Jameh Mosque of Damghan
The Jāmeh Mosque of Damghan is a Shi'ite Friday mosque, located in Damghan, in the province of Semnan, Iran. Commenced during the Abbasid Caliphate era, the mosque was renovated during the Seljuq and Qajar eras. The mosque is notable for its 11th-century minaret.
The mosque was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 6 January 1932, administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.
Architecture
The Friday mosque of Damghan is located in the northeast corner of the city. While its original construction date is estimated to be eleventh century or earlier, during the Abbasid Caliphate era, it was replaced by a newer structure in the Seljuq and Qajar period, under Mirza Mohammadkhan Sepahsalar.The mosque is oriented north-south and is centered on a large rectangular courtyard measuring. It is entered from a wide corridor that opens onto the northern corner of the courtyard. The southwestern side of the courtyard is occupied by three large iwans. The larger, central iwan, flanked by two smaller iwans on either side, is wide and long. Two vaulted prayer halls enclose the courtyard.
A Seljuk-era minaret, built CE, still extant and original, remains on the site. Located in the northeast corner of the mosque, the minaret rises from a base adjoining the entrance corridor and is high, round, made of bricks, and contains 105 steps. Its diameter at the base is nearly, which shrinks to at its top. Decorated with recessed bricks in highly original geometric patterns, the minaret displays all the characteristics of eleventh-century art found in other Damghan monuments. Although originally freestanding, the minaret is now attached to the mosque structure. The minaret's brick balcony, partially ruined, is supported by a projecting ring of muqarnas and is decorated with a chapter from the Qur'an. A Kufic inscription plate further ornaments the minaret. The glazed tile work on the minaret is one of the earliest examples in Iran.