Rereading of Historical Documents about the Nizamol-Molki Portal in Abarkooh

Various ideas can be found about the date of construction and the function of portal and twin minarets of Abarkouh so that some researchers consider it as the door way of Nizamieh mosque whereas others consider it as a part of a great complex. However, there are ambiguities about the history and function of this monument. The main questions of this paper are about these two points. Afshar has attributed this monument to Nizam-ol-Molk-e Abarqui, a famous writer of Abarkooh in 14th century. Considering inscriptions of other monuments in the region and comparing with historical documents, this paper aims to reveal some points about the history and function of the destroyed monument to which this portal belongs. Moreover, the structure and decorations of the portal have been compared with other historical twin minarets. Regarding the lack of dated inscription on the portal, main evidence is the inscription of Biroon mosque near Abarkouh which has implications about the constructions near the portal. Finally, it has been revealed that the monument can be part of a mosque related to Tavousieh shrine. Comparing decorations and structure of this monument with other similar twin minarets in Persian architecture (like Qiyasiyeh in Qom and Oshtorgan mosque), it can be attributed to 14th century and to the son of Nizam-ol-Molk-e Abarqui who was a courtier of Shah Shoja’ (Muzaffarid dynasty) as his patron