Redefining the Concepts of Imamate and Wilayat in Religious Scriptures of Past Dynasties : a Case Study of Teimori and Safavi Dynasties

inscriptions are deemed as one of the most prominent ornamental features in structures and buildings. They have a special status with regard to their content in Islamic architecture. Inscriptions also depict the religious
realities and epistemological values that reigned in their era. Several studies attempted to examine the religious content of inscriptions in different dynasties according to the popular beliefs of those eras. The central hypothesis of the current research is that quranic verses and hadiths carrying the principles and tenets of Shiasm (Imamate and Wilayat)  played a significant role in religious inscriptions in safavi and teimori dynasties. The present study seeks to prove the hypothesis by asking the following research questions. First, how did Shia beliefs find their way into religious inscriptions in safavi and teimori dynasties. Second, did the religious beliefs and orientations of the rulers in these eras exert any influence in the formation of inscriptions. The current article investigates  the content of religious inscriptions in Goharshad mosque in Mashhad, Parizad and Dodar Khorasan structures erected in teimori era, and Imam Mosque, Hakim mosque and chaharbagh school built in Safavi dynasty. The findings show that the rulers had great respect for Imams in Teimori dynasty. The extent of respect was so immense that some even suspected Teimori rulers held shia beliefs. However, in this era  shia teachings were only implicitly depicted in the content of religious inscriptions. When shiaism became the official religion in safavi era, shia beliefs were explicitly shown in the content of religious inscriptions. The current article adopted a decriptive-analytical approach toward studying shia beliefs in religious inscriptions in two dynasties namely safavi and teimori. The stance adopted by the current article is comparative in nature.