Editing Iranian architecture (section)

== Pre-Islamic architecture ==
{{Main|Achaemenid architecture|Sasanian architecture}}
[[File:اثار الحضر 2 - نينوى.jpg|thumb|[[Hatra]] in [[Nineveh]], Iraq]]
Hatra was a religious and trading center. Today it is a [[World Heritage Site]], protected by UNESCO.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hatra |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/277/ |access-date=2022-06-20 |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Falak-ol-Aflak Castle 07.JPG|thumb|[[Falak-ol-Aflak Castle]]]]
[[File:Rayen Castle 01.jpg|thumb|Sassanid [[Rayen Castle]]]]
[[File:Pasargad audience hall.jpg|thumb|[[Pasargad]]]]
[[File:Arge Bam Arad edit.jpg|thumb|[[Arg-e Bam]]]]

The pre-Islamic styles draw on 3000 to 4000 years of architectural development from various civilizations of the Iranian plateau. The post-[[Islam]]ic architecture of [[Iran]] in turn, draws ideas from its pre-Islamic predecessor, and has geometrical and repetitive forms, as well as surfaces that are richly decorated with glazed tiles, carved [[stucco]], patterned brickwork, floral [[motif (art)|motifs]], and [[calligraphy]].

Iran is recognized by [[UNESCO]] as being one of the [[cradle of civilization|cradles of civilization]].<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2631/pdf/i12.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928124326/http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2631/pdf/i12.pdf|archive-date=September 28, 2007 |title=Kermanshah, A Cradle of Civilization |date=August 9, 2006 |website=Iran Daily }}</ref>

Each of the periods of [[Elam]]ites, [[Achaemenid]]s, [[Parthia]]ns and [[Sassanid]]s were creators of great architecture that spread to other cultures. Although Iran has suffered its share of destruction, including [[Alexander The Great]]'s decision to burn [[Persepolis]], there are sufficient remains to form a picture of its classical architecture.

The Achaemenids built on a grand scale. The artists and materials were brought in from practically all territories of what was then the largest state in the world. [[Pasargadae]] set the standard: its city was laid out in an extensive park with bridges, gardens, [[colonnade]]d palaces and open column pavilions. Pasargadae along with [[Susa]] and [[Persepolis]] expressed the authority of 'The King of Kings', the staircases of the latter recording in relief sculpture the vast extent of the imperial frontier.

With the emergence of the Parthians and Sassanids new forms appeared. Parthian innovations fully flowered during the [[Sassanid]] period with massive [[barrel-vault]]ed chambers, solid masonry domes and tall columns. This influence was to remain for years to come.

For example, the roundness of the city of [[Round City of Baghdad|Baghdad]] in the [[Abbasid]] era, points to its Persian precedents, such as [[Firouzabad]] in [[Fars province|Fars]].{{Sfn|Hattstein|Delius|2011|p=96}} [[Al-Mansur]] hired two designers to plan the city's design: [[Naubakht]], a former [[Persian people|Persian]] [[Zoroastrian]] who also determined that the date of the foundation of the city should be astrologically significant, and [[Mashallah ibn Athari]], a former Jew from [[greater Khorasan|Khorasan]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic Science and Engineering |first=Donald R. |last=Hill |year=1994 |page=10 |isbn=0-7486-0457-X }}</ref>

The ruins of [[Persepolis]], [[Ctesiphon]], [[Sialk]], [[Pasargadae]], [[Firouzabad]], and [[Arg-é Bam]] give us a distant glimpse of what contributions Persians made to the art of building. The imposing Sassanid castle built at [[Derbent]], [[Dagestan]] (now a part of Russia) is one of the most extant and living examples of splendid Sassanid Iranian architecture. Since 2003, the Sassanid castle has been listed on Russia's UNESCO World Heritage list.

{{wide image|Naghsh-e rostam, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 20-24 PAN.jpg|800px|{{center|Panoramic view of the [[Naqsh-e Rustam]]. This site contains the tombs of four Achaemenid kings, including those of [[Darius I of Persia|Darius I]] and [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes]].}}}}

===Sub-periods===
According to Mohammad Karim Pirnia, the ancient architecture of Iran can be divided into the following periods.

====Pre-Parsian style====
The pre-Parsian style ([[New Persian]]:شیوه معماری پیش از پارسی) is a sub-style of architecture (or "''zeer-sabk''") when categorizing the history of Persian/Iranian architectural development. This architectural style flourished in the [[Iranian Plateau]] until the eighth century BC, during the era of the [[Median Empire]]. It is often classified as a subcategory of Parsian architecture.<ref name="Sabk Shenasi Mi'mari Irani 2005">''Sabk Shenasi Mi'mari Irani'' (Study of styles in Iranian architecture), M. Karim Pirnia. 2005. {{ISBN|964-96113-2-0}} pp.40-51</ref> The oldest remains of the architectural landmarks in this style are the [[Teppe Zagheh]], near [[Qazvin]]. Other extant examples of this style are [[Chogha Zanbil]], [[Sialk]], [[Shahr-i Sokhta]], and [[Ecbatana]]. Elamite and proto-Elamite buildings among others, are covered within this stylistic subcategory as well.

<gallery class="center">
Image:Sialk1.jpg|[[Sialk]] necropolis. 3000–4000 BC
Image:Choghazanbil2.jpg|[[Chogha Zanbil]] ziggurat. 1250 BC
</gallery>

====Parsian style====
The "Persian style" (New Persian:شیوه معماری پارسی) is a style of architecture ("''sabk''") defined by Mohammad Karim Pirnia when categorizing the history of Persian/Iranian architectural development. Although the [[Median Empire|Median]] and Achaemenid architecture fall under this classification, the pre-Achaemenid architecture is also studied as a sub-class of this category.<ref name="Sabk Shenasi Mi'mari Irani 2005"/> This style of architecture flourished from eighth century BCE from the time of the Median Empire, through the Achaemenid empire, to the arrival of Alexander the Great in the third century BCE<ref>Fallāḥʹfar, Saʻīd (سعید فلاح‌فر). ''The Dictionary of Iranian Traditional Architectural Terms (Farhang-i vāzhahʹhā-yi miʻmārī-i sunnatī-i Īrān فرهنگ واژه‌های معماری سنتی ایران)''. Kamyab Publications (انتشارات کامیاب). Kāvushʹpardāz. 2000, 2010. Tehran. {{ISBN|978-964-2665-60-0}} US Library of Congress LCCN Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/2010342544 pp.44</ref>

<gallery class="center">
File:History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia and Assyria (1903) (14584070300).jpg|[[Palace of Darius in Susa]]
File:Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg|Persepolis
File:Pasargad audience hall.jpg|Pasargad
File:Naqsh-e rostam.JPG|Naqsh-e Rostam
</gallery>

====Parthian style====
{{Main|Parthian style}}
This architectural style includes designs from the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] (310–140 BCE), Parthian (247 BCE – 224 CE), and Sassanid (224–651 CE) eras, reaching its apex of development in the Sassanid period. Examples of this style are [[Ghal'eh Dokhtar]], the royal compounds at [[Nisa, Turkmenistan|Nysa]], [[Anahita Temple]], [[Mahallat|Khorheh]], [[Hatra]], the [[Ctesiphon|Ctesiphon vault of Kasra]], [[Bishapur]], and the [[Palace of Ardashir]] in [[Firouzabad|Ardeshir Khwarreh]] (Firouzabad).<ref>{{cite book|title=Sabk Shināsī-i miʻmārī-i Īrānī ''<!-- end of italics -->(Study of styles in Iranian architecture)''<!-- to match following closing italics -->|author=Pīrniyā, Muammah Karīm|year=2005|location=Tehran|publisher=Surush-i Dānish|isbn =964-96113-2-0}}p.92-93 & p.94-129</ref>