation needed]

The Shāh Mosque in Tehran is recognized to be one of the most gorgeous[peacock prose] creations of the Persian empire in the Islamic era.[10][11] Built during the Qajar era under the ruler Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the mosque serves as a symbol of excellence in the Islamic era.[12] The mosque is detailed with 18 million bricks and 475,000 tiles.[13]

Notable events

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On 11 December 1905, the vāli of Tehran ordered the public flogging of 17 prominent merchants of the bazaar in the main courtyard of the Shāh Mosque, blaming them for the increase in the price of sugar. The public humiliation of the merchants was condemned by the Bazaaris and in protest, the Grand Bazaar shut its doors. A public backlash against the government in a series of related incidents ignited the Persian Constitutional Revolution.[14]

On 7 March 1951, Haj Ali Razmara, anti-communist Prime Minister of Iran, was attending the memorial service for Ayatollah Feyz at the Shāh Mosque.[15][16] On his way to the mosque, he was shot dead in the mosque's grand courtyard[3] by Khalil Tahmasebi, who was described by The New York Times as a "religious fanatic".[17] According to the Encyclopædia Britannica,[18] Tahmasebi was a member of the Shiite activist group[19] "Fedaʾeyān-e Eslām (Persian: 'Self-Sacrificers of Islam'), an extremist religious organization with close ties to the traditional merchant class and the clergy."[18] In 1952, Tahmasebi was freed and pardoned by the Iranian Parliament during the premiership of Mohammad Mosaddegh, and he was declared a Soldier of Islam. Following the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, Tahmasebi was re-arrested and tried; he was executed in 1955.[20][21]

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  • Dome interior
    Dome interior
  • Courtyard
    Courtyard
  • Minaret
    Minarets of the mosque
  • Shah Mosque, by sipo, licensed under CC BY 2.0[22]
    Shah Mosque, by sipo, licensed under CC BY 2.0[22]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Officially, the Imam Khomeini Mosque.

References

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  1. ^ "Ali Razmara – prime minister of Iran". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  2. ^ Keshavarzian, Arang (2007). Bazaar and State in Iran: The Politics of Tehran Marketplace'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 215.
  3. ^ a b "Iran and the Ikhwan: Assassinations, Pamphlets and Meetings". ASHARQ AL-AWSAT. 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b مسجدامام خمینی [Imam Khomeini Mosque]. Municipality of Tehran (in Persian). Archived from the original on 22 August 2019.
  5. ^ Gharipour, Mohammad. The Bazaar in the Islamic City: Design, Culture, and History. The American University in Cairo Press. p. 205. ISBN 9774165292.
  6. ^ Gharipour, Mohammad; Ozlu, Nilay. The City in the Muslim World: Depictions by Western Travel Writers.
  7. ^ مسجد امام خمینی [Imam Khomeini Mosque]. See Iran (in Persian).
  8. ^ "Imam Khomeini Mosque". Lonely Planet.
  9. ^ "Mosque fire kills 59 in Tehran". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "Imam Mosque". Iran Tourism and Touring Organization. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Masjed-e Imam: A historical jewel in heart of Tehran". Tehran Times. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Imam Mosque: A grand, sparkling jewel of Islamic architecture". Imam Mosque: a grand, sparkling jewel of Islamic Architecture. 8 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Shah Mosque". Shah Mosque. 9 July 2018.
  14. ^ Kasravi, Ahmad (2006). History of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution: Tarikh-e Mashrute-ye Iran. Mazda Publishers. pp. 69–70. ISBN 9781568592534.
  15. ^ Ghaneifard, Erfan. در دامگه حادثه [Dar Damgahe Hadese] (in Persian). p. 30. ASIN B0075PW2YK.
  16. ^ Kazemi, Farhad (1984). "The Fadaˈiyan-e Islam: Fanaticism, Politics and Terror". In Arjomand, Said Amir (ed.). From Nationalism to Revolutionary Islam. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 164. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-06847-0. ISBN 978-1-349-06849-4.
  17. ^ "Premier of Iran Is Shot to Death In a Mosque by a Religious Fanatic; PREMIER OF IRAN SLAIN IN MOSQUE Cabinet in Emergency Session VICTIM OF ASSASSIN". The New York Times. Associated Press. 8 March 1951. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Ali Razmara – Prime Minister of Iran". Encyclopædia Britannica. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  19. ^ Denoeux, Guilain (1993). "Religious Networks and Urban Unrest". Urban Unrest in the Middle East: A Comparative Study of Informal Networks in Egypt, Iran, and Lebanon. SUNY series in the Social and Economic History of the Middle East. SUNY Press. p. 177. ISBN 9781438400846.
  20. ^ Zabih, Sepehr (1982). "Aspects of Terrorism in Iran". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 463 (1): 84–94. doi:10.1177/0002716282463001007. JSTOR 1043613. S2CID 145391253.
  21. ^ "IRAN: Time of the Assassin". Time. 1 December 1952. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  22. ^ sipo (1 May 2010). "Shah Mosque". Retrieved 18 November 2021 – via Flickr.
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Media related to Shah Mosque (Tehran) at Wikimedia Commons

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