Emamieh school

Emamieh school
مدرسه امامیه
Emamieh school is located in Iran
Emamieh school
Location within Iran
Alternative namesBaba Ghassem school
General information
StatusCultural
Typeschool
Architectural styleAzeri
LocationIsfahan, Iran
Coordinates32°39′40″N 51°41′03″E / 32.6611°N 51.6841°E / 32.6611; 51.6841
Completed1325
ClientSoltan Abolhassan Talout Damghani

The Emamieh school, Imamiyeh School, Madrasah-i Imami or Imami Madrasa, is a historical theological college, or madrasa, in Isfahan, Iran.

Structure

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It is one of the earliest known madrasas in Iran, its construction being dated to 1325, in the final Ilkhanid period. Its size is 92 by 72 meters.[1] The madrasa consists in a typical Seljuk-type courtyard in baked-brick, with four iwans in the center of each internal side, which have cells for student accommodation.[1] The central space is for prayer and study.[1] Next to it was the tomb of the theologian Baba Qasim, erected by Abu al-Hasan al Talut al Damghani in 1340-41. It was lost in the 19th century, and was rebuilt as part of the madrasa.[1]

From an architectural and stylistic standpoint, the Emamieh school is considered as belonging to the "Ilkhanid era".[2]

Tiling

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The building was tiled by the Sheikh Mohammad ebn-e Omar, whose name was mentioned on the inscriptions of the school.[3] The inscription in the courtyard gives a date of 1354–55 CE during the Injuid period, at a time just before the city fell to the Muzaffarids in 1356–57.[4] A remarkable mihrab in mo'araq cut-tile mosaic is attributed to this date, and was recovered from the madrasa: it is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.[4] The mihrab is considered as a masterpiece of mo'araq technique, a type of decorative technique started during the Ilkhanid period in the early 14th century in the cities of Sham, Tabriz and Sultaniyya.[4]

Imami Madrasa in Isfahan, established at the end of the Ilkhanid period in 1325
The Mihrab. Metropolitan Museum of Art.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Madrasah-i Imami". www.archnet.org.
  2. ^ Mohseni, Mansooreh; Kharabati, Sajede (July 2021). "A comparative study of traditional Iranian Schools flexibility from the Seljukid era to Qajar era". Bagh-e Nazar. 18 (98): 80 ff. doi:10.22034/bagh.2021.238466.4598. In the Ilkhani era, in the Imami school of Esfahan... (...) In the Ilkhani sample of Isfahan Imamiyeh School... (...) the Imami Ilkhanate School...
  3. ^ "Arthut.co".
  4. ^ a b c d "Mihrab (Prayer Niche)". Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2025.