An Introduction to Architecture of Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque

Abstract

In analazying the form in architectural monuments or in a more comprehensive way, study of the monuments itself is one of the most fundamental and most important aspects of architecture that has several benefits and effects. One of the benefits of recognizing the shape of different building architecture is the categorization of architecture into different historical periods that can help us better understand the process of historical architectural developments in the past. Among the architectural monuments of Iran, Nasir al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz which is a Qajar Mosque is one of the most important Mosques in Shiraz which is less focused in the previous studies. This article, which is mainly based on empirical research and field studies, was conducted for studying the architecture of the mosque and analyzing and explaining the most important architectural features of this monument. The main questions of this article are the following: 1) What are the most basic architectural features of Nasir al-Mulk Mosque and how different parts are organized and built next to each other? 2) What choices and opting out of the architectural design of the building have been carried out? To find the best answers to these questions, first we analyzed the structure and overall fitness of the Mosque and its characteristics had been enumerated. Then, we introduced and analyze the main sectors that make up the corpus such as the mosque entrance, courtyard, naves and porches, in which the form and structure of each of these sectors as well as their consort with each other in shaping the overall architecture of the mosque, are analyzed and discussed. The summary of the findings in the form of empirical statements is presented at the end of the article.