INTRODUCTION There are many cities in the world in terms of historical transition that brought many changes and evolutions in the life
and religious beliefs of their own people. Among others, it can be referred to the old cities of Greek, Chinese, Romans,
Persians and Egyptians. One of these cities which have a very rich history and cultural background is located in the
northwest of Iran, called Maragheh city. Maragheh had been one of the major cities in the Seljuk and Ilkhanate period.
As much as it was selected as the summer capital city during the reign of Hulagu Khan Mongol (grandson of Genghis
Khan). During this period, very beautiful and lasting monuments were built. Among them, it can be referred to
Maragheh’s domes and observatory. Many tombs were built during the Seljuk and Ilkhanate dynasty which in turn
were both influenced by other monuments and influenced on other buildings in later periods. In this study, we tried to
investigate domes located in Maragheh city and their impact on Anatolia done as well as their similarities and
differences. The study includes the type of their architecture, history, decoration and parts. Maragheh City is one of the
oldest cities of Iran, which is placed in the northwest of the country. It is located in Azerbaijan on the east coast of
Urmia Lake and the southern slope of Sahand Mountain. The importance of this city: the status of the city can be
viewed from three perspectives:
1) Maragheh in the field of scientific astronomy In the past, Maragheh was of great importance to develop astronomy among Islamic cities. In this city, the world’s
greatest observatory was built before the invention of telescopes by the command of Hulagu Khan and through the
hands of Khaje Nasir al-Din Tusi. This observatory became the model for many later observatories and also it was as a
broad scientific organization in which many sciences were taught.
2) Maragheh as a Cultural and historical center: During Abbasid Caliphate, this city was belonged to one of the girls of Harun al-Rashid. It became as the territory of
Seljuk at 464 AH and Sultan Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah entered there at 622 AH. Mongols took the control of this
city in 628 AH, and finally it was chosen as the capital city of Ilkhanate at 656 AH during Hulagu Khan Time, which
turned into the developmental center of civilization (Varjavand, 2005; p. 109).
3) The origin of Islamic Iranian architecture and art: Being the origin of civilization and art is another characteristic of Maragheh. This city holds a great number of
architectural art pieces before and after Islam. The existence of Gowijeh Qaleh, Mehr Temple, Observatory of Havanes
Church, Sorkh and Kabood dome towers which are signs of different cultures and beliefs prove this issue.
Evolution of Tombs in the course of Islam: After the death of Holy Prophet Mohammad who ordered his followers to make the graves very simple and without any
ceremony and commanded that all graves to be at the ground level and prevented to make his own grave distinct and
different from the other graves, and this is manifested in the Verse 55 of twentieth Surah “TA-HA”. This trend was
continued till the time of first Walid of Umayyad caliphate (86-705 AH) who created changes in Prophet Tomb and
made it a more respectful place (Hillenbrand, 2010; p. 253). In two next centuries, when the companions, followers and
higher authorities were died and put into the grave, a covering or tent and wooden structure was used upon it which was
an attribute of common graves in other cultures. These canopies were an interpretation of Quran that was regarded as
one of the heaven blessings. Gradually, these tents and canopies changed into magnificent monuments which later were
known as canopied graves. Then, interpreting that these tombs should not be subjected into wind and rain, it was
permitted to make a canopy upon it and later a Mihrab was added to it which became the place for prayer and worship.
Iran and its tombs It should be noted that in pre-Islamic period of Iran there was not any significant signs of tomb to be built
independently. But the magnificent mausoleum of Cyrus in Pasargadae is an exception. Achaemenid kings were placed
in decorative chambers next to rocks and mountains. Also, no tomb was built in burial ceremonies of Parties. And
Sassanid had Zoroastrian religion who threw away the dead bodies to avoid deadly spirit infection of the dead bodies;
while the bodies were caught by vultures and carnivorous animals. So, it is clear that after the arrival of Arabs to Iran,
there weren’t any kind of inspiration source as a model to build later tombs for Muslims.
The origins of tombs in Iran can be fit into two theories. The first, the impact of Palmyra Roman tombs which were
related to the early Christian cities, as well as Byzantine Martyrium. The second, the impact of Turkish nomadic people
who built hill-like graves in their own culture and buried the dead there. In addition, tombs can have geographical
origin, in the course of pre-Islamic period people of East and Middle Asia held magnificent and complex ceremonies
during burial, so they built graves in the form of massive sites with durable materials which were surrounded by a
circular walls or were placed on a raised platform. Dead body was placed in a burial tent along with those who mourn
around, and then it was buried in a burial hill known as “Kurgan”. Tomb towers which included the burial crypts
contained dead body and there was an empty room on it which was interpreted as architectural mixture of these burial
methods. Even decoration of nomadic tents surprisingly had many similarities with that of Iranian tombs (Hillenbrand,
2010).
Iranian tombs can be divided into two parts in terms of their function:
1) Religious shrines as Shiite tombs had religious and political importance and position of Imams. The
construction of these tombs was rooted in the religious belief of people as the tomb of Imam Reza in Mashhad,
Iran.
2)
2) Non-religious tombs that were built by National and sometimes army leaders were actually a monument. It was
likely that this type of tombs lose their own survival (Kiyani, 2009; p. 10) due to the less attention of later generations,
like Maragha’s Goy Borj which is completely destroyed now. Of course, we can say that the tombs and their function
was changed with the arrival of Turks, some of which were the focus of pilgrimage and public beliefs that its root can
be searched in personal salvation through the intercession of a saint or a sacred event as well as the efforts of people,
unions and organizations for mysticism in order to close to one of authorities. Therefore, by this explanation, we can
divide the physical construction of building (architecture) in Iran into two groups:
A) Domed square; Which have two roots, one of its common types are Sassanid fire temples and the other four arches that their square
plan have four disruption in two intersecting axis with a dome covering them. This type of plan at the time of Islam
conquests is seen frequently which can be a model for the architecture of tombs. This type of architecture in Iran was
changed into domed octagonal structure later (Figure 1).
B) Tower tomb:
The origin of this type of tomb is Turkish tents of Sabeain temples and Chinese guard towers. It is likely that the reason
to build this type of toms in Iran is their great simplicity that it is notable in the first samples of this building. These
