Editing Iranian architecture (section)

=== Early Islamic period (7th–9th centuries) ===
The [[History of Islam|Islamic era]] began with the formation of Islam under the leadership of [[Muhammad]] in early 7th-century [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]]. The [[Arab-Muslim conquest of Persia]] began soon afterwards and ended with the region coming under the control of the [[Rashidun|Rashidun Caliphs]], followed by the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad Caliphs]] after 661. Early Islamic architecture was heavily influenced by [[Byzantine architecture]] and [[Sasanian architecture]]. [[Umayyad architecture]] (661–750) drew on elements of these traditions, mixing them together and adapting them to the requirements of the new Muslim patrons.{{sfn|Petersen|1996|p=295}}<ref name=":244">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Architecture (III. 661–c. 750)''}}</ref>

After the [[Abbasid Revolution|overthrow of the Umayyads]] in 750 and their replacement by the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], the caliphate's political center shifted further east to the new capital of [[Baghdad]], in present-day Iraq. Partly as a result of this, [[Abbasid architecture]] was even more influenced by Sasanian architecture and by its roots in ancient [[Mesopotamia]].{{sfn|Petersen|1996|p=1}}<ref name=":244223">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Architecture (IV. c. 750–c. 900)''}}</ref> During the 8th and 9th centuries, the power and unity of the Abbasid Caliphate allowed architectural features and innovations from its heartlands to spread quickly to other areas of the Islamic world under its influence, including Iran.{{Sfn|Hattstein|Delius|2011|pp=94–95}}

Features from the Umayyad period, such as [[Vault (architecture)|vaulting]], [[Stucco decoration in Islamic architecture|carved stucco]], and painted wall decoration, were continued and elaborated in the Abbasid period.<ref name=":244223"/> The [[four-centred arch]], a more sophisticated form of the [[pointed arch]], is first attested during the 9th century in Abbasid monuments at [[Abbasid Samarra|Samarra]] in Iraq, such as the [[Qasr al-'Ashiq|Qasr al-Ashiq]] palace.{{sfn|Petersen|1996|p=|pp=24–25, 251}}<ref name=":244223"/> It became widely used in later Iranian architecture.<ref name=":244210">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Architecture''}}</ref> Samarra also saw the appearance of new decorative styles, which rendered the earlier vegetal motifs of Sasanian and Byzantine traditions into more abstract and stylized forms, as exemplified by the so-called "beveled" style. This style subsequently spread to other regions, including Iran.<ref name=":24428">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Stucco and plasterwork''}}</ref>
[[File:Jameh Mosque of Siraf.jpg|left|thumb|Remains of the Jameh Mosque of [[Siraf]] (9th century)]]
Few of the major mosques built during this early Islamic period in Iran have survived in something close to their original form. Remains of a mosque at [[Susa]], probably from the Abbasid period, show that it had a [[hypostyle]] prayer hall (i.e. a hall with many columns supporting a roof) and a courtyard.<ref name=":244223"/> Another mosque excavated at [[Siraf]] dates to the 9th century.{{Sfn|Hattstein|Delius|2011|p=110}} Attached to the mosque was a [[minaret]] (tower for the [[muezzin]] to issue the [[Adhan|call to prayer]]), the base of which remains, constituting the oldest remnants of a minaret in the eastern Islamic world.{{Sfn|Bloom|2013|pp=72–73}} The [[Jameh Mosque of Isfahan|Jameh Mosque]] of [[Isfahan]], one of the major Islamic monuments in Iran, was originally founded towards 771, but it was rebuilt and expanded in 840–841. It too had a courtyard surrounded by hypostyle halls. It continued to undergo further modifications and additions in subsequent centuries.<ref name=":2435623">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Isfahan''}}</ref>
[[File:Damghan7.jpg|thumb|[[Tarikhaneh Mosque]], one of the oldest preserved mosques in Iran{{Sfn|Hattstein|Delius|2011|p=110}}]]
The only major mosque from this early period to preserve some of its original form is the [[Tarikhaneh|Tarikhaneh Mosque]] in [[Damghan]]. Though the chronology of its construction is not well-documented, its overall form and style may date to the 9th century,{{Sfn|Hattstein|Delius|2011|p=110}} or possibly earlier, given its close similarities with Sassanid architecture.<ref name=":244223"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuban |first=Doğan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TKu6nsFvaYC&pg=PA22 |title=The Mosque and Its Early Development |publisher=Brill |year=1974 |isbn=978-90-04-03813-4 |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref> It has a courtyard surrounded by a [[portico]] and a hypostyle prayer hall where the central aisle leading to the ''[[mihrab]]'' (a niche in the wall symbolizing the ''[[qibla]]'') is slightly wider than the other aisles. It originally had no minaret, but a tall cylindrical tower was added to it in 1026.{{Sfn|Hattstein|Delius|2011|p=110}} This minaret is now the oldest one still standing in Iran.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Herzig |first1=Edmund |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VDqjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 |title=Early Islamic Iran |last2=Stewart |first2=Sarah |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-78673-446-4 |pages=115 |language=en}}</ref>

In secular architecture, the remains of various palaces and residences from this period have also been studied, such as those around [[Merv]] (present-day [[Turkmenistan]]). They shared many features with earlier Sasanian and [[Sogdia]]n architecture.<ref name=":244223"/> Among the recurring elements are [[iwan]]s and domed chambers. Some of the earlier examples up to the 8th century seem to have had halls with wooden pillars and roofs, while those that probably date to the 9th century seem to have favored domes and vaulted ceilings. They also had stucco decoration executed in the styles of Samarra.<ref name=":244223"/> Residences built in the countryside were enclosed by outer walls with semi-circular towers, while on the inside they had central courtyards or a central domed hall flanked by vaulted halls. Some had four iwans flanking a central courtyard.<ref name=":244223"/> The Sasanian tradition of building caravanserais along trade routes also continued, with the remains of one such structure in southern Turkmenistan attesting to the presence of a central courtyard surrounded by [[arcaded]] galleries with domed roofs.<ref name=":244223"/>