Jameh Mosque of Varamin
The Jāmeh Mosque of Varāmīn
is a Friday mosque located in Varamin in the Theran province of Iran.
The mosque is one of the oldest buildings in the city of Varamin. Its construction began during the reign of Sultan Mohammad Khodabaneh and was completed in during the rule of his son, Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan. The mosque comprises a shabestan, a portico, a large brick dome, an adjacent structure beside the shabestan, ten small arches, and one large central arch.
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.
History and restorations
In the sixth century AH, the family of Abu Sa'd Varamini, a wealthy Shia family from that era, built a mosque in Varamin. However, the current structure was constructed in by the order of Izz al-Din al-Quhadhi. The dome was added in. Apparently, the mosque was damaged due to a disaster, and in, Amir Yusef Khajeh ordered the building to be restored. After that, it was not maintained for 500 years. Jane Dieulafoy, who visited the mosque during the Qajar era, noted that no one prayed there because the local peasants feared the dome might collapse — yet 'infidel foreigners' were allowed to observe it freely and without restriction. It was excavated by archaeologists in the 1960s and 1970s and was restored in the 1980s.
Architecture
The plan of the building is a rectangle measuring approximately. The mosque is located in the middle of an urban square. It has a rectangular plan and no other building is attached to it. Three exterior walls have a designed facade, but not the south-front. The mosque has a four-iwan plan and includes an entrance in the north, a shabestan in the south, porches in the east and west. Mohammad Karim Pirnia categorizes the building as an example of Azeri-style architecture. The entrance to the mosque is tall and elongated, similar to other Ilkhanid buildings and is decorated with intricate tiles. The mosque's dome sits atop a square chamber measuring, per side. It transitions into an octagonal shape, then a hexagon, and finally forms a dome with the aid of squinches. The dome, the walls, even the squinches are decorated with bricks, tiles and plaster. Pirnia believes that the dome originally had two shells; the upper shell was destroyed, leaving only the lower shell intact. The eastern porch serves as an auxiliary entrance, in contrast to the main entrance. The western porch, however, lacks an entrance and consists of two rows of columns. This portico was completely destroyed and was rebuilt during recent restorations of the building.