| Photo Information |
Copyright: Hamid Sedghinejad (h_sedghi)
![Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 30 W: 29 N: 119]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/s-s-g.gif) (868) |
| Genre: Places |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2007-09-01 |
| Categories: Architecture |
| Camera: Canon PowerShot G5 |
| Exposure: f/4, 1/1000 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2007-11-26 8:33 |
| Viewed: 804 |
| Points: 2 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Mausoleum of Sheikh Safi
Sheik Safi’s 14th –century tomb in Ali Qwapu Square, often enlarged and restored in later centuries, can still be visited. It houses the mortal remains of Shah Ismail as well as his saintly ancestor, who is reputed to have foretold the future, spoken to the dead and rescued those in danger at sea. The tombs are surrounded by finely engraved wood panels with extraordinarily delicate ivory and precious metal inlays.
The complex of structures known, at present, as Sheikh Safi’s Mausoleum, consists of a portal, a porch, Sheikh Safi’s tomb-chamber, the Chini Khaneh (china hall), the Shahidgah (martyrdom site), the Khaneghah (dervish monastery), Qandil Khaneh (lantern hall), the Jannat Sara Mosque, and others, and ranks among the finest historical achievement of Iranian art.
The burial place of Sheikh Safi od-Din Ardabili as well as other Safavid kings, such as Shah Ismail, comprises the tombs of a number of princes, notables and generals of the Safavid period, including the tomb attributed to Shah Ismail’s mother, and those of Sheikh Sadr of-Din, Sheikh Junaid, Sultan Heidar and two generals, namely Sultan Ustajilu and Kurd Beig, the latter’s tombstone bearing the 1542 AD date.
Apart from the above structures, the construction of the main portal of the mausoleum and three domes decorated with exquisite faience tile and inscriptions in the Kuffic and Riqa’ scripts, give considerable charm and splendor to this attractive historical monument. The decorative elements of the complex, both internal and external, consist of paintings, plaster moldings, stuccos and gold-toned stalactite decorations.
The structure of the Qandil Khaneh stands out among the rest both from the architectural as well as the plaster points of view. Sheikh Safi’s tomb-chamber is a cylindrical tower capped with a rather low dome, underneath which an exquisite carved box bearing an inscription in Riqa’ script covers the actual burial ground. The box is one of the finest movable treasure pieces of the mausoleum.
The dome of Sheikh Ismail’s tomb-chamber is lower than that of Sheikh Safi, and is decorated on the outside with colorful tiles and an inscription in Kuffic. Under the dome in the chamber a fine, costly box rests upon the tomb.
The box on Sheikh Junaid’s tomb, together with three other boxes in the complex, are highly attractive on account of their superb carvings.
There is a large vaulted hall next to the mausoleum wherein Shah Abbas the Great stored the collection of jade and porcelain given to him by the Emperor of China. Each object was placed in a gold-plated niche cut to size. The gold has worn off and most of the objects (except about a dozen dishes and receptacles) are now in Tehran museums.
The oldest part of the complex belongs to the 15th century AD, the other parts having been gradually added, particularly under Shah Tahmasp I and Shah Abbas II, who spared no efforts to expand, beautify and repair the Safavid Kings’ eternal resting place.
The most famous of Persian carpets, the so-called "Ardabil Carpet" (one of a pair) in the Victorian and Albert Museum, was presented to the mausoleum by Shah Tahmasp in 1539. It was actually made in Kashan.
Ardabil Museum
Originally called Chini Khaneh (Porcelain House), and part of Sheikh Safi Complex, it was inaugurated as a museum affiliated with the complex in early 1991. The architectural style of the edifice resembles that of Ali Qapu in Esfahan. It is an octagonal, domed room with four Shah Neshins ( elevated recesses). The stalactite works in this structure are considered as fine specimens of the constructional and decorative devices of the Safavid period. The Chini Khaneh, with its beautiful plaster work, is one of the most artistic and valuable parts of the complex, which is also notable for a number of fine and expensive wooden and silver doors.
Sheikh Safi-ad-din Is'haq Ardabili (of Ardabil) (1252-1334) (Persian: شیخ صفیالدین اردبیلی), eponym of the Safavid dynasty, was the spiritual heir and son in law of the great Sufi Murshid (Grand Master) Sheikh Zahed Gilani, of Lahijan in Gilan Province in northern Iran. He was of Persian[1] and Kurdish background [2].
Sheikh Safi al-Din's has poems in the Iranian dialect of old Tati which is very close to Kurdish. He was a seventh-generation descendant of Firuz Shah Zarrin Kolah, a local Iranian dignitary[3].
Sheikh Safi al-Din inherited Sheikh Zahed Gilani's Sufi order, the "Zahediyeh", which he later transformed into his own, the "Safaviyeh". Sheikh Zahed Gilani also gave his daughter Bibi Fatemeh in wedlock to his favorite disciple. Sheikh Safi al-Din, in turn, gave a daughter from a previous marriage in wedlock to Shaikh Zahed Gilani's second-born son. Over the following 170 years, the Safaviyeh Order gained political and military power, finally culminating in the foundation of the Safavid dynasty.
Only a very few verses of Sheikh Safi al-Din's poetry, called Dobaytis (double verses), have survived. Written in old Tati and Persian, they have linguistic importance today[4].
Minorsky however writes that the families of Sheykh Zahed Gilani and Sheykh Safi al-Din were different. According to him, Sheykh Safi al-Din's ancestor Firuz-shah was a rich man, lived in Gilan and then Kurdish kings gave him Ardabil and its dependencies. Minorsky refers to Sheykh Safi al-Din's claims tracing back his origins to "Ali ibn Abu Talib", but expresses uncertainty about this and mentions nothing about Kurdish origins of Sheikh Safi Al-Din |
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