An Analysis of the Types and Functions of the Three Clocks of the ‘Imadi Complex of Kashan during the Timurid and Safavid Periods

Although the history of making complicated water clocks in the Islamic world dates back to the early centuries, the oldest known example from Iran is the observatory clock of the Rukniyeh School in Yazd, dated 1324. Afterward, around 1473, Fakhr al-Din ‘Ali Kashi built a water clock for the glorious ‘Imadi complex in Kashan. Two decades later, Muhammad Hafiz, the Isfahani inventor, innovated a clock for this complex that was one of the first mechanical clocks of its kind in the Oriental world. During the reign of Shah ‘Abbas I, with the vitiation of Muhammad Hafiz’s clock, another clock was built by Mulla ‘Inayat. These watches also had artistic values, and when an hour had elapsed, a handful of cardboard animal and human figures started to move in it. Based on primary sources, this paper analyzes the three clocks of the ‘Imadi complex in Kashan and seeks to answer such questions as the historical evolution of these watches, their typology, and the reasons for the continuation of the clocks’ prosperity for two centuries. We can say that Mulla ‘Inayat’s clock was a revival of Fakhr al-Din ‘Ali’s clock and was from one of the six types of water clocks invented by al-Jazari. When the mechanical clock of Muhammad Hafiz was disrupted, and no one could restore it, they inevitably turned to a local clock technique familiar with that, which could operate it. The survival of the clock of the complex for about two centuries was not possible except through the creation of an endowment institution, and its current costs were covered by the various estate dedicated to it.