Investigating Ilkhanid Architecture based on the Architectural of Ujan

Problem statement: 

The most important architectural monuments of the Mongol period (7th and 8th centuries AH/14th and 15th centuries AD) were built in the land of Azerbaijan, which was the political center of the Mongol state.Some of these important architectural monuments are such as a Maragheh Observatory, numerous monuments in Tabriz, such as the mosque, caravanserai, and the bazaar, as well as two Ghazaniyya settlements and Rabi Rashidi. One of the most important cities in this period is Soltanieh, which construction and development of the city, in this period, was due to the passage of major trade routes.  Meanwhile, a new area that has recently been discovered and excavated is the city of Ujan, which has been selected and built as the summer capital of the Ilkhans due to its large meadows and also being located at the crossroads of Central Asia to Mesopotamia and northwest to the Central Plateau of Iran. An important building has been found in this city, which has been excavated and studied for 4 seasons, and during this excavation, interesting and remarkable information about Ilkhanid architecture has been obtained.

Research objective:

Therefore, in this article, we intend to introduce the architecture of the building found in this city, which is the government citadel and castle and study the Ilkhanid architecture based on the works found in this city. This article has been written with an archaeological approach and according to the archaeological excavations carried out in this area and intends to present a report of four seasons of excavation in the government citadel and castle of the historical city of Ujan, which was built on the ruins and remnants of ancient period Seljuq.

The architects of the Ujan, were not only influenced by the style and pattern of Seljuq architecture, but also by the architectural style of the previous periods of Iran, they presented a new pattern and method in making and decorating architectural works.