Hypothetical Plan of Rab -e-Rashidi

Rab’e-Rashidi dates back to more than 700 years ago when Khajeh Rasididin Fazlollah Hamedani, the minister of Ghazan Khan, the seventh ruler of the Ilkhanid dynasty (Ilkhanate), established a big academic center in Tabriz in north-western Iran. Designed originally as university town, this scientific and educational complex was equipped with a big paper factory, a massive library, an educational treatment center (Dar-ol-Shafa), Quran Center (Dar-ol Quran), residential facilities for teachers, student’s quarter, a big caravansary and other facilities during the Ilkhanid era. There are only a few archeological remains left of this huge complex. The original plan of Rab’-e-Rashidi has been a subject of several hypothetical reconstructions. This paper proposes a new arrangement with special reference to its document of endowment (waqf).