History of the Shah Mosque
Although there are differences of opinion about the date of construction of the Imam Mosque, but according to the inscription on the main gate, its construction began in 990 AD by the order of Shah Abbas Safavi. In fact, the Shah ordered the construction of a mosque that would be unique in all the cities of Iran and even the world. The construction of the mosque lasted for about 18 years and was completed a year after the death of Shah Abbas. The decoration of the building and the addition of different parts to it did not stop after this and continued all the time, so that the last date engraved for the completion of the Sulaimaniye school building is 1046 solar year. Fortunately, after all these years, the Imam Mosque has not been seriously damaged and is still standing.
The architectural style of the mosque
Shah Abbas Safavi considered the art of architecture as one of the fields of competition with the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, he always ordered the construction of magnificent buildings around Naqsh Jahan Square as the main square of Isfahan. One of the most magnificent of these buildings was the Imam Mosque, which compared to other mosques in Isfahan and even similar mosques such as the Vakil Mosque in Shiraz, had a much bigger and more magnificent face and has always been one of the most important mosques in Iran throughout history.
Among the prominent architectural features of this building is the presence of a dome; A feature that was always observed in the construction of mosques during the Safavid era. This is despite the fact that before the Safavids, mosques had pillared naves instead of domes. The dome of the Imam Mosque has dimensions of 22.5 x 22.5 meters. This dome is decorated with unique tiles from both inside and outside. There are four porches around the dome, which are another feature of Iranian mosque architecture. The presence of this dome and four porches in the Imam Mosque has made it one of the most distinguished buildings of Iranian Islamic architecture.
In general, the Imam Mosque has a main dome, 4 minarets and 2 naves in the east and west and is surrounded by 4 porches and courtyards. This mosque has an integrated marble altar, which is considered one of the most beautiful altars among the mosques of its time. In addition to these, there are two schools named Sulaymaniyah and Nasiriyah on both sides of it. In order to save time and money, the seven-color tiling method has been used to decorate the walls of this mosque. The most skilled calligraphers, woodcarvers and stonemasons have been used to decorate other parts of this building, and despite the large number of artists, the exterior and interior of the mosque are strangely unified. 18 million bricks and 475 thousand tiles were used in the construction of this mosque; In addition to the mentioned items, large and integrated pieces of carved marble are used at the bottom of the walls.
Interesting points about Shah Mosque
The first interesting thing about this mosque is the difference between the Qibla angle and Naqsh Jahan square. The angle difference was finally solved by Sheikh Bahai, a famous mathematician of the Shah Abbas period. The next thing is the sound reflection in the center of the dome of the mosque, which acts like a speaker. Another interesting thing about the Shah Mosque is the clock indicator stone that shows the noon call to prayer. The last case is the discovery of the Isfahan underground water corridor network in the floor of the mosque, which happened in 2015.
Decorations of Isfahan Imam Mosque
The Imam's mosque was much bigger than a mosque like Sheikh Lotfollah's; Therefore, a new method had to be used for its tiling. In this method, they made tiles with small dimensions and put different colors of them together to create the desired designs. This type of tiling, which is very beautiful and has a special elegance, is called seven colors. In the seven-color tiles of the Imam Mosque, blue is superior to other colors, and the tiles are used in designs, colors and patterns that give the mosque a heavenly and spiritual nature.
In this beautiful mosque, decorations are used, among the purest of which are related to the Safavid era; Decorations that showcase the skill and intelligence of artists and architects of that era. The first part of the decoration of this building is the tile works, which have been done since the Seljuk period in the fifth century instead of painting on the wall. It should be noted that tiles have always been one of the most important components of Iranian mosques, which have been used to give elegance to these places.