Editing Talar

{{short description|Columned hall or porch in Iranian architecture}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Chehel Sotun Palace, completed in 1647, Esfahan-03-29-2013.jpg|thumb|The ''talar'' of the [[Chehel Sotoun]] palace in [[Isfahan]]]]
A '''''talar''''' or '''''talaar''''' ({{langx|fa|تالار}}) is a type of [[porch]] or hall in [[Iranian architecture]]. It generally refers to a [[porch]] fronting a building, supported by columns, and open on one or three sides.<ref name="Babaie" /><ref name=":3" /> The term is also applied more widely to denote a throne hall or audience hall with some of these features.<ref name="Babaie" />

== History ==
The columned hall or porch has its roots in [[ancient Persia]], as seen in the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] palace in [[Persepolis]], as well as in [[Greco-Roman world|Greco-Roman]] houses and possibly even in the tents of [[Central Asia|Central Asian]] nomads who moved into Iran over the centuries.<ref name="Babaie" /> The ''talar'' can also refer to the representation of a throne carved on the rock-cut tomb of [[Darius the Great|Darius]] at [[Naqsh-e Rostam]], near Persepolis, and above the [[portico]] which was copied from his palace.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Talar|volume=26|page=366}}</ref> 

The ''talar'' was revived in Iranian architecture under [[Abbas the Great|Abbas I]] ({{Reign|1588|1629}}) during the [[Safavid Iran|Safavid period]]. Safavid architects appropriated the idea of a columned hall from Achaemenid examples and used it in the design of new royal palaces and pavilions, most notably the [[Ali Qapu]] and [[Chehel Sotoun]] palaces in [[Isfahan]] during the 17th century.<ref name="Babaie" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Alemi |first=Mahvash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OdLbAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 |title=Understanding Islamic Architecture |last2=Pirani |first2=Khalil K. |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-85131-5 |editor-last=Petruccioli |editor-first=Attilo |pages=76 |language=en |chapter=Persian Gardens and Courtyards: An Approach to the design of Contemporary Architecture |editor-last2=Pirani |editor-first2=Khalil K.}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> In these examples, the ''talar'' is open on three sides.<ref name="Grigor" /> 
[[File:Arg of Karim Khan (66).jpg|left|thumb|One of the ''talar''s in the [[Arg of Karim Khan|citadel of Karim Khan]] in [[Shiraz]]]]
[[Karim Khan Zand]], the ruler of [[Shiraz]] in the mid-18th century, borrowed from Safavid models and employed this feature in new ways for the design of his own palaces in Shiraz. Here, the ''talar'' was combined with an [[iwan]] (vaulted hall open to one side) to form pillared halls opening onto a courtyard on one side.<ref name=":4" /> [[File:Golestan hall.jpg|thumb|Talaar-e Salam (Salute Hall), [[Golestan Palace]]]]Under the [[Qajar dynasty]], which eventually captured Shiraz and reunified Iran at the end of the 18th century, this feature was imported to the new royal palaces in Tehran.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="Grigor" /> Under the Qajars, a ''talar'' could refer to a relatively simple hall open on one side with columns, such as the ''Talar e-Marmar'' (containing the ''[[Takht-e Marmar|Takht e-Marmar]]'', the Marble Throne<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3M5EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT239 |title=The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture |publisher=Penn State Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-271-08968-3 |pages=142–144 |language=en}}</ref>) built by [[Fath-Ali Shah Qajar|Fath Ali Shah]] in the [[Golestan Palace]] in the 19th century.<ref name="Grigor" /> The ''talar'' continued to be a popular design feature of aristocratic houses and pavilions in Shiraz, such as those of the [[Qavam family]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3M5EAAAQBAJ |title=The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture |publisher=Penn State Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-271-08968-3 |pages=171–176 |language=en}}</ref> It was even employed during the early 20th century, under the [[Pahlavi dynasty]], as part of the Persian [[Revivalism (architecture)|revivalist]] trends in architecture during this time.<ref name="Grigor" />

== Description ==
[[Image:Amerian House Taq.jpg|thumb|right|A 19th century Talaar would be centrally situated, often under the main [[Iwan]], where evening services would be performed for members of the [[andaruni]]. Image is of [[Amerian House]] in [[Kashan]].]]In ancient times, as depicted in the sculptured façade of Darius tomb at Persepolis show, the ''talar'' had three tiers, with Atlant statues upholding each.<ref name=":1" /> This design typified the subject-people of the monarch.<ref name=":1" />

The ''talar'' built by the [[Qajar dynasty]] as part of the Golestan Palace is a spacious chamber with flat ceiling decorated with mirror panels.<ref name=":0" /> The walls are also decorated with mirror work called ''aineh-kari'', which produced numerous angles and coruscations.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
*[[Architecture of Iran]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Babaie">{{cite book |last=Babaie |first=Sussan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y28xEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA157 |title=Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7486-3376-0 |pages=157–158 |language=en}}</ref>

<ref name="Grigor">{{cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YgpDwAAQBAJ |title=A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |year=2017 |isbn=9781119068662 |editor-last=Flood |editor-first=Finbarr Barry |volume= |pages=1089–1097 |language=en |chapter=Kings and Traditions in Différance: Antiquity Revisited in Post‐Safavid Iran |editor-last2=Necipoğlu |editor-first2=Gülru}}</ref>

<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Curzon |first=George N. |title=Persia and the Persian Question: Volume One |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780714619699 |location=Oxon |pages=312}}</ref>

<ref name=":1">{{cite book|title=Hellenism in Ancient India|last=Banerjee|first=Gauranga Nath|date=2012|publisher=Outlook|isbn=978-3-86403-414-5|location=Bremen|pages=58}}</ref>

<ref name=":3">{{cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3M5EAAAQBAJ |title=The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture |publisher=Penn State Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-271-08968-3 |pages=137 |language=en}}</ref>

<ref name=":4">{{cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3M5EAAAQBAJ |title=The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture |publisher=Penn State Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-271-08968-3 |pages=142–144 |language=en}}</ref>

}}

{{Iranian Architecture}}

[[Category:Architecture in Iran]]
[[Category:Persian words and phrases]]
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