Ilkhanate: Sites and Map

Ilkhanid sites preserve royal tombs, palaces, mosques and schools across Iran and neighbouring lands. They also include buildings commissioned by regional Christian patrons, showing the variety of institutions and communities living under Mongol rule.

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Soltaniyeh: a monumental royal tomb

The Dome of Soltaniyeh was built in the early fourteenth century as the mausoleum of the Ilkhanid ruler Öljaitü. Its octagonal brick structure carries a vast double-shell dome, with slender minarets rising around the upper level.

The two-shell construction separates the dome’s inner and outer surfaces. Turquoise tiles colour the exterior, while the interior preserves plasterwork, painted decoration and tilework. The mausoleum formed part of an imperial capital, making a permanent royal monument within a city developed by the dynasty.

Takht-e Soleyman: a palace within an older sanctuary

At Takht-e Soleyman, the ruler Abaqa created a summer residence among the remains of a Sasanian religious and royal complex. The site surrounds a spring-fed lake within a fortified enclosure, where earlier buildings had served one of the principal Zoroastrian sanctuaries of Iran.

Ilkhanid construction reused that imposing setting rather than beginning on an empty site. Palace remains and decorative material belong to the Mongol-period occupation, while the fire-temple foundations and much of the earlier layout preserve Sasanian history. Their relationship explains the site’s distinctive combination of religious inheritance and renewed royal use.

Natanz: worship, burial and a Sufi community

The Jameh Mosque of Natanz developed around the grave of the Sufi teacher Abd al-Samad, who died in 1299. A mosque, mausoleum, khanqah and minaret followed during the early fourteenth century. A khanqah provided a setting for the communal and devotional life of Sufis, Muslims pursuing a disciplined spiritual path.

The mosque has a courtyard framed by four iwans, vaulted halls open on one side. These large openings organise the surrounding prayer spaces. The adjoining tomb and community buildings bring worship, commemoration and religious instruction into a single complex, built through several closely spaced campaigns.

Isfahan: an intricate stucco prayer niche

The Jameh Mosque of Isfahan had already developed over centuries before the Ilkhanids. One of their clearest additions is the stucco mihrab commissioned under Öljaitü in 1310. A mihrab is a niche marking the direction of prayer toward Mecca.

Carved plaster allowed dense patterns and inscriptions to cover the surface around the niche. This relatively focused addition could transform the appearance of a prayer space within a much older mosque. The courtyard’s two-level arcades also reflect Ilkhanid alteration, while many other domes, halls and decorative surfaces belong to different dynasties.

Yakutiye: a school in eastern Anatolia

The Yakutiye Medrese in Erzurum was built in 1310 under Ilkhanid rule. A medrese, or madrasa, was an institution for advanced religious learning. Here student rooms surround a covered central space, with vaulted halls opening from it.

The projecting stone entrance is richly carved, and the surviving minaret uses glazed and unglazed bricks to create geometric patterns. The enclosed plan gave the school a different architectural setting from the open mosque courtyard at Natanz, while both supplied spaces for organised religious activity and learning.

Noravank: Armenian patronage under Mongol rule

Noravank in Armenia was supported by the Orbelian princely family. After Mongol attacks in the thirteenth century, the monastery was repaired and expanded under local patrons, including the rebuilding of its gavit in 1261.

A gavit is an entrance hall attached to an Armenian church, used for gatherings and often for burials. At Noravank it connects the church with the commemoration of princes, clergy and scholars. The monastery’s work belonged to an Armenian Christian institution operating within the Mongol political world, complementing the royal and Muslim foundations elsewhere in the collection.

The map markers and grid cards open the individual site articles, including the dated Ilkhanid work and neighbouring building traditions.

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