From the north, it is limited to Tarem Alia (Zanjan city), from the east to Abhar suburbs, from the south and southwest to Khodabande city, and from the west to Zanjan city, and it has an area of ​​940 square kilometers.[1]

Today's Soltanieh is considered as the center of the district of Abhar city, which consists of three villages named Soltanieh, Sanbal Abad and Ghazal Dera. The source of the Zanjan river is from the north of the center of Soltanieh district and continues towards Zanjan. The mountains of Hadcheh, Sari Dash in the south, Kank Dere and Qara Dash in the southeast, and Yan Balag and Agh Dagh mountains are located in the north and south of this district. have taken.Soltanieh is located seven kilometers north of Soltanieh mountains and twelve kilometers south of Tarem mountains and four kilometers from the transit road (Tehran, Zanjan, Bazargan) and the title of city has been given to it since 1344.

The natural grass of Soltanieh covers a part of the Zanjan-Abhar Plateau, which is formed by the separation of two parallel ranges of heights that extend in the east-west direction, with an approximate area of ​​35 square kilometers, a length of 20 kilometers, and an average width of two kilometers. It is located on the south side of this plateau.

The general slope of the area is from south to north and from east to west, and the slope of the city is very small and reaches zero in some areas.[2] Geological excavations indicate that at a depth of 60 cm, the entire area of ​​the Soltanieh lawn is covered with uniform white soil, which prevents water from penetrating deep into the ground, and as a result, the grass is irrigated in a natural way. And it happens continuously.[3] This feature has created one of the most beautiful grasslands in the world, which is referred to as "prairie" [4] in geographical texts.

Soltanieh designation:
The old name of Soltanieh was Shahraviage, Shahraviaz, and Shahrovian, and it was considered a part of Qazvin, and the Mongols called it "Qoralan" and a village called "Ulan" can still be seen near Soltanieh.[5]

In his travelogue, Chardin writes about the history of Soltaniye: "Soltaniye is one of the ancient cities of Parthia"[6], but he did not mention its address. Many European writers and researchers believe that Soltanieh was built on the remains of Tikranakert. Crete in ancient Persian means city and town and Tikran is also the name of one of the kings.
 Hamdaleh Mostofi wrote about the location of Soltanieh city in his selected history: "The location of this city was in a place known to the Mongols.
They used to say "Ganquravlang" and "Ulang" means pasture and grass."[7]

Historical background of Soltanieh city:
The Soltanieh region has been the focus of various ethnic groups since ancient times. According to the inscriptions obtained from the kings of Assyria in the 8th century BC, Soltanieh was the residence of the warrior clan "Sakarati" and was called "Eribad" during the reign of the Median rulers, and the Parthians named it after their first king "Arsas". They called it.[8]

In addition to the historical narrative, the location of the place also speaks for itself: Soltanieh was of interest before the Mongol patriarchs, and archeological evidence indicates that the Soltanieh plain has been inhabited since at least the fifth millennium BC. The presence of pea-colored pottery with black geometric designs, as well as pottery of the 4th millennium and gray pottery of the 1st millennium BC in the southeast of the old city of Soltanieh (around Noor Hill) is a clear indication of this point. The gray colored pottery of different parts of Soltanieh Plain is of special importance to Khordar because it reveals the historical course of this civilization and its expansion.[9]

After Ghazan, his brother Oljaito came to the throne, he was the ruler of Meru and came to the capital after his brother's death. Perhaps, observing the city of Tabriz and Ghazani Building, created the motivation to create a city or a similar complex in his mind. According to historical documents and evidence, the first time the building of Soltanieh city was planned was realized during Arghun's time, Hafez Abro commented on this: "He ordered to build the city and pointed out that the castle building was made of stone, but because the foundation of the building They did not have time to complete it. » [10]

This map was developed during Al-Jaito's time to advance political goals and "in ten years, it reached a level where it became more inhabited than the land." [11] First, the place is located at the foot of the city in terms of its natural location and area in the natural grass of the nearby plain. Zanjan is between two mountain ranges in the south and the north, closer to the southern mountains, this area was compatible with all the needs of the Mongols' life, and during the Arghun period, it was considered one of the special areas and stopping places of the Mongols.

Other factors that qualified Soltanieh biologically are the existence of underground water sources, Zanjan Chai and the nearby rivers that flow towards Soltanieh in the southwest, southeast and northwest and are suitable for agriculture and drinking. The mountains of Soltanieh, located in the south of the city, have better quality for drinking than the northern areas of the city. [12] Another motive that should be mentioned in the construction of the city of Soltanieh was the thought of remembering the good name and eternal life through the construction of lasting buildings.

The materials needed to build the city of Soltanieh were brought from the mountains south of Soltanieh from a mine called Vir, which is one of the most populated villages of Soltanieh. There were brick kilns in the place itself. In the city of Soltanieh, in addition to the citadel, a series of public, religious, educational and economic buildings were created, each of which was placed in a part of the city according to the ideas of the builders and its place.
 In a general view, it can be seen that this city has the characteristics of the cities of Iran during the Islamic era and archaeological discoveries have made this issue clear. Economic spaces suitable for meeting the needs of city dwellers, mosques following Islamic traditions, markets, baths, schools, etc., each of them are somehow related and guarantee the survival of an Islamic city.[13]

Castle or royal citadel:
In the center of the city, there was a citadel or a citadel or a political center of power, access to which could not be denied. The protective measures and defensive fortifications built in Soltanieh Citadel with a fence and 16 towers with a height of 9 meters and a radius of 17.5 meters and a moat 30 meters wide around the rampart made it an impregnable fortress that remained immune to the invasion of foreigners.

The royal citadel, where parts of the three-meter-wide tower and rampart can be seen with large green limestone stones, and it has two gates in the north and south, which show the ruling area in the old city. In the miniature of Matraq Chi [14], the entrance to the castle is shown in the middle of one of the ramparts that was in line with the Soltanieh dome, and the statement of all historians on the existence of an entrance on the northern front is proof of the confirmation of the above. But Hafez Abro mentions a smaller entrance on the south side of the castle.

There are probably less buildings around and near the citadel in the east, north and south parts, and around the dome and next to the magnificent court buildings inside the citadel, according to Islamic traditions and the sum of the words of historians such as: Shams al-Din Muhammad bin Mahmoud Amoli. Ghiyath al-Din bin Hammam, Hafez Abro and Abu Ghasem Kashani, it is concluded that buildings such as Abuab Albar (Soltaniye Dome), Madrasas, Khanqah, Dar al-Shefa, Dar al-Diafe, Dar al-Hafaz, Dar al-Siadah, mosques, Dar al-Qur'an, Dar al-Hadith, the building of Kiryasi, special houses And 12 Sarachas, in addition to the building of the tower and barrow, along with a gate, were mentioned And there have been talks about the parts that archaeologists find from time to time, such as the silver doors, the tiles of the tower and the ramparts, and it can also be said that most of the construction of Soltanieh was done during the time of Sultan Mohammad Khodabandeh, even though the construction started And the instruments belong to the time of Arghun. In the history of Wasaf, it has been quoted from Uljaito that: "And the smart builders and agile engineers who built Semnar's skill with the help of Shafaj's supply of the ditches were engaged in the work, and the architects and the foremen were careful, the minutes were spent between the experts, the experts, and the discovery of every defect." [15]

After planning the city to build his mausoleum, Oljaito brought artists, architects and craftsmen from all over to Soltanieh to build one of the great architectural and artistic masterpieces of the world. As mentioned, the foundation of the Soltanieh dome was laid during the time of Ghazan Khan, son of Abaqa and son of Hulako. After the death of Ghazan Oljaito, he followed his father's will and decided to finish the construction of the building, and for this reason, he chose Soltanieh as his capital and expanded its size from twelve thousand steps to thirty thousand steps. In the meantime, by using the genius of the elite artists of that time and calling them to the Soltanieh region, and the tact of Khwaja Rashiduddin Fazlullah Hamadani, his minister, he started the construction of the dome.

Soltanieh after the days of Al-Jayto
At the end of the reign of the Ilkhans of Soltanieh, the rule of the Ilkhans began to decline, the way the former chieftains acted in various social, political and economic dimensions caused the foundations of the Ilkhanid government to weaken, and Ghazan and Uljaito's ingenuity and resourcefulness could only control this situation for a while, after his death First of all, the foundations of the Ilkhanate's government were weakened, and the unbalanced tax system and inappropriate class composition together caused the decline of their government and, as a result, the Sultanate. The historian Oljaito, who wrote the days of Soltaniyeh moment by moment, writes about Oljaito's interests in mansions and buildings: "The end of everything will remain unfinished and his work is finished".[16]

Soltanieh in the Timurid period
Timurid emissaries went to Soltanieh and looted and looted the properties and treasures of Soltanieh. According to the historians of that period, Soltanieh was given to Miran Shah as a gift from Timur and he actually ruled over the ruined Sultanieh. Miranshah wanted to build buildings in Soltanieh, but he couldn't and problems prevented him from continuing the work and his inability to do so intensified his spirit of destruction and he said: "In any case, I must do something that the future generations will always remember me. "And ordered to destroy everything they had built [17], anyway, Miranshah destroyed all the buildings of the city, but Oljaito's tomb remained.

Soltanieh in the Safavid period:
The famous traveler of the 17th century "Chardin" wrote in the description of the city of Soltanieh during the Safavid period: "In this city there are several public buildings (mosque, caravanserai, castles and beqaa) that are worth attention in terms of construction and architecture, so that In the past, Soltanieh was half a farsakh larger than the current limits from the west, the existence of the remains of mosques, castles and military towers in this part of the city is the proof of this claim."[18]

Soltanieh in the Qajar period:
The construction of new buildings by Shah Qajar led to the gradual destruction of Uljaito's tomb. Taking the materials and materials of the Soltanieh Dome building to build the Shah's promenade and turning that magnificent building into a fodder and fuel storehouse has left undesirable effects on this work.[19]

Soltanieh Dome:
It is one of the most important and largest tombs of the Islamic era in Iran, which is the third largest historical building after the Cathedral of the Holy Mary in Florence, Italy and the Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, and in terms of dome construction technology, it is the largest brick dome in the world. This huge building is one of the artistic masterpieces of the Ilkhanid period and is actually the manifestation of the architectural art of this period. Soltanieh Dome, in addition to its architectural splendor, which is unique in its kind, is an encyclopedia of role and design in the architectural decorations of that day, which represents a moment in the history of Iranian architecture and art.

The dome building was built during the reign of Khodabandeh from 704 to 713 A.H. It was built[20] and it is the only building that remains from the Soltanieh citadel complex. Rashiduddin Fazlullah and Tajuddin Alisha have mentioned its founder and builder. Inside the city, by order of Oljaito, a large mausoleum was planned for him. The model for building Soltanieh building is the tomb of Sultan Sanjar in Merv, which Oljaito had seen there many times during the time of the Crown Prince (when he was the ruler of Merv). According to the late Karim Pirnia in the book of historical geography of Soltanieh, it is stated that the construction method of Soltanieh dome follows the Ziaiyeh school (623 A.H.) which was built parallel to the appearance of Genghis, as well as the Jebeliya dome or Harunieh Tus, which is a model for other domes of the Ilkhanid period. 21], was made and also stated that "the Yazdi Bandi of the Soltanieh Dome is inspired by this style."

The Soltanieh Dome has been erected on the southwest side of the Soltanieh Citadel, and inside the citadel, each of the famous men had a mansion, and in addition, they competed with each other in building public buildings and palaces. Around the Soltanieh building, there were additional buildings that were destroyed.[22]

Soltanieh Dome Mansion:
The natural soil of Soltanieh is compact and integrated consisting of limestone, clay and small pebbles (up to 35 cm). This feature has caused the dome to be firm and rigid. One of the causes of stability against various destructive factors is the integrity of the earth.[23]

The Soltanieh building is built on an octagonal plan, the length of each side is 17 meters, the distance between its external faces is 42 meters, and the thickness of the building is about 40.7 meters. In any case, inside, there is a porch, which is characterized by eight porches on the ground floor (four big porches and four small porches), and there is another floor above that overlooks the interior space.[24] The arches of the porches in this space are five and seven steep, at the end of these arches, inscriptions with the text of prophetic hadiths are written in them, and then the beautiful work of moqrans, which is assigned the task of the trumpets, turns the octagonal plan into a circle. It has provided the ground for the implementation of the dome.

The construction of the dome is in such a way that it looks like two stories from the outside and three stories from the inside. This building was built in the main geographical directions and on the south side of it there is an additional building of Torbat Khanh and under Torbat Khanh, a cellar that consists of spaces. It is numerous.

Regarding its octagonal shape, some believe that the choice of the octagonal design is based on experienced architectural calculations and due to its static centrality [25]. But some other researchers believe that the dome's design is not only due to its stability, but it probably has this theme and allusion to the throne of God, which according to hadiths is carried by eight angels.[26]

The method of divisions in the interior architecture and the theory of the spaces of this building is the reverse symmetry of an axis whose extension is towards the Qibla. The arch of this dome is executed with a very sharp and extended circle and it is unique in all of Iran from the point of view of opening, height and building style.[27]

Dome entrances; In the Abadani era, commuting was done through four small gates, the large entrances used by men and the small entrances that led to the small porches of the first floor were reserved for women, and probably the east and northwest entrances were used Mardan is located, and the southern entrance of the dome was the entrance between Torbet Khana and the dome, in terms of connecting Torbat Khana to the dome.

After the ground floor, the first floor includes communication corridors. This floor is located at a height of 40.9 meters and can be accessed through three staircases. This corridor surrounds the building and is relatively dark, which is supplied with light by the windows installed in the four large porches.

In the corridors of the first floor, there are rooms that are probably intended for the ladies and the royal family to watch their cultural rituals in various ceremonies.

The second floor includes porches, each of these porches is divided by three arches and has no connection with the interior of the dome except for the stairs that go up from the ground floor. In the porches of the second floor (facing outside) in each The face of the roof of the rectangular corridors is covered with curved arches that have three arch springs, one middle arch spring and two arch springs around it. The middle arch spring is larger and parallel to the curve of the intersecting arch.

From the second floor, there are eight stairs inside the jars that lead to the minarets and connect this floor to the third floor. The steps are circular and turn, each step is 90 cm long and 30 cm high. The height of the third floor (the roof) is about 80.27 meters, the base of the dome and the octagonal foundations of the minarets are located on this floor. The height is 1.40 and the height of the dome is 19 meters from the third floor[28]. On the exterior of the dome, there are arches on all eight sides that have a decorative structural function.

Turbat House:
The second discussed space of Oljaito's tomb is the so-called Turbat House. This rectangular space with a side length of 60.17 meters and a width of 80.7 meters and a height of 16 meters houses the altar of the collection in South Jerez. According to archeological findings, this building was built and added to it shortly after the construction and completion of the dome.

The covering of the roof of Torbat House is made of three arch units, the diameter of the central arch is 9 meters and the side arches are 3 meters. It can be measured at a height of 0.3 meters from the floor. It is written in bold and bold font, and the edges of the words are filled with slime decorations. There was a big door made of copper and gold between Torbat House and the area under the dome, which was destroyed or looted over time.

Some people refer to this story that this space was intended for the transfer of the holy shrines of the two noble Imams Hazrat Ali (AS) and Imam Hussain (AS), which was not done due to the opposition of the scholars. Because of the use of tarbat by those imams in the construction materials of this space, it is called tarbat house.

Cellar:
The crypt of the Soltanieh Dome is located on the south side and under Torbat Khana, and its entrance in the south porch leads to the floor of the crypt through 9 steps and passing through a 165 cm long footbridge. (The image of the cellar plan is displayed above)

It is inferred that the crypt of the Soltanieh dome was built before its other parts and was used before the completion of the dome.[29] The decorations used in the cellar include bricks in regular rows. The building complex with two adjacent arches and a small connecting corridor, has two steps with a short roof, is the best way to build a crypt. [30] According to the writings of Jame al-Tawarikh Rashidi, Sultan Uljaito was buried in the crypt after performing the rituals and burial ceremonies. . [13]

Dome:
The Soltanieh dome is of continuous two-layer type, as sometimes two shells are connected without any intermediary and the two layers of the dome are parallel. The distance between the two shells of the dome is from 60 to 140 cm, the distance between the two shells is filled with crescent arches and the space between the two shells gradually decreases from the bottom to the top, and it is made without back straps, shoulders or other strengthening devices. . This change in thickness, which seems necessary from a technical and engineering point of view to increase the stability and lightness of the dome, expresses the sensuous understanding of its creators about the principles of stability of the shells and their dynamic behavior. The main body of the dome and the whole building is made of bricks, and then the dome is decorated with turquoise, azure and blue tiles.

Minarets:
On the third floor, there are eight minarets in the eight corners of the building, except for one minaret in the northeast side and half of the minaret in the northwest corner, where part of its tiling remains, the rest of the minarets have collapsed. These minarets are empty inside and can be reached by a spiral staircase from the roof to the roof of the third floor porches and to the tip of the minaret.

The minarets are the same in terms of form, skeleton and dimensions. Access to these minarets is possible from the eight stairs built inside Jerez, and the eight minarets in the eight corners of this building, in addition to playing their static role, also play a significant role in the arrangement and grandeur of the building. The construction of side porches and the presence of eight minarets in the corner of the roof were created to prevent the sliding of the big dome. This technology has been tested in Iranian architecture, first in the tomb of Ismail Samani in Bukhara and then in the tomb of Sultan Sanjar during the Seljuk era.

The plan of the minarets from the beginning to the height of two meters in Qaida, in the style of the building itself, is a regular octagon with a diameter of 40.2 meters and the length of each side is one meter. Then their map is transformed into a complete circle, and the diameter of the minarets' circle from the outside view is 205 cm and the thickness of their wall is 40 cm.

The maximum height of each minaret is currently 50.15 meters, with the increase of proportional garlands, its original height was probably 18 meters. The garlands were decorated with brickwork and tiling at the time of construction, this type of decoration became common from the second half of the third century of Hijri onwards, and after this period, all the outer parts of the minarets were covered with bricks or plaster and colorful tiling. They have embellished it with the use of traditions and hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH).[32]

At the beginning of the Ilkhanid period, the external surface of the minaret wall was supplied with brick facades without additional covering, and the brick decorations began to decline, and instead of them, a new boom was found.[33] In the end parts of the only remaining minaret under the garland, there are moqrans giloys decorated with turquoise and lapis lazuli tiles and it is comparable to the train of the end part of the exterior of the dome.

Decorations of Soltanieh Dome:
In general, the decorations of the dome have been divided into two periods, the first period includes the main decorations of the dome, tiling and part of plastering, the second period includes plastering and painting on the decorations of the first period. What emerges from the examination of applied arts in the Soltanieh dome and the information provided by the explorers indicates that both decorative periods belong to the construction period and took place at the same time as Uljaito Abu Saeed. The reason for the changes in the decorations of the dome is considered to be the religious and political differences of that period.

Applied arts of brickwork, tilework, combination of brick and tile, some inscriptions including the Moqli inscriptions outside and inside the building, as well as part of the plasterwork, including the exterior and porches of the first floor, are attributed to the first period of dome decoration and some Among the plasters and paintings, the writing of lines and inscriptions, especially inside the dome and dome of the house, have been attributed to the decorations of the second period.

************

[1]- Geographical Organization of the Armed Forces, 1369, Geographical Dictionary of the Settlements of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Zanjan Sector, (Volume 25), [Tehran]: pp. 148-150.
[2] - Hamze Lo, Manouchehr, 1381, applied arts in Soltanieh dome, Tehran: Makan, first edition, p. 23.
[3] - Gilani, Faridmon, Azar 1354, ((A visit to Konbad Soltanieh, the largest Islamic dome)), in ((Art and People Magazine)), Ministry of Culture and Arts: year 12, number 134, p. 20.
[4] - Prairie: It is the best type of grassland in the world where the height of the grass reaches 30 to 90 cm.
[5] - Kayhan, Masoud, 1310, Detailed Geography of Iran, 1. Nazri, Ministry of Education and Endowment and Mustarfa Industries, Tehran: Majles Printing, p. 377.
[6] - Chardin, Jean, Siahat Nameh, 1350, translated by Mohammad Abbasi, third volume, Tehran: Amirkabir, p. 29.

[7] - Hamdaleh, Mostofi, selected history, 1339, by Dr. Abdul Hossein Navaei, Tehran: Amir Kabir, p. 607.
[8] - Mukhsli, Mohammad Ali, 1365, Soltanieh Historical Geography, Tehran: Author's Publisher, p. 3, quoted from the information newspaper dated May 17, 1356, No. 15303, without mentioning the source and author.
Also refer to: Review of the historical works of Soltanieh, Tastovi.
Dictionary of Zanjan, Reza Rouhani.
[9] - Mir Fattah, Seyyed Ali Asghar, 1370, ((Sultanieh)) cities of Iran, volume four, by Mohammad Yusuf Kayani, Tehran: Jihad Academic, p. 152.

[10] - Hafez Abro, Jame al-Tawarikh Rashidi, 1350, under the care of Khan Baba Bayani, published by: Anjuman Atarh Melli, p. 8.
[11] - Nafais al-Funun, p. 258.
[12] - Charmand Consultants, 1362, Soltanieh City Development Plan, p.82.
[13] - Hamze Lo, Manouchehr, 1381, applied arts in Soltanieh Dome, Tehran: Makan, first edition, p. 45.
[14] - Al-Mutraq Chi, Nasuh, Bayan Manazel, translated and edited by Rahim Rais Nia, Tehran: 2019, Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization.
[15] - Tarikh Wasaf, p. 477.
[16] - Al-Qashani, Abu al-Qasim, History of Uljaito, p. 225.
[17] - Klavikho, 1366, travel book, translated by Masoud Rajabnia, Tehran: Nash Kitab, p. 171.
[18] - Chardin, previous, p. 28.
[19] - Flanden, previous, p. 58.
[20] - Aiti, Abdul Hamid, 1346, Tahrir Tarikh Wasaf, Farhang Iran Foundation, p.277.

[21] - Mokhlisi, previous, p. 59.
[22] - Paleolzi, restoration project of Khodabandeh mosque and tomb in Soltanieh, p. 11.
[23] - Mehriar, Mohammad and Toheidi, Faiq and Kabiri, Ahmad, March 1365, investigation and research of the tower and ramparts of the old city of Soltanieh, journal of works number 12, 13 and 14, National Organization for the Protection of Ancient Antiquities of Iran, p. 11 .
[24] - San Paulzi, the influence of Soltanieh dome architecture on..., p. 40.
[25] - Asgharian Jedi, Ahmad, 1363, "Architecture of Soltanieh Dome", Iranian Architecture, Majd Publications, (Volume 1), written by researchers, compiled by Asia Javadi, p. 269.
[26]- Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, 1370, Islamic tradition in Iranian architecture, translated by Seyyed Mohammad Avini, Tehran: Berg, p. 64.

[27] - Paolozzi, The Architectural Influence of the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, Italy, p. 21.
[28] - Evidence, previous, p.144.
2-Kashani. Abu al-Qasim P. 83.
3- Mir Fattah. Cities of Iran, p. 185 and 186.
4-Zheel Jame Al-Tawarikh Rashidi, p. 100
[32] - Zamani, Abbas, 1360, "Minaret and ornamental minaret in Islamic historical monuments", Iranian Architecture, (Volume 1), compiled by Asia Javadi, Tehran: Meghrad, p. 619.
[33] - Mukhsli, Mohammad Ali, 1366, "Minaret", Iran's Architecture of the Islamic Period, by Mohammad Yusuf Kayani, Tehran: Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Printing House, p. 288.