Astronomy-Influenced Thoughts of the Ilkhanate Era & Its Impact on Motifs of Star Tiles

Astronomical thought, tradition and content have a long and rich history in Iranian science, culture and arts. This sentiment has greatly impacted various eras, aspects and communities and Persian history is replete with specific examples of this phenomenon. This concept became more prevalent and common with the invasion of the Mongols and the rule of the Ilkhanid dynasty in the 13th century (AD). Its impact was indeed all-encompassing, affecting all aspects of society. A significant quantity of artworks belonging to the Ilkhanate era, especially star-pattern tiles with astronomical decorations remains to this day. The philosophy underpinning this design was that art is the essence of society and that artists are inspired by the thoughts, traditions, and common beliefs that predominate society. Multiple religious shrines (Imamzadeh) of the Ilkhanate period are adorned with these tiles. Using decorative animal tiles in religious structures in Iranian-Islamic structures art lacks precedent and on the other hand, it has been a point of contention and criticism. So revealing this firm relationship is the main goal of this study. In line with this objective, the animal-pattern decorations of seven-star tiles from Ilkhanate era have been assessed and analyzed. and they correspond with the paintings of astronomical pamphlets of Abdul Rahman Sufi Razi, entitled “Sovar-al Kavakeb”. the history of utilizing these designs has also been discussed. Correspondingly, this research seeks to answer the question of the relationship between the animal-pattern decorations of star-pattern Ilkhanate tile designs were with the astronomy-influenced thoughts and traditions prevalent in that era. The research method utilized for this paper is descriptive-analytical and the data/information is collected via the library method. The findings of this study indicate that the animal-pattern decorations of star-pattern Ilkhanate tile designs were not just decorative in function, but also contained symbolic astronomical meanings and had obvious/visible influences from “Sovar-al Kavakeb” Sufi paintings