EMĀMZĀDA iii. Number, distribution, and important examples

 

EMĀMZĀDA

iii. Number, distribution, and important examples

Information and statistics regarding the number and distribution of emāmzādas in Persia vary from one source to another. The Department of pious endowments (Sāzmān-e awqāf) estimated in 1352 Š./1973 that there were 1,059 emāmzādas (Kayhān, no. 9111, Ābān 1352 Š.). Šehābī (1945) lists 872 emāmzādas. Meškātī mentions only 138 emāmzādas and boqʿas, 74 of which have received historical registration; the rest are being processed. Wilber (pp. 100-104) lists 631 emāmzādas, some of which are boqʿas and towers. It is, however, safe to assume that the number of emāmzādas is far greater than those listed thus far. Almost every village in most parts of the country, except for the regions inhabited by the Sunnites, has some sort of shrine. Even in Sunnite regions there are well-known shrines for leading Sunnite Sufis and mystics. Sunnites visit them and perform rituals. These shrines (e.g., Torbat-e Jām) are also revered by Shiʿites.

The following 130 emāmzādas are among the most important in Persia not only for their religious meaning, but also for their historical significance and architectural value. Most of them are considered authentic (ṣaḥīh al-nasab). This list does not include the most important structures in a few regions only; some of the less known structures in other regions are included while some of the significant emāmzādas of such cities as Qom, Kāšān, and Tehran are not mentioned. Major shrines will be treated in separate articles.

Azerbaijan.

Although there are no authentic emāmzādas in Azerbaijan, there are significant boqʿas belonging to mystics and leading Shiʿite personalities or to religious figures of the Safavid movement. The latter include Jabrāʾīl, father of Shaikh Ṣafī Ardabīlī, Shaikh Ṣafī himself, Shaikh Ḥaydar, and Šehāb-al-Dīn—all ancestors of the Safavids. The relatively famous emāmzādas in these provinces are:

Boqʿa-ye ʿŪn-ʿAlī, believed to be the son of Imam ʿAlī. Located in the hills north of Tabrīz, it includes an ayvān and a sanctuary. Originally built in the Il-khanid period, it was rebuilt by Shah ʿAbbās after it had been damaged by the Ottomans (Kārang, I, pp. 104-15).

Emāmzāda Ebrāhīm, believed to be a son of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Tabrīz, the shrine is a simple, rectangular structure with a squat brick dome. The importance of the structure lies in the large marble stone (3.70 x 1.25 m) inside the shrine. The stone, known as Besmellāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm stone, is an excellent example of calligraphy and stone-carving. It is the work of master calligrapher and lapidarist Mīrzā Sanglāḵ (d. 1294/1877), who had originally intended it for the tomb of the Prophet Moḥammad (Qazvīnī, pp. 106-8; Kārang, I, pp. 62-77). It bears the artist’s signature and the date 1270/1853-54.

Emāmzāda Jamāl, believed to be a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Tabrīz, it has an emāmzāda and a mosque with a dome over the sanctuary (Kārang, I, pp. 52-61).

Emāmzāda Moḥammad wa Ebrāhīm. In the vicinity of Urmia, the rectangular shrine was built during the late Zand or early Qajar period. It is the most honored shrine in western Azerbaijan.

Arāk, Golpāyegān, Maḥallāt, and Tafreš.

Boqʿa-ye Sahl b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb. Located in the township of Āstāna in Arāk, the octagonal structure was built in the 8th/14th century and rebuilt during the reign of Shah ʿAbbās I (996-1038/1588-1629). It contains an inscription dated 1110/1698-99 and a tombstone dated 773/1371; it is registered as Persian National Monument 323 (PNM; Meškātī, pp. 193-94).

Āstāna-ye Haftād-o-do Tan. Located at Sārūq in Arāk, it includes two adjoining boqʿas dated 587/1191 and 620/1223, and fine cenotaphs, one dated 700/1300-1301 (Meškātī, p. 195; PNM 306).

Emāmzāda Abu’l-Fotūḥ, believed to be a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. It is situated in the village Vānšān near Golpāyagān. Built in the 10th/16th century, it has a rectangular and a twelve-sided pyramidal dome. The cenotaph is dated 962/1554-55 (Meškātī, p. 97; PNM 435).

Boqʿa-ye Hafdah Tan. Located in Golpāyagān, this structure was built in 1032/1622-23 on an octagonal plan and has a tiled dome (Meškātī, p. 66; PNM 290).

Emāmzāda Yaḥyā wa Fażl-al-Reżā, believed to be descendants of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Maḥallāt, the shrine has a court and a boqʿa built on a rectangular plan, with four alcoves (šāhnešīn). It also has a large stucco prayer niche (meḥrāb) dated [3]30/941-42 (Fayż, II, pp. 22-29).

Emāmzāda Qāsem b. Ḥamza b. Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in the village Kahak near Tafreš, the shrine includes a boqʿa with four surrounding ayvāns and a tiled, bulbous dome. The finely carved wooden cenotaph by Yaʿqūb b. Maḥmūd Qomī is dated 923/1517-18 (Fayż, II, pp. 183-87).

Emāmzāda Jaʿfar, believed to be an immediate descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Tafreš, the shrine includes a boqʿa with a conical dome and a carved wooden cenotaph with floral designs and a 9th/15th-century inscription in ṯolṯ script. The ayvān is dated 992/1584-85, and the exquisite door was made in 1033/1623-24 by Āqā Moḥammad b. Āqā Moṣṭafā (Fayż, II, pp. 206-9).

Emāmzāda Esmāʿīl, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Ḵomeyn, the shrine is built on a rectangular plan with an ayvān on the north side. It has three carved wooden doors dating back to the Safavid era and a cenotaph made during the reign of Shah Ṭahmāsb (personal notes of the author).

Isfahan and Šahreżā.

Emāmzāda Esmāʿīl b. Zayd b. Ḥasan b. Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb in Isfahan. It is considered a genuine emāmzāda. Its central structure dates back to the Saljuq period and earlier, but much of the complex was constructed under the Safavids. It has fine decorations of various types (Honarfar, pp. 521-40; Rafīʿī, pp. 750-62; PNM 112).

Emāmzāda Aḥmad, known as a descendant of Imam Moḥammad al-Bāqer. Located in Isfahan, the shrine was built during the Saljuq era but redecorated in the Safavid period. A black stone bearing an inscription dated 563/1167-68 is preserved there. The stone, known as Sang-e Sūmanāt, is believed to have been a part of an idol that the Ghaznavid Sultan Maḥmūd brought from India as a trophy of his campaigns there (Godard, 1937, 2/1, p. 27; Honarfar, pp. 668-76; Rafīʿī, pp. 742-50; PNM 234).

Emāmzāda Jaʿfar, whose lineage is traced back to Ḥasan b. Ḥosayn b. Moḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Ḥosayn. Located in Isfahan, it is an octagonal tomb-tower built in the early 8th/14th century (Figure 1). Its inscription and tombstone are dated 725/1325-26 (Godard, 1937, 2/1, p. 36; Honarfar, pp. 300-302; Rafīʿī, pp. 763-65; PNM 198).

Emāmzāda Šāh Zayd b. Imam ʿAlī b. Ḥosayn. Situated in Isfahan and dated 994/1585, the shrine was built in the early Safavid period and contains religious paintings (Godard, 1937, 2/1, pp. 150-51; Honarfar pp. 389-91; Rafīʿī, pp. 773-75; PNM 294).

Darb-e Emām, houses the tombs of Emāmzāda Ebrāhīm Baṭḥā and Abu’l-Ḥasan Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn, whose genealogies are traced back to Ḥasan Moṯannā and Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq. Located in Isfahan, the shrine is considered authentic and comprises a court, two portals, a vestibule (dehlīz), an arcade (rewāq), and a sanctuary. A large dome covers the emāmzāda and a smaller dome covers the tomb of the mother of Jahānšāh Qara Qoyunlū; it dates from the 9th/15th century and later (Godard, 1937, 2/1, pp. 47-56; Honarfar, pp. 341-53; Rafīʿī, pp. 765-72; PNM 217).

Emāmzāda Settī Fāṭema, believed to be a daughter of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem; located in Isfahan. It has a court and a sanctuary with a tiled ayvān from the Safavid period, and fine stucco inscriptions in the hand of Moḥammad-Reżā Emāmī, dated 1067/1656-57 (Godard, 1937, 2/1, pp. 129-31; Honarfar, pp. 604-5; Rafīʿī, pp. 772-73; PNM 222).

Emāmzāda Hārūn-e Welāyat, considered by some to be a descendant of Imam Moḥammad al-Taqī and by others a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Isfahan, the shrine has two courts, a boqʿa, an arcade, and a tiled dome. The interior of the dome has painted and gilded decorations. The boqʿa and the tiled portal date from 918/1512 (Godard, 1937, 2/1, pp. 63-69; Honarfar, pp. 360-69; Rafīʿī, pp. 777-85; PNM 220).

Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Ebrāhīm and Šāhzāda Moḥammad, descendants of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in the vicinity of Šahreżā, it was built in the Il-khanid period. It has a twelve-sided pyramidal roof, stucco decoration, and murals from the Safavid period (Meškātī, p. 64; PNM 750).

Emāmzāda Šahreżā. Located north of Šahreżā, it is a Safavid structure with a beautiful tiled dome and inlaid doors (Meškātī, pp. 735-39; PNM 130).

Tehran, Rey, Varāmīn, and Damāvand.

Āstāna-ye Shah ʿAbd-al-ʿAẓīm (q.v.), a descendant of Imam Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb. Located in Ray, it includes courts, a portal, a splendid ayvān decorated with mirror work, a golden dome with two tiled minarets, an arcade, and a mosque. In 1347 Š/1968 the fine brick inscription of the sanctuary portal was uncovered from under a plaster coat. The inscription reveals that the boqʿa was constructed on the order of Majd-al-Molk Barāvestānī Qomī, the vizier of the Saljuq Barkīāroq (q.v.) in the second half of the 5th/11th century. Its exquisite betel-nut cenotaph is dated 725/1325. Its old, wooden door, opening toward the tomb of Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah, is dated 848/1444-45. The mirror work and mural decoration, as well as the gold coating of the dome, were executed in the 13th/19th century (Moṣṭafawī, 1982, pp. 147-61; Šehābī and Hedāyatī, pp. 1328-44; PNM 406).

Emāmzāda Sayyed Esmāʿīl, son of Emāmzāda Zakarīyā, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Tehran, the shrine has a court, an ayvān with minarets (goldasta), balconies, a boqʿa, an arcade, and a mosque. Its exquisite wooden door bears the date 886/1481, the oldest inscribed date for any building in Tehran (Meškātī, pp. 195-96; PNM 409).

Emāmzāda Yaḥyā. Situated in Tehran, it is a 9th/15th-century structure which has been rebuilt. Its exquisite carved wooden cenotaph is dated 895/1489-90. The tombstone inscription identifies the emāmzāda as the tomb of Yaḥyā b. Zayd b. Ḥasan b. Amīr-al-Moʾmenīn (Moṣṭafawī, 1982, pp. 16-22).

Emāmzāda Zayd, believed to be a descendant of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn ʿAlī b. Ḥosayn. Located in Tehran, the shrine includes a court, an ayvān, an arcade, a sanctuary with mirror work, and a tiled dome built on a high drum, all dating from the Qajar period. The cenotaph is dated 902/1497-98. Loṭf-ʿAlī Khan Zand is also interred here (Moṣṭafawī, 1982, pp. 50-64; PNM 259).

Emāmzāda Ṣāleḥ, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in northern Tehran in Šemīrān, the shrine includes a court, an ayvān, a sanctuary, an arcade, and a mosque. Originally built in the 7th/13th century, it has been repeatedly reconstructed and repaired; the present building dates to the Qajar period (Moṣṭafawī, 1982, pp. 237-38).

Emāmzāda Qāsem. Located in northern Šemīrān, it includes a sanctuary, an ayvān, and an arcade. The sanctuary is octagonal, and the wooden cenotaph is dated 963/1555-56, during the reign of the Safavid Shah Ṭahmāsb. Some believe this shrine to be the burial site of the head of Qāsem b. Ḥasan who was killed at Karbalāʾ. Others maintain that the son of Qāsem is buried there (Moṣṭafawī, 1982, pp. 228-33).

Emāmzāda Dāwūd, believed to be a descendant of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn. Located in the Tehran region, the shrine was founded in the Safavid period, but rebuilt on an octagonal plan during the Qajar era. The present building was constructed recently, after a flood had destroyed the previous structure (Moṣṭafawī, 1982, pp. 215-23).

Boqʿa-ye Bībī Šahrbānū (q.v.). Built on a rock in Rey, the nucleus of the building dates back to the Buyid period. It includes a sanctuary, a mosque, and an arcade. It is considered to be the burial site of the Šahrbānū, daughter of the Sasanian Yazdegerd III and wife of Imam Ḥosayn b. ʿAlī. The cenotaph is dated 888/1483, while the beautiful carved wooden door is dated 962/1554 (Moṣṭafawī, 1982, pp. 130-38; Karīmān, I, pp. 403-16; PNM 256).

Emāmzāda Ṭāher and Emāmzāda Ḥamza, descendants of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn and Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem, respectively. Constructed in the Safavid period, both structures lie within the complex of the Shah ʿAbd-al-ʿAẓīm (q.v.) and have tall, tiled domes (Karīmān, I, pp. 397-98).

Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Ḥosayn, believed to be a descendant of Imam Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb. Situated in Varāmīn, the shrine has a court and a boqʿa that is octagonal on the exterior and circular on the interior. It has a tile mosaic meḥrāb, with a stucco inscription above. It was built in the Il-khanid period (Meškātī, p. 274).

Emāmzāda Yaḥyā, 7th/13th-century burial site in Varāmīn, probably that of Yaḥyā b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān b. Qāsem b. Ḥasan b. Zayd b. Imam Ḥasan. The shrine has an octagonal interior, with deep corner alcoves and dado decorated with glazed blue tiles, and a square exterior. Much of the surrounding complex, including an octagonal tomb and a mosque, has been destroyed. According to Jane Dieulafoy, who visited the site in 1881, the octagonal tomb was built in the pre-Saljuq era, the mosque belonged to the Saljuq period, and the larger emāmzāda was added in the Mongol period. The emāmzāda had elaborate decoration in luster tiles and carved plaster, but by the time Dieulafoy visited the shrine, part of the luster decoration of the meḥrāb, dado, and tomb had already been stripped. The shrine had an exquisite tile meḥrāb, dated 663/126465, which formerly belonged to the Kevorkian collection and now is in a private collection in the United States (Survey of Persian Art, pl. 400). Other dates associated with this shrine are: 660-62/1261-63, inscribed on a number of star tiles now in various collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; 705/1305-6, inscribed on a meḥrāb-shaped luster tombstone with the genealogy of Emāmzāda Yaḥyā, now in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; and 707/1307-8, carved in the plaster frieze around the interior of the emāmzāda (Āḏarī, pp. 37-40; Dieulafoy, tr., pp. 148-49; Qaračānlū, pp. 15-19; Watson, pp. 191, 194, nos. 27, 29, 31, 98; Wilber, pp. 109-10).

Emāmzāda Jaʿfar, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in the Varāmīn region, the shrine includes a court, an ayvān, and a sanctuary with a tiled, double-shelled dome on a high drum. The sanctuary inscription is dated 956/1548 and the grille is dated 994/1586 (Meškātī, pp. 261-62; PNM 319).

Emāmzāda Solṭān Moṭahhar, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kaẓem. Situated in Būmhen, the shrine is an octagonal tomb-tower, with a pyramidal dome. The exquisite carved wooden cenotaph is dated 847/1443-44, and the carved wooden door is dated 963/1555-56 (personal notes of the author).

Emāmzāda ʿAbd-Allāh, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Damāvand, the tomb-tower is octagonal on the interior and has thirty-three flanges on the exterior, with conical tiled dome. It was built in the 7th/13th century (Wilber, pp. 131-32, tr. pp. 143-44).

Semnān and Dāmḡān.

Emāmzāda Jaʿfar. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the medieval town of Dāmˊḡān on the road to Semnān, this shrine includes a brick-domed mausoleum (Iranian National Monument 82, probably built in the 5th/11th century as a tomb for a distant descendant of the fourth Imam, ʿAlī

Zayn-al-ʿAbÚedīn, and three surrounding individual buildings: a domed square (known as the tomb of the Timurid ruler Šāhroḵ; r. 807-850/1405-47), a cylindrical tomb tower known as the Čehel Doḵtarān and a polygonal tomb tower known as Emāmzˊada Moḥammad. The mausoleum has an ayvān decorated with small, luster-painted star and cross tiles set into the wall surface and inscribed with Persians verses dating back from Ḏu’l-ḥejja 664/September 1266 to Ramażān 665/June 1267.

Emāmzāda Moḥammad, presumed to be a descendant of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq. Located in the historic shrine complex at Besṭām (q.v.), the shrine includes a mosque, an ayvān, and a domed sanctuary. The shrine has beautiful murals and inscribed stucco bands. Its nucleus was constructed in the 3rd/9th century and the other parts in the Il-khanid period (Ḥaqīqat, pp. 334-35; Moḵleṣī, 1980; PNM 69).

Emāmzāda ʿAlamdār. Situated in Semnān, this tomb-tower has a squat dome covered with turquoise tiles. An inscription in ṯolt¯ script identifies the interred person as a descendant of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn. Some consider him one of the commanders who, wearing a white shroud, fought along with Pīr Najm-al-Dīn Dādbaḵš against the Mongols and was martyred (Moḵlesīá, 1977, pp. 122-24).

Emāmzāda ʿAlawī. Located in Semnān, it includes a sanctuary, arcades, ayvāns, and two wide courts. The ten individuals buried there are believed to be descendants of Imam ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb and rebels who fought against the caliphs. The present structure dates back to the reign of Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah Qajar (1212-50 /1797-1834; Moḵleṣī, 1977, pp. 124-28).

Emāmzāda ʿAlī, a descendant of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq. Located in Semnān, the shrine includes an ayvān, and a sanctuary with a tiled pyramidal dome (Moḵleṣī, 1977, pp. 117-21).

Khorasan (Mašhad, Nīšābūr, Ṭabas, Sabzevār, Gonābād, Šīrvān, and Qūčān).

Ḵᵛāja Abāṣelat; famous traditionist, narrator, and orator, who is popularly believed to have been a confidant of Imam ʿAlī al-Reżā. Situated in the neighborhood of Mašhad, the shrine has a rectangular sanctuary and two arcades. The tiled dome is decorated with mirror work on the interior (Šarīʿatī, pp. 145-46).

Ḵᵛāja Rabīʿ b. Ḵayṯam, believed to have been one of the tābeʿūn. Constructed in Mašhad during the Safavid period, this pavilion is octagonal on the exterior and square on the interior. It contains four alcoves, a double-shelled dome on a high drum, and inscriptions in the hand of ʿAlī-Reżā ʿAbbāsī (q.v.), dated 1026/1617 and 1031/1622 (Mawlawī, 1978; Šarīʿatī, pp. 142-43; Moqrī, p. 43; PNM 132).

Emāmzāda Ḥamza-Reżā. Situated in Šīrvān, it includes a square sanctuary, an arcade, an ayvān, and a squat, double-shelled brick dome. It was built in the Ghaznavid period (Meškātī, p. 91; PNM 704).

Emāmzāda Ḥosayn, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Ṭabas, the shrine includes a court, an ayvān, an arcade with a dome-like roof, and a sanctuary. The sanctuary walls are adorned with murals. An inscription inside the sanctuary is dated 449/1057. The cenotaph is dated 980/1572-73 (Meškātī, p. 89; INM 337).

Emāmzāda Solṭān-Moḥammad ʿĀbed. Situated in the Gonābād region, it includes an ayvān and a boqʿa. The ayvān inscription in tile mosaic is the work of ʿAlī-Reżā ʿAbbāsī. Some believe the shrine to be the burial site of Moḥammad b. Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq (Zamānī, 1973a; Meškātī, p. 93).

Emāmzāda Maḥrūq, Moḥammad b. Moḥammad b. Zayd b. ʿAlī b. Ḥosayn. Situated in Nīšābūr in the garden of ʿOmar Ḵayyām’s mausoleum, the shrine includes a sanctuary, a mosque, and a large ayvān. It is ornamented with hexagonal tiles. The tomb was founded in the Saljuq era, but the present structure dates back to the 10th/16th century (Eʿtemād-al-Salṭana, III, pp. 63-64; Mawlawī, 1977, pp. 292-319; PNM 302).

Emāmzāda Sayyed Ḥosayn and Sayyed Esmāʿīl, descendants of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in the Sabzavār region, the two boqʿas are located a short distance from each other. The former is square on the interior and octagonal on the exterior; the latter is square. They date back to the 8th/14th century (E ʿtemād-al-Salṭana, III, p. 233; Qaraḵānī, pp. 42).

Emāmzāda Solṭān Ebrāhīm, believed to be a son of Imam ʿAlī al-Reżā. Situated in Qūčān, the shrine is built on a square plan and has two ayvāns and several arcades. Two minarets with balconies flank the main ayvān. Pages of the famous copy of the Koran in Bāysonḡor’s calligraphy were kept for years in this shrine. Sultan Moḥammad Ḵᵛārazmšāh (r. 596-617/1200-20) has been mentioned as the founder of this shrine (Eʿtemād-al-Salṭana, I, pp. 153-56).

Emāmzāda Aḥmad Bīmorḡ, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in the Gonābād region, this octagonal tomb-tower has eight ayvāns corresponding to the eight sides. On the interior, the building is square, and is decorated with murals. It was built during the Safavid era (Zamānī, 1973b)

Boqʿa-ye Qadamgāh. Located in the Nīšābūr region, the octagonal shrine has four tall ayvāns on four sides and a beautiful, tiled dome (Figure 2). Decorated in polychrome tile and cut stucco, this structure is a pavilion at the center of a splendid garden (Meškātī, pp. 111-12; PNM 236). It contains a stone fragment decorated with two footprints thought to belong to Imam ʿAlī al-Reżā, hence its name (Mawlawī, 1977, pp. 343-58; Ṭāherzāda Behzād; Meškātī, pp. 111-12; PNM 236).

Ḵūzestān (Šūštar, Dezfūl and Ḵārg Island).

Emāmzāda ʿAbd-Allāh, a descendant of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn. Situated in Šūštar, the shrine has a Kufic inscription on the sanctuary portal, dated 629/1231, and a moqarnas dome (“Barrasī-e ʿelmī”; Eqtedārī, 1974-75, I, pp. 689-702; Meškātī, p. 119).

Boqʿa-ye Šāh Abu’l-Qāsem. Situated in the Dezfūl region, the shrine has a frank dome and is reputed to be the mausoleum of the Saffarid Yaʿqūb b. Layṯ. Local people, however, believe it to be the tomb of a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem (Eqtedārī, 1974-75, I, pp. 336-49).

Boqʿa-ye Pīr-e Rūban, tomb of Solṭān Sayyed ʿAlī, a mystic and twenty-second generation descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Dezfūl, the shrine is a 9th/15th-century structure with interesting murals (Eqtedārī, 1974-75, I, pp. 401-8).

Boqʿa-ye Barāʾ b. Mālek. Located in Šūštar, the shrine is believed to belong to Mālek Anṣārī, one of the Companions of the Prophet Moḥammad who was killed at the hands of Hormozān, the governor of Ḵūzestān (Eqtedārī, 1974-75, pp. 683-87).

Emāmzāda Mīr Moḥammad, believed to be the tomb of Moḥammad b. Ḥanafīya, son of Imam ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb. Situated on Ḵārg Island, the shrine has a moqarnas dome and star tiles dated 738/1337-38 (Figure 3; Eqtedārī, 1969, pp. 837-39, 872-74; Sarfarāz, pp. 120-30).

Sāva.

Emāmzāda Solṭān Sayyed Esḥāq. It has a court, an ayvān, and a boqʿa with a bulbous dome. Its inscription in ṯolṯ script is dated 676/1277. The cenotaph is decorated with twelve dark blue tiles. The inscription identifies the interred as a son of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem (Fayż, II, pp. 136-44; PNM 279).

Emāmzāda Hārūn. Situated in the Sāva district, the shrine is octagonal on the exterior and interior and has a twelve-sided pyramidal dome in cut brick. The ṯolṯ inscription in a stucco band around the boqʿa identifies the interred as a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem (Fayż, II, pp. 147-50).

Fārs (Shiraz, Bavānāt, and Nūrābād).

Āstāna-ye Šāh-e Čerāḡ. Located in Shiraz, it is a building complex including the mausoleums of Aḥmad b. Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem and his brother Sayyed Mīr Moḥammad (qq.v.; Forṣat, pp. 444-53; Fasāʾī, ed. Rastgār, II, pp. 186-88; Sāmī, pp. 332-34; Behrūzī, pp. 174-76).

Āstāna-ye Sayyed ʿAlāʾ-al-Dīn Ḥosayn (q.v.), son of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem and brother of Šāh-e Čerāḡ. Located in Shiraz, the shrine has a large bulbous dome covered in tile and a sanctuary dated 943/1536-37 (Forṣat, pp. 453-55; Fasāʾī, ed. Rastgār, II, pp. 188-89; Ṣamadī; Behrūzī, pp. 174-76; Sāmī, pp. 345-47; PNM 307).

Shah Mīr ʿAlī b. Ḥamza, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Shiraz, the shrine includes an entrance, a wide court, a sanctuary, and surrounding units. The original building is attributed to the Buyid period, but the present structure was constructed in the Zand period or later (Forṣat, p. 455; Fasāʾī, ed. Rastgār, II, pp. 1189-91; Sāmī, pp. 348-49; PNM 534).

Boqʿa-ye Sayyed Tāj-al-Dīn Ḡarīb, Jaʿfar b. Fażl b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb, popularly known as Sayyed Ḥāj Ḡarīb. Located in Shiraz, the portal has an elaborate tile work with floral design, dated 1310/1892-93 (Forṣat, pp. 455-56).

Emāmzāda Ḥamza, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Bavānāt, the shrine has a portal, court, sanctuary, and an arcade with a round dome. The stucco above the portal is a fine work dated 953/1546 (Moṣṭafawī, 1964, pp. 510-513; PNM 266).

Emāmzāda Darb-e Āhanīn, believed to be a daughter of the Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated at Nūrābād in Mamassanī, the shrine has an octagonal sanctuary with an alcove (šāh-nešīn) in each side. Above the entrance is a steel lattice, said to be a remnant of the Sasanian fortress Sapīd Dez. The inscription over the entrance is a rare Persian example and is dated 771/1369 (Moṣṭafawī, 1964, pp. 132-34).

Qazvīn and Eštehārd.

Emāmzāda Āmena Ḵātūn, believed to be daughter of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq. Located in Qazvīn, the shrine has an octagonal plan on both interior and exterior. It was built in the Safavid period (Golrīz, pp. 627-28).

Emāmzāda Esmāʿīl, a descendant of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq. Situated in Qazvīn, the shrine includes a wide sanctuary with four alcoves and a tiled dome (Plate I). The interior of the dome is decorated with mirror work and stucco. It was built in the Safavid era (Golrīz, pp. 629-30).

Emāmzāda Solṭān Sayyed Moḥammad, a descendant of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq. Situated in Qazvīn, the shrine has a dodecagonal sanctuary with four alcoves. The interior of the dome is decorated with mirror work and stucco (Golrīz, pp. 670-71).

Āstāna-ye Šāhzāda Ḥosayn, believed to be a son of Imam ʿAlī al-Reżā but identified by historical sources as a prince of the local Jaʿāfera dynasty. Situated in Qazvīn, the shrine includes a portal, court, sanctuary, arcade, and an ayvān with mirror work (Plate II). The sanctuary’s interior is decorated with mirror work, murals, and stucco. The two panels of the large door to the sanctuary are dated 967/1559-60 (Golrīz pp. 650-65; Modarresī Ṭabāṭabāʾī, 1978; PNM 239).

Emāmzāda Abāḏar, a descendant of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq. Located north of Qazvīn, the shrine includes a court, a sanctuary, and an arcade supporting a double dome covered in tiles. An inscription around the door is dated 640/1242-43, and one above the entrance in beautiful Kufic script is dated 693/1294-95. It has a wooden cenotaph from the Safavid period (Golrīz, pp. 631-33; PNM 381).

Emāmzāda Ebrāhīm, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Sojās, the shrine is a small structure from the Saljuq period, with a wooden cenotaph carved in the 6th/12th century, and repaired in later times (Zipoli, pp. 143-52).

Emāmzāda Raḥmān wa Zayd Palangābād, descendants of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in the Eštehārd region, the shrine includes a portal, boqʿa, arcade, and a twenty-sided sanctuary decorated with murals. It dates from the 8th/14th century (Varjāvand, 1970, pp. 83-93; Meškātī, p. 270; PNM 755).

Emāmzāda Shah Solaymān, believed to be a brother of Imam ʿAlī al-Reżā. Situated in the region of Eštehārd, the shrine includes a portal, an arcade, a boqʿa, and a squat dome (Meškātī, p. 269; PNM 754).

Emāmzāda ʿAmma Ṣoḡrā wa ʿAmma Kobrā, both believed to be female descendants of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Found in the Eštehārd region, the shrine includes a portal, an arcade, and a boqʿa (Figure 4). It is covered by an ovoid dome similar to that over the tomb of Qāżīzāda Rūmī in Šāh-e Zanda cemetery at Samarkand (Meškātī, p. 271; PNM 753).

Qom.

Āstāna-ye Hażrat-e Fāṭema Maʿṣūma, sister of Imam ʿAlī al-Reżā, the second most splendid shrine in Persia. The construction of the structure over the tomb began in the 3rd/9th century, taking final shape by the 6th/12th century. Since the time of Shah Ṭahmāsb new units have been added. The principal parts are two vast courts, an ayvān with mirror work and a museum. The golden dome belongs to the reign of Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah Qajar. This shrine complex also includes the tombs of the Safavid kings (Fayż, I, pp. 377 ff.; Saʿādat; PNM 128; See FĀṬEMA; Qom).

Emāmzāda ʿAlī b. Jaʿfar, also known as Darb-e behešt. An important work from the 8th/14th century, it has a twelve-sided pyramidal dome and significant tile decorations. Its luster star tiles and fine tiled meḥrāb bear a number of dates from 707/1307 to 740/1339. Engraved on the tombstone are the names ʿAlī b. Jaʿfar and Moḥammad b. Mūsā al-Kāẓem (Fayż, II, pp. 321-60; PNM 240).

Emāmzāda Ebrāhīm wa Emāmzāda Moḥammad. Situated at the west of the town, the octagonal tomb has a twelve-sided pyramidal dome. The oldest date on the structure is 721/1321. The boqʿa includes the cenotaphs of Ebrāhīm and Moḥammad, sons of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem (Meškātī, p. 233; PNM 298).

Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Zayd, a descendant of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn according to the plaster inscription in the tympanum of the ayvān. The shrine includes a tomb-tower, an arcade, an ayvān, and a pointed dome. The inscription carries the date 847/1443 (Fayż, II, pp. 527-35).

Emāmzāda Solṭān Moḥammad Šarīf, believed to be a descendant of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn and appointed by Majd-al-Dawla as naqīb-al-noqabāʾ of ʿErāq. The shrine includes an octagonal tomb-tower. The turquoise tile cenotaph dates back to the 8th/14th century (Fayż, II, pp. 436-39).

Šāhzāda Ebrāhīm, believed to be a son of Imam Moḥammad al-Bāqer. Located on the outskirts of Qom, the shrine has a polygonal base and a pointed dome. It was built in the 7th/13th century (Fayż, II, pp. 313-18).

Šāhzāda Ebrāhīm, believed to be son of Aḥmad b. Musā al-Kāẓem, known as Šāh-e Čerāḡ. Located in the vicinity of Darb-e behešt, this tomb-tower has an octagonal base and a sixteen-sided pyramidal dome. The stucco band around the zone of transition bears an inscription dated 805/1402, while tiles on the entrance portal are dated 721/1321 (Fayż, II, pp. 361-71; PNM 298).

Emāmzāda Esmāʿīl. Situated in Bīdkān of Qom, it includes a court, a mosque, an arcade, and the tomb (boqʿa). The tomb-tower is square on the interior and covered by a pyramidal dome on a sixteen-sided zone of transition. The fine tiles of the boqʿa belong to the Il-khanid period. There are two tombs in the boqʿa. The large one is covered with tiles and has a finely carved wooden cenotaph. The Emāmzādas are Esmāʿīl and his son Ḥamza, descendants of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq and Moḥammad Mūsā b. al-Kāẓem (Fayż, II, pp. 294-313).

Emāmzāda Aḥmad and Emāmzāda ʿAlī, descendants of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn. A tomb-tower with an octagonal exterior and a square interior, it has a dome with sixteen sides and two northern and southern ayvāns built in the Safavid era, although the original building was founded in the 7th/13th century (Fayż, II, pp. 281-87).

Emāmzāda Aḥmad b. Qāsem, descendant of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq. A tomb-tower with bulbous tiled dome, it was built in 780/1378. The founder of the boqʿa was Ḵᵛāja ʿAlī b. Esḥāq, who is buried in one of the tomb-towers of the Gonbad-e sabz. The interior of the dome has fine stucco work and inscriptions below the dome (Fayż, II, pp. 372-87).

Emāmzāda Abū Aḥmad. Located in the outskirts of Qom, the structure has an octagonal exterior and an interior with four sides and four alcoves. It has a pyramidal dome with sixteen sides. Parts of the stucco inside the boqʿa still remain. The cenotaph is covered with mosaic tiles of the Safavid period. The tile mosaic inscription identifies the Emāmzāda as Moḥammad b. Ḥanafīya, son of Imam ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb (Fayż, II, pp. 610-17).

Kāšān.

Emāmzāda Ḥabīb b. Mūsā, considered to be a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. The complex includes a theological school (madrasa) and an emāmzāda, with two portals, a court, a dome, and tiled minarets. The cenotaph tomb walls are covered with fine tiles. A few murals adorn its walls as well. It was built in the 7th/13th century. Buried here is also Shah ʿAbbās I under an exquisitely wrought black porphyry tombstone (Eskandar Beg, pp. 1078-79; Narāqī, 1969, pp. 150-56; Idem, 1964, pp. 14-17).

Emāmzāda Panjašāh. It includes a court, a sanctuary, an ayvān, arcades, and a twelve-sided dome. The tile of the cenotaph has a meḥrāb design and is dated 956/1549. The sanctuary was built in the 7th/13th century and is believed to be the burial site of Hārūn b. Mūsā al-Kāẓem and his son Moḥammad. It is known as Panjašāh because the hand of ʿAbbās b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb (q.v.), which was cut off during the events at Karbalāʾ, is believed to be preserved in the shrine (Narāqī, 1969, pp. 165-69).

Emāmzāda Solṭān ʿAṭābaḵš, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. The shrine includes a court, and a large ayvān, a sanctuary and arcades. The sanctuary is a square chamber, with each side defined by an arch and is covered by a double-shelled dome, a low interior dome and a pyramidal exterior dome. It has painted and plastered moqarnas decoration. The oldest segment is attributed to the Buyid period (Żarrābī, p. 431; Narāqī, 1969, pp. 160-64).

Šāhzāda Ebrāhīm, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. The shrine includes a portal, a court, a pool, an ayvān with minarets, a mosque, and a sanctuary. The octagonal sanctuary has a sixteen-sided dome and an ayvān decorated with mirror work. It was built in the Qajar period (Narāqī, 1969, pp. 145-47; PNM 40).

Emāmzāda Solṭān Mīr Aḥmad. It includes a court, a portal, a tiled minaret, and a sanctuary with a tiled pyramidal dome. Its four fine, wooden doors are dated between 915/1509 and 941/1534. The shrine belongs to the Safavid era (Narāqī, 1969, pp. 170-74; PNM 237).

Emāmzāda Solṭān-ʿAlī, believed to be a son of Imam Moḥammad al-Bāqer. Located in Mašhad-e Ardahāl, the shrine has an entrance portal, minarets, a court, and a domed sanctuary. The oldest segment is attributed to the Saljuq period but was repaired, reconstructed, and in part newly built in the Il-khanid, Safavid, and Qajar periods. A carpet-washing (qālī-šūyān) ceremony is held at this shrine annually, a unique event connected to a shrine (Narāqī, 1969, pp. 125-43; Bolūkbāšī, pp. 32-37; PNM 339).

Emāmzāda Pīr Dāwūd, believed to be a descendant of Imam ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb. Situated in Qamṣar of Kāšān, the shrine has a boqʿa with four ayvāns and a sixteen-sided dome. The cenotaph is covered with fine tiles. The structure, attributed to the Buyid period, was repaired and enlarged in the 8th/14th and 10th/16th centuries (Narāqī, 1969, pp. 344-45; PNM 402).

Kermān.

Emāmzāda Ḥosayn. Situated in Jūpār of Kermān, it includes a court, an arcade, and a domed sanctuary. Built in the Safavid era, it is one of Persia’s great shrines, with a tall ayvān and a three-story facade (Meškātī, p. 158; PNM 529).

Emāmzāda Moḥammad b. Zayd. Located in Šahdād, it includes a portal, an ayvān, and a boqʿa with a high tiled dome. It also contains valuable tile, stucco, mural, and moqarnas decorations (Meškātī, p. 154; PNM 530).

Gīlān.

Emāmzāda ʿAlī-Aṣḡar wa ʿAlī-ʿAskar, both descendants of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn. Situated at the village Fārāb in ʿEmārlū rural district, the shrine is a square tomb-tower with a low dome. Its painted wooden cenotaph is dated 1016/1607, and is exceptional for the region (Sotūda, II, pp. 3-4).

Emāmzāda Moḥammad wa Emāmzāda Hādī, also known as Boqʿa-ye Šāh-e Šahīdān, descendants of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn. Situated in the region of Deylamān, the shrine is a tomb-tower with a circular interior. Its interior paintings are among the interesting genres of art in Gīlān (Sotūda, II, pp. 24-25).

Emāmzāda Āqā Sayyed Naṣīr, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated at the village Čelāras in Langarūd, the square shrine has three ayvāns on three sides, and a roof covered with earthenware tiles. Murals inside the boqʿa depict the ascension (meʿrāj) of the Prophet Moḥammad, the events at Karbalāʾ, the uprising of Moḵtār b. Abī ʿObayd Ṯaqafī, and the story concerning the epithet Żāmen-e āhū applied to Imam ʿAlī al-Reżā (Sotūda, II, pp. 298-99)

Emāmzāda Āqā Sayyed Reżā Kīā, a descendant of Imam ʿAlī al-Naqī. Situated in the Lāhījān region, the rectangular shrine has an ayvān on the east side. Two wooden inscriptions date back to the 8th/14th century (Sotūda, II, pp. 211-12).

Emāmzāda Āqā Sayyed Ḥosayn, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Domūčāl village in Lāhījān, the shrine is a rectangular structure with four porches on the four sides supported on large octagonal piers and wooden columns and fine, heavy capitals. Paintings on the interior and exterior walls of the boqʿa depict religious scenes. One of its wooden doors on the western side has beautiful floral designs with two medallions (Sotūda II, pp. 139-40).

Emāmzāda Āqā Sayyed Aḥmad, known as Āqā Mīr Šahīd, said to be a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Lāhījān, the squat shrine has two domed ayvāns. The stucco band inscription around the dome bears the date 1206/1791-92. The wooden grille, with geometric designs, is dated 1133/1720-21 (Rabino, p. 294, tr. p. 342; Sotūda, II, pp. 80-83).

Emāmzāda Ḏu’l-faqār, believed to be Imam Mūsā Kāẓem’s son Sayyed Ḥosayn Kīa. Situated in the village Kīsom Lāhījān, the shrine has verandas supported on wooden columns on the four sides and a low pyramidal roof covered with earthenware tiles. The dado of the boqʿa is tiled; the wall above it has murals with religious themes. The carved wooden cenotaph is covered with designs (Sotūda, II, pp. 193-94).

Emāmzāda Āqā Sayyed Dānīāl wa Ḵešt Masjed, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Kūčeṣfahān of Rašt, the shrine has an old cenotaph and a lattice grille. Its inscription carries the date 1023/1614 (Sotūda, I, p. 321).

Emāmzāda Sayyed ʿAlī Kīā, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Lašt-e Nešā, it is a tomb-tower with plan unique among the shrines in the north. On the exterior it has a four ayvāns on the four sides, octagonal on the interior with pentagonal niches (ṣoffas) in the corners. The pyramidal dome is circular on the interior, and its tile decoration is rare among northern shrines. The dado of the boqʿa and the ayvāns are decorated with polychrome tiles, similar to those of the Zand period (Rabino, p. 255; Sotūda, I, pp. 437-49).

Lorestān.

Emāmzāda Jaʿfar, whose origin is traced back to Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Borūjerd, the shrine now has a pyramidal moqarnas dome. It is dated 519/1125 (Īzadpanāh, I, pp. 516-21).

Emāmzāda Qāsem b. Zayd b… . ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb. Located in Borūjerd, the shrine includes a court and the grave beneath a pyramidal, brick dome. It has a beautiful wooden door bearing an inscription in reqāʿ script (See CALLIGRAPHY) and the date 738/1337-38. The wooden cenotaph is dated 850/1446 (Meškātī, pp. 294-95).

Māzandarān (Sārī, Bābol, Āmol, Bābolsar, Nūr) and Gorgān.

Emāmzāda Solṭān Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn, an amir of Marʿašī sayyeds. Situated in Sārī, the tomb-tower has a square base and a pyramidal dome with eight sides. Blue tiles have been set in the moqarnas beneath the dome. The beautiful carved, wooden cenotaph is dated 809/1406 (Sotūda, IV, pp. 539-44; Meškātī, pp. 184-85; PNM 212).

Emāmzāda Solṭān Moḥammad-Ṭāher, son of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in the vicinity of Bābol, the shrine is an octagonal tomb-tower with an octagonal pyramidal dome 22 m high. The interesting carved wooden cenotaph and a door with strapwork are dated 875/1470 and 896/1491, respectively (Sotūda, IV, pp. 291-95; Meškātī, p. 181; PNM 67).

Mašhad-e Sayyed Mīr Qawām-al-Dīn Marʿašī, known as Mīr Bozorg, a descendant of Imam ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb and founder of the dynasty of Marʿašī sayyeds of Māzandarān. Situated in Āmol, the shrine was founded in the 8th/14th century and during the Safavid period was known for its splendor. The complex includes a sanctuary, prayer halls (šabestān), chambers, and entrance ayvāns. Some of its interesting tile works has survived. Its wooden cenotaph is dated 1033/1623 (Sotūda, IV, pp. 91-101; PNM 59).

Emāmzāda ʿAbbās. Located in the village called Āzādgola in Sārī, the shrine comprises an octagonal tomb-tower and an attached mosque. Its wooden cenotaph, dated 807/1404-5, is a good example of regional craftsmanship (Sotūda, IV, pp. 548-54; PNM 361).

Šāhzāda Ḥosayn, a son of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Sārī, the shrine comprises a boqʿa and a mosque. It has a carved wooden cenotaph and a beautiful two-leaf door dating from the 9th/15th century (Sotūda, IV, pp. 535-39).

Emāmzāda Yaḥyā, known also as Emāmzāda Selsela; a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Sārī, the circular tomb-tower has a pyramidal dome, 20 m high. Its wooden cenotaph is dated 849/1445-46 (Sotūda IV, pp. 531-35; PNM 211).

Emāmzāda Qāsem, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Known as an āstāna and located in Bābol, the shrine comprises a tomb-tower and an adjoining mosque. It also has a beautiful wooden cenotaph dated 888/1483-84 (Sotūda, IV, pp. 234-43; PNM 342).

Emāmzāda Hādī. Situated in Kelārdašt, the shrine is a rectangular boqʿa with four porches around it. Wooden columns support the shingled roof. Inscriptions on one column and on the cenotaph over the grave are dated 782/1380-81. The columnar inscription is unique (Sotūda, III, pp. 234-43).

Emāmzāda Moḥammad, whose origin can be traced back to Moḥammad b. Abī Bakr b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb. Situated in Nūr, the shrine is an octagonal tower-tomb with a pyramidal dome. It has a fine wooden cenotaph decorated with strapwork (naqš-e gereh) and floral designs. The cenotaph is dated 950/1543-44; the entrance is dated 927/1520-21 (Sotūda, III, pp. 281-82).

Emāmzāda Qāsem, whose origin is traced back to Ḥasan b. Zayd, son of Imam Ḥasan. Situated in the village Emāmzāda Qāsem near Šahsavār, the shrine includes a boqʿa and a mosque. Wooden columns with large capitals support the roof of the boqʿa. The door of the boqʿa, a fine piece of work with strapwork and knots (qāb o gereh), is dated 706/1306-7 (Sotūda, III, pp. 73-75).

Emāmzāda Sayyed ʿAlī Kīā, a descendent of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Located in Kojūr in Māzandāran, the shrine is a tomb-tower covered by a pyramidal dome and has a beautiful brick facade. Two old plane-trees, 70 m high with 8 and 10 m circumferences respectively, can be found near the shrine (Sotūda, III, p. 231).

Emāmzāda Ebrāhīm in Nūr; the shrine is an octagonal tomb-tower with a pyramidal dome. Its carved wooden cenotaph is dated 968/1560, and the boqʿa’s door bears the date 849/1445-46. The genealogy of the emāmzāda, according to the inscription on the cenotaph, goes back to Zaynd b. Imam Ḥasan (Sotūda, III, pp. 317-22).

Emāmzāda Ebrāhīm, known as a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Bābolsar, the shrine is a tomb-tower with a conical dome 20 m high. It has four fine carved wooden doors dated 841/1437-38, 857/1453-54, 858/1454-55, and 905/1499-1500 (Sotūda, IV, pp. 260-70; Meškātī, p. 180; PNM 343).

Emāmzāda Ebrāhīm, known as Šāhzāda Ebrāhīm, believed to be a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Āmol, the shrine is a square tomb-tower with a pyramidal dome 20 m high. It has a carved wooden cenotaph dated 925/1519-20 and a carved wooden door (Sotūda, IV, pp. 72-87; PNM 62).

Emāmzāda Rowšanābād. Situated between Gorgān and Kordkūy, the shrine has a square sanctuary and a dome resembling a Turkmen tent, supported on a single pier. The fine two-leaf door is dated 865/1460-61, and the dome is dated 879/1474-75 (Meškātī, p. 192; PNM 346).

Emāmzāda Esḥāq, a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem. Situated in Gorgān and also known as Emāmzāda Nūr, the shrine is a twelve-sided brick tomb-tower decorated with beautiful designs in the brick work. It was built in the Saljuq period, and the carved wooden cenotaph is dated 867/1462-63 (Meškātī, p. 191; PNM 346).

Hamadān.

Emāmzāda Yaḥyā, identified in the zīārat-nāma of the shrine as the son of Imam ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb. The shrine comprises an ayvān with mirror work, a square boqʿa behind the ayvān, and an arcade. It has a wooden cenotaph with a strapwork (ālat wa loqaṭ ) design. The structure and the cenotaph can be dated to either the 8th/14th or the 9th/15th century (Sāzmān-e jalb-e sayyāḥān, pp. 53-55; PNM 3/1286)

Emāmzāda Sayyed Esmāʿīl, believed to be a descendant of Mūsā al-Kāẓem. The shrine is a square boqʿa with an attractive dome. It has a band of stucco around the entrance and another band above it (Akbar-ḵānzāda, pp. 22-23).

Emāmzāda Qāsem b. Aḥmad b. Qāsem b. Moḥammad Baṭḥāʾī, a descendant of Zayd b. Ḥasan. In the vicinity of Hamadān, the shrine is particularly honored by the local population. The present structure is in brick and relatively new (Sāzmān-e jalb-e sayyāḥān, pp. 27-28).

Emāmzāda Hādī b. ʿAlī, a descendant of Imam Zayn-al-ʿĀbedīn. Built in the 7th/13th century, the shrine has a square sanctuary with a brick dome supported on a sixteen-sided drum (Sāzmān-e jalb-e sayyāḥān, pp. 51-52).

Emāmzāda Moḥsen, identified by the inscription on the cenotaph as a son of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭāleb and considered by some as the tenth descendent of Imam ʿAlī al-Naqī. Built in the 13th or the 14th century on Mount Alvand near Hamadān, the shrine has an ayvān and two adjoining sanctuaries. Its wooden cenotaph is dated 935/1528-29 (Meškātī, p. 301; PNM 823).

Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Ḥosayn, a descendant of Imam ʿAlī al-Naqī. It is an octagonal shrine with a brick dome. It has a beautiful court and an ayvān opposite the sanctuary. It was founded in the Il-khanid period (Sāzmān-e jalb-e sayyāḥān, p. 53).

Emāmzāda Aẓhar, a descendant of Imam ʿAlī al-Naqī. Situated in the Razan district of Hamadān, the shrine is a 20-m tomb-tower with nineteen flanges and a conical brick dome. The interior is circular. It dates back to the 8th/14th century (Sāzmān-e jalb-e sayyāḥān, pp. 49-51; Meškātī, p. 302; Aḏkāʾī, pp. 68-69; PNM 366).

Emāmzāda Hūd. Also in the Razan district of Hamadān and built in the Il-khanid period, the shrine is a dodecagonal tomb-tower, which originally had a Kufic inscription in tile mosaic (Sāzmān-e jalb-e sayyāḥān, p. 51; Meškātī, p. 302; PNM 367).

Yazd and Abarqū.

In these two cities there were many architecturally important boqʿas, which housed mystics and scholars, including Shaikh Aḥmad Fahhādān, Solṭān Shaikh Dād, Shaikh Taqī-al-Dīn Dādā, Shaikh Jonayd Tūrān Poštī, Sayyed Rokn-al-Dīn Abu’l-Makārem Moḥammad Qāżī Ḥosayn Yazdī (of the ʿOrayżī line of sayyeds descended from Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq), and Sayyed Šams-al-Dīn Shah Ḵalīl Ṯānī, son of Mīr Shah Taqī-al-Dīn. There are nevertheless no significant emāmzādas.

Boqʿa-ye Zarandīān in Moryābād, in the vicinity of Yazd. This boqʿa has a wooden grille dated 934/1527-28, with a wooden cenotaph inscribed in naskò. Āyatī considers it to be the tomb of Sayyed Nāṣer-al-Dīn, a relative of Emāmzāda Jaʿfar of Yazd (Afšār, II, pp. 65-68).

Boqʿa-ye Šāhzāda Fażl, popularly known as Šāzda Fāżel. Situated in Yazd, the shrine comprises a boqʿa and a ḥosaynīya. It was built in the 9th/15th century. Local Zoroastrians believe the interred to be a Sasanian prince. Some sources consider him a relative of Fażl b. Sahl, al-Maʾmūn’s vizier. Aḥmad b. Ḥosayn calls it Pīr-e Borj. Moḥammad Mofīd Bāfqī identifies him as a descendant of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem (Aḥmad b. Ḥosayn, pp. 187-89; Mofīd, pp. 531-33; Afšār, II, pp. 340-43).

Emāmzāda Moḥammad b. ʿAlī, commonly known as Emāmzāda Jaʿfar. His genealogy is traced to Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq in the nasḵ inscription on the tombstone in tile mosaic. Situated in Yazd, the shrine originally comprised a madrasa, boqʿa, and ancillary units They were destroyed by the flood of 860/1455-56; the boqʿa was rebuilt the next year (Aḥmad b. Ḥosayn, pp. 150-58; Afšār, II, pp. 297-302).

 

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Figure 1. Vertical cross-section of Emāmzāda Jaʿfar (Isfahan).

Figure 2. Plan of Boqʿa-ye Qadamgāh (Nīšābūr).

Figure 3. Plan of Boqʿa-ye Qadamgāh (Nīšābūr).

Figure 4. Plan of Emāmzāda ʿAmma Kobrā o ʿAmma Ṣoḡrā (Eštehārd).

Plate I. Mirror decoration of the ḥarem of Emāmzāda Esmāʿīl (Qazvīn). Photograph courtesy of Parvīz Varjāvand.

Plate II. Detail of a portico of Emāmzāda Šahzāda Ḥosayn (Qazvīn). Photograph courtesy of Parvīz Varjāvand.

(PARVĪZ VARJĀVAND)

Originally Published: December 15, 1998

Last Updated: December 13, 2011

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