Editing Iranian architecture (section)

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[[File:Azadi Tower (29358497718).jpg|thumb|[[Azadi Tower]] in [[Tehran]] (1971), by architect [[Hossein Amanat]]. His ideas were based upon classical and post-classical Iranian architecture.<ref>{{Cite web|title=برج آزادی پس از ۲۰ سال شسته می‌شود|url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran/2009/07/090718_mg_azadi_sq_tehran.shtml|publisher=BBC News فارسی|date=18 July 2009|language=fa|access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref>]]
[[File:Persepolis001.jpg|thumb|The ruins of [[Persepolis]], begun in the 6th century BC during the [[Achaemenid Empire]]]]
[[File:The Shah Mosque مسجد شاه اصفهان 01.jpg|thumb|Example of an [[iwan]] and ''[[muqarnas]]'' decoration at the entrance of the [[Shah Mosque (Isfahan)|Shah Mosque]] in [[Isfahan]] (17th century)]]
'''Iranian architecture''' or '''Persian architecture''' ({{langx|fa|معمارى ایرانی}}, ''Me'māri e Irāni'') is the [[architecture]] of [[Iran]] and parts of the rest of [[West Asia]], the [[Caucasus]] and [[Central Asia]]. Its history dates back to at least 5,000 BC with characteristic examples distributed over a vast area from [[Turkey]] and [[Iraq]] to [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Tajikistan]], and from the [[Caucasus]] to [[Zanzibar]]. Persian buildings vary greatly in scale and function, from [[vernacular architecture]] to monumental complexes.<ref>[[Arthur Upham Pope]]. ''Introducing Persian Architecture''. [[Oxford University Press]]. London. 1971. p.1</ref> In addition to historic gates, palaces, and mosques, the rapid growth of cities such as the capital [[Tehran]] has brought about a wave of demolition and new construction.

According to American historian and archaeologist [[Arthur Upham Pope|Arthur Pope]], the supreme Iranian art, in the proper meaning of the word, has always been its architecture. The supremacy of architecture applies to both pre- and post-Islamic periods.<ref>[[Arthur Pope]], ''Introducing Persian Architecture''. [[Oxford University Press]]. London. 1971.</ref> Iranian architecture displays great variety, both structural and aesthetic, from a variety of traditions and experience. Without sudden innovations, and despite the repeated trauma of invasions and cultural shocks, it developed a recognizable style distinct from other regions of the Muslim world.<ref name=":0">[[Arthur Upham Pope]]. ''Persian Architecture''. [[George Braziller]], [[New York City|New York]], 1965. p.266</ref> Its virtues are "a marked feeling for form and scale; structural inventiveness, especially in [[Vault (architecture)|vault]] and [[gonbad|dome]] construction; a genius for decoration with a freedom and success not rivaled in any other architecture".<ref>[[Arthur Upham Pope]]. ''Persian Architecture''. George Braziller, New York, 1965. p.266</ref>