Jameh Mosque of Yazd

For similarly named mosques, see List of grand mosques.

Jāmeh Mosque of Yazd
مسجد جامع یزد
The mosque minarets and a dome, in 2016
Religion
Affiliation	Shia Islam
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Friday mosque
Status	Active
Location
Location	Yazd, Yazd Province
Country	Iran
Location of the mosque in Iran
Geographic coordinates	31°54′5″N 54°22′7″E
Architecture
Type	Mosque architecture
Style	Sasanian (prime) Seljuk (prime) Ilkhanid Timurid (renovation) Safavid (minaret) Qajar (sahn)
Founder	Amr ibn al-Layth (prime) Rukn al-Din Muhammad (renovation)
Completed	9th century CE (prime) 12th century CE (prime) 1375 CE (mihrab) 1416 CE (iwans) 15th century CE (minaret) 1442 CE (renovation) 1485 CE (mihrab) 16th century CE (minaret) 1825 CE (sahn)
Specifications
Dome(s)	Two
Minaret(s)	Two
Minaret height	52 m (171 ft)
Materials	Bricks; mortar; tiles
Website
mosque.mihanblog.com
Iran National Heritage List
Official name	Jāmeh Mosque of Yazd
Type	Built
Designated	22 July 1934
Reference no.	206
Conservation organization	Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran

The Jāmeh Mosque of Yazd (Persian: مسجد جامع یزد, romanized: Masjid-e-Jāmeh Yazd; Arabic: جامع يزد) is a Shi'ite Friday mosque (jāmeh) located in the city of Yazd, in the province of Yazd, Iran. Built on the site of a 9th-century CE fire temple, the mosque was completed during the 14th and 15th century CE and renovated in subsequent years. Between 1982 and 2005 the mosque was depicted on the obverse of the Iranian 200 rial banknote.

The mosque was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 22 July 1934, administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.

History

According to historians, the mosque was constructed on the site of a Sasanian era fire temple and Ala'oddoleh Garshasb commenced building the mosque. The previous mosque was constructed by order of Ala'oddoleh Kalanjar in 6th century AH, however the main construction of the present building was done by order of Rukn al-Din Muhammad during the 14th century CE.

Architecture

The mosque is a fine specimen of Persian architecture, in the Azari style. The entrance to the mosque is crowned by a pair of minarets, the highest in Iran, dating from the Safavid era and are 52 metres (171 ft) high and 6 metres (20 ft) in diameter. The entrance is decorated from top to bottom in tilework.

Within is a long arcaded courtyard where, behind a deep-set south-east iwan, is the sanctuary chamber. This chamber, under a squat tiled dome, is exquisitely decorated with tile mosaic: its tall tiled mihrab, dated 1365 CE, is one of the finest of its kind in existence. The name of the craftsman and the date of construction of the mihrab are depicted on two star-shaped sgraffito tiles. One of the amazing attributes of the Jameh Mosque of Yazd is that the lighting system is obtained indirectly by the reflection of light from the white plaster of the dome and the walls.

Gallery

• 
  The grand iwan
• 
  Mosque interior with rich tile- and brickworks
• 
  Mihrab
• 
  Ceiling artworks
• 
  Back entrance to the mosque
• 
  Jameh Mosque has the tallest portal of all mosques in Iran
• 
  Ceiling
• 
  Detail
• 
  Courtyard
• 
  View of the entire mosque complex
• 
  The mosque on the 200 Iranian rial banknote (1982–2005)

See also

• Shia Islam in Iran
• List of mosques in Iran
• History of Persian domes

External links

• Official website Archived 24 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine
• Morrow, BMC. "Yazd Mosques" (Photo gallery). pbase.com.
• "Jame mosque of Yazd". ArchNet.org. Archived from the original on 12 February 2007.
• "Square Kufic decoration on the Jameh mosque of Yazd". Kufic.info.
• "Yazd Jame Mosque". ghoolabad.com.
• "Jameh Mosque of Yazd" (High-resolution 360° panoramic images). Art Atlas. Columbia University.