Understanding the Cultural Components Affecting the Formation of the Architectural Ornamentation of the Historical City of Masouleh

The role of cultural interactions in the formation of the architectural identity of each society is one of the topics that is of particular importance in scientific and artistic societies. Therefore, in order to recognize the architectural and artistic identity of any society, it is necessary to examine the social, religious, cultural, etc. concepts that were formed in the context of historical periods. The present article seeks to understand the cultural components affecting the identity formation of the ornamentations of the historical city of Masouleh using descriptive-analytical methods and field studies. The findings indicate that the Masouleh ornamentations are influenced by the cultural concepts of two historical periods before and after Islam. The pre-Islamic ornamentations in Masouleh are the result of the religious rituals of ancient Iran and in the Islamic era, they are the result of thoughts of the Ilkhanate, Safavid, Zandiyeh, Qajar, Pahlavi and Islamic Revolution governments. The most effective concepts in the formation of ornamentations are derived from religious beliefs, naturalism, and respect for nature, geometric and mathematical forms, and cultural and social interactions of non-native immigrants. The results show that Masouleh architecture had the least identity and cultural changes before the Qajar period. However, by entering the Qajar period and the increase of international interactions with European and Western countries, the architecture and artistic ornamentations of Masouleh have changed from the state of introverted architecture, which is one of the components of Iranian Islamic architecture, to extroverted architecture.