Introduction of the shrine of Imam Reza
The Imam Reza shrine in the city of Mashhad in Iran is the burial place of the eighth Imam of the Twelver Shi’ism. This shrine is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam and every year many people travel to Mashhad to visit this shrine. The Imam Reza shrine is one of the best and most beautiful examples of Iranian-Islamic architecture, where many artists have created expensive works of art throughout history.
About Ali ibn Musa al-Rida
Ali al-Rida or Ali ibn Musa al-Rida, the eighth Imam of the Twelver Shi’ism, the son of Musa al-Kazim and a descendant of Muhammad, the Muslim prophet, was born on December 29, 765 AD. He lived in Medina until he was 31 years old and learned religious teachings from his father. After his father was arrested and transferred to Iraq by Harun al-Rashid, he was chosen as a mediator between his father and the people. After the death of Harun al-Rashid, his son Amin succeeded to the caliphate.
During Amin’s caliphate, his brother Al-Ma’mun was always fighting with him over sovereignty. After the assassination of Amin, Al-Ma’mun succeeded to the caliphate. He asked Ali ibn Musa al-Rida for help to legitimize his government in the eyes of the Shias and invited him to the city of Tus (a city 20 kilometers northwest of Mashhad). Al-Ma’mun wanted Ali ibn Musa al-Rida to have a high position in the court, but he rejected the offer several times and finally accepted it after many threats.
Due to Ali ibn Musa al-Rida’s disagreement with Al-Ma’mun, he left the city of Tus and finally, due to poisoning from poison died on September 5, 818 AD in Sanabad (the village where Harun al-Rashid is buried and today known as the city Mashhad is known.) . Many Shia sources hold Al-Ma’mun responsible for poisoning and murdering Ali ibn Musa al-Rida.
History of the shrine of Ali ibn Musa al-Rida
A very beautiful building, known today as Imam Reza shrine, was built in a place where there was another building before. Humayd ibn Qahtaba was the ruler of Khorasan during the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid. According to historical sources, the mansion where Ali ibn Musa al-Rida was buried in Sanabad after his death belonged to him and Harun al-Rashid was also buried there. After Ali ibn Musa al-Rida was buried in this place, the name of this area was changed to Mashhad. The reason for this name refers to the martyrdom of Ali ibn Musa al-Rida.
Due to the burial of Imam Reza in this place, many people came to live there and Sanabad turned from a small village into a big city. In the Ghaznavid era and in 993 AD, by order of Sebuktigin, one of the Ghaznavid sultans, Mashhad was completely destroyed, but 17 years later, Mahmud of Ghaznavi rebuilt the shrine of Imam Reza and built a new dome on it. In the Seljuk period, the Imam Reza shrine was rebuilt by Sultan Sanjar and other buildings were added around it.
Restoration and decoration of Imam Reza shrine
The expansion of the shrine of Imam Reza continued during the Khwarazm Shah period, and this time, the shrine was restored with tiling and other decorations were added to it. During this period, two prominent inscriptions of Thuluth, which are written in Naskh script, were placed at the entrance of the shrine of Imam Reza and in the Dar al-Huffaz section.
After the Mongols attacked Iran and massacred the Iranians, many of the survivors sought refuge in Imam Reza Shrine to escape from the Mongols and settled there. At this time, one of the Mongol commanders named Sultan Mohammad Khodabande Iljaito converted to Shia and during his rule over Iran, he rebuilt Imam Reza’s shrine for the fourth time.
Construction of new buildings
During the Timurid period, special attention was paid to the city of Mashhad. During his rule, Shahrukh Mirza regularly visited Mashhad and at the same time, his wife (Goharshad) built the Goharshad Mosque in the southern part of Imam Reza’s shrine.
Safavid era and making the Imam Reza shrine glorious
During the Safavid era, with the expansion of Twelve Imam Shia, special attention was paid to Imam Reza’s shrine. During the time of Shah Abbas I, Sahn Atiq was expanded. After the beginning of his reign, Shah Tahmasab started gilding and repairing the two minarets near the dome of the shrine with gold-coated bricks. These bricks were stolen during the Uzbek invasion, but Shah Abbas replaced them again with new golden bricks in 1601 AD.
In addition to the gilding of the two minarets, other artistic parts were also added to the shrine of Imam Reza. One of these sections had an enameled inscription written by Alireza Abbasi. Shah Abbas was very fond of Ali ibn Musa al-Rida and because of this, he added more buildings to his shrine. The northern, eastern and western porches, numerous cells are among these buildings. Two new porticoes, including the porticoes of Allah Vardi Khan and Hatem Khani, were also built at this time.
During the time of Shah Abbas II, the ancient court was repaired and tiled, in addition to that, the dome of the Imam Reza shrine, the northern porch of Goharshad Mosque and the prayer hall of this mosque were also completely repaired and then tiled.
Gilding of different parts of Imam Reza shrine
Nadershah Afshar was one of the Persian kings who attached great importance to decorations and artistic details and the use of jewels in various buildings. During his reign, the courtyards and porticoes of the shrine were decorated with the art of gilding. In addition to that, the minarets above the ancient court and also the porch of this court were completely repaired and gilded. Saqaqhana (a place to drink water that the public can use.) Ismail Talai was also built in the old courtyard during the time of Nader Shah, and the place to drink water in it was also made of the best type of marble.
Repairs and reconstruction of the shrine during the Qajar era
During the Qajar period, numerous repairs and renovations were done in different parts of Imam Reza’s shrine. During the time of Fath Ali Shah, the construction of a new court called Sahn Nu or Sahn Azadi began and it took until the time of Naser al-Din Shah to complete it. After the completion of the construction of this courtyard, by the order of Naser al-Din Shah, the new porch was completely gilded. The repairs of the ancient courtyard were also repaired during the time of Mohammad Shah Qajar.
During the Qajar period, a significant part of Imam Reza shrine was destroyed due to the Russian attack and bullet impact, but in the same year, most of the damage caused was repaired by Hossein Mirza Nir al-Doulah.
The changes of Imam Reza shrine during the Pahlavi period and after
At the beginning of Reza Pahlavi’s reign and in 1307, a 180 km radius area was added around the dome. Also, the stages of building buildings such as museum, ceremonial hall and library were also started and finished in this period. During the period of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the golden bricks of the dome were again plated with gold. Also, the interior of the shrine (in Farsi: Zarih: ضریح that is a metal structure that is located on the grave of Imam Reza) was completely restored.
The Imam Reza’s shrine expanded in the 50s and in addition to adding new buildings around it, the streets leading to the Imam Reza’s shrine were also changed to a great extent. After the revolution of 1979, the development of Imam Reza shrine was pursued more seriously. During this period, the golden bricks of the dome were replaced with new bricks. In addition, new buildings such as Quds Court, Islamic Republic Court, Razavi University of Sciences and several minarets and new porches were also added to the building of the Haram. In 1379, the shrine of Imam Reza was replaced by a new shrine (Sun Shrine).
Architecture of Imam Reza shrine
Ali ibn Musa al-Rida shrine is one of the most unique and largest religious places in Iran, where Iranian-Islamic architecture is used. Tiling is one of the first arts that will attract your attention after entering the shrine of Imam Reza. The use of azure or turquoise color in the tiles of the shrine, especially in the courtyards and the Goharshad Mosque, is one of the most beautiful and excellent examples of Iranian tiling. In these parts, mosaic tiles are used and all the corners and curved parts of the structure are well and artistically covered.
The use of regular and beautiful patterns, the patterns of lions, birds, the sun, dragons and other historical myths of Iran, along with the unique and artistic design of Iranian tilers, has given Imam Reza shrine a very beautiful appearance.
Āina-kāri of the inner parts of Imam Reza shrine
The use of mirrors to decorate the interior of buildings has a long history in Iranian architecture. The Āina-kāri of Imam Reza shrine started during the Safavid period and many parts of the interior of the shrine were covered by mirrors. During the Qajar period, with the continuation of this process, the other remaining parts were completed.
Besides the use of different materials to decorate the interior parts, metals such as gold are also widely used in the decoration and splendor of the Razavi shrine. The Atiq porch, the entrance door of the Atiq porch, the shrine and the two garlands around it are completely covered with gold. The reason for using gold for this purpose is to pay homage to Ali ibn Musa al-Rida because gold is one of the most precious metals and materials in the world. In addition, gold does not oxidize in reaction with oxygen and has a very good shelf life.
The history of the shrine (Zarih) of Ali ibn Musa al-Rida
The Zarih is a mesh structure that is currently placed on the grave of Imam Reza. This shrine is made of gold and silver and verses from the Quran are engraved on it through the art of Toreutics. According to historical sources, so far five shrines have been installed on the grave of Ali ibn Musa al-Rida. The first shrine was a wooden structure that was placed on the grave of Imam Reza during the Seljuk period by Sultan Sanjar. This shrine was similar to a very simple wooden box. During the Safavid era (Shah Ismail I or Shah Tahmasb I), a better wooden shrine replaced the previous shrine.
Negin-Nishan Shrine or Steel Shrine was built in 1747 AD by the son of Nader Shah. In addition to having many jewels for decoration, this shrine also had an inscription with Nastaliq script. During the time of Feth Ali Shah Qajar, the third shrine was installed on the grave of Imam Reza. The material of this shrine was made of steel and it was 5 meters long, 3 meters wide and 2 meters high. This shrine was made of 4 gridded parts of gold and its upper part was a combination of wood and gold and was decorated with various jewels.
In 1338, the fourth shrine of Imam Reza’s shrine, or Shir and Shukar shrine, was built by Abul Hasan Hafizian and Mohammad Taqi Zufan Isfahani and was installed on Imam Reza’s grave. This shrine was made of gold and silver. The construction of the fifth gold and silver shrine started in 1372 and it took 7 years to build. The design and supervision of the construction of this shrine was done by Mahmoud Farshchian and on March 16, 1379, this shrine was installed in the Razavi shrine and it is still standing today.
The fifth Zarih is made of steel and weighs 12 tons. The length of this shrine is 4.78 meters, its width is 3.73 meters and its height is 3.96 meters. Surah Al-Insan and Surah Ya-Sin are written in two inscriptions on this shrine. The art of Khatam-kari has been used on the roof and internal parts of the Imam Reza shrine body, and it is one of the most beautiful examples of the use of this art in the history of Iran.
Conclusion
The Imam Reza shrine is one of the masterpieces of authentic Iranian art, the example of which is rare in the world. The use of the arts of Kashi-Kari, Āina-kāri, Mina-kari, calligraphy, Tazhib (gilding), Khatam-kari and many Iranian handicrafts indicate the great respect that Iranians have for the 8th Imam of the Shiites. The Imam Rez’s shrine in Mashhad is one of the main destinations for tourists, and every year millions of Muslim and non-Muslim pilgrims travel to Mashhad to visit or visit this holy building.
