Editing Iranian architecture (section)

=== Emergence of regional style (10th–11th centuries) ===
[[File:تزیینات و گچبری های ایوان محراب.jpg|left|thumb|[[Stucco decoration in Islamic architecture|Stucco decoration]] inside the [[Jameh Mosque of Nain|Jameh Mosque of Na'in]] (10th century)<ref name=":2437" /> ]]
After its initial apogee of power, the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented into regional states in the 9th and 10th centuries that were formally obedient to the caliphs in Baghdad but were ''de facto'' independent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Hugh |title=The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=9780582405257 |edition=2nd}}</ref> In Iran and Central Asia, a number of local and regional dynasties rose to power by the 10th century: Iraq and central Iran were controlled by the [[Buyid dynasty]], northern Iran was ruled by the [[Bavand dynasty|Bawandids]] and [[Ziyarid dynasty|Ziyarids]], and the northeastern regions of [[Khurasan]] and [[Transoxiana]] were ruled by the [[Samanids]], with other dynasties arising in Central Asia soon after.<ref name=":2435">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Architecture (V. c. 900–c. 1250)''}}</ref>
[[File:Davazdah_Emam_Mausoleum,_Yazd,_Iran_(بقعه_دوازده_امام_یزد)_-_panoramio_(2).jpg|thumb|Early example of ''[[muqarnas]]'' squinches, inside the [[Davāzdah Imām|Duvazdah Imam Mausoleum]] in [[Yazd]] (1037–8)<ref name=":242222">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Muqarnas''}}</ref>]]
It is around this period that many of the distinctive features of subsequent Iranian and [[Central Asian architecture]] first emerged, including the use of baked brick for both construction and decoration, the use of glazed tile for surface decoration, and the development of ''[[muqarnas]]'' (three-dimensional geometric vaulting) from [[squinch]]es. Hypostyle mosques continued to be built and there is also evidence of multi-domed mosques, though most mosques were modified or rebuilt in later eras.<ref name=":2435" /> The [[Jameh Mosque of Nain|Jameh Mosque of Na'in]], one of the oldest surviving [[congregational mosque]]s in Iran, contains some of the best-preserved features from this period, including decorative brickwork, [[Kufic]] inscriptions, and rich stucco decoration featuring vine scrolls and acanthus leaves that draw from the earlier styles of Samarra.<ref name=":2435" /><ref name=":2437">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Na῾in''}}</ref>
[[File:Bukhara_Samanid_mausoleum_outside.JPG|thumb|[[Samanid Mausoleum]] in [[Bukhara]] (10th century), one of the oldest monumental tombs in the Islamic world.<ref name=":2436">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Bukhara''}}</ref>]]
Another important architectural trend to arise in the 10th to 11th centuries is the development of [[Mausoleum|mausolea]], which took on monumental forms for the first time. One type of mausoleum was the tomb tower, such as the [[Gunbad-i-Qabus]] (circa 1006–7), while the other main type was the domed square, such as the [[Tomb of the Samanids]] in [[Bukhara]] (before 943).{{sfn|Hillenbrand|1999b|p=100}}<ref name=":2435" />