A morphological-historical study on the initial core of the Razavi Holy Shrine Complex (With a focus on narrative documents and in comparison with the architectural design of the Sassanid and Early Islamic Palaces)

The Razavi Holy Shrine Complex is one of the most prominent buildings in Iran from both religious and structural perspectives. However, the initial spatial layout of its very first building and the process of its physical expansion has not been studied yet. Thus, investigations on its initial structure and the primary stages of its expansion will significantly contribute to a broad understanding of the existing structure.Research

This study looks for the footprints of the initial building around the tomb, in the existing complex, intending to identify the spatial layout. Research

Through an “interpretive-historical” approach, this study investigates the initial spatial layout of the holy shrine around the tomb. To this end, a hypothesis has been made: the spatial layout of the initial mausoleum of Imam Reza (A.S.), which was more complex than a simple (single) grave, has followed the spatial and morphological layouts of the Sassanid architecture. This hypothesis is firstly considered according to historical texts; through morphological investigations, it then looks for the footprints of the initial building around the tomb. The discovered layout is finally compared to several Sassanid and Early Islamic palaces. Based on these three investigations, the findings are ultimately reconciled.

The results obtained from the investigations show that the structure of the initial building of the Razavi Holy Shrine Complex that is rooted in the Humayd Ibn Qahtaba’s Palace, has possibly followed the architectural design of the Sassanid Palaces; the cruciform geometry (Dar-Al-Siyadah) beside the porch-shaped space (Dar-Al-Huffaz) bears a great resemblance to the spatial layouts of the Sassanid Palaces.