Malek Tomb: An Ilkhanid-Period Funerary Tower in Iran
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Iran
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Ilkhanate
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Tomb
On this page8 sections
History
Malek Tomb is an octagonal funerary monument in Sonqor, Iran, generally attributed to the Ilkhanid period, the era of Mongol rule in Iran and neighboring regions during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Its construction date is unknown, and it has also been associated with the Seljuk and Timurid periods. The tomb stands on a hill in the center of the city and is classified as part of Iran’s Islamic heritage.
Date and Identity
The person buried at Malek Tomb has not been identified. An older attribution to Malik al-Ashtar, a prominent early Islamic military commander and supporter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, is regarded as mistaken. Another interpretation connects the burial with a person named Sonqor, described as a ruler of the city. Neither attribution establishes the date of construction, although the Ilkhanid period is considered the most probable setting.
Restoration and Later History
The monument was restored in 1359. A further restoration program announced in Dey 1398 proposed work on the dome, replacement of rain gutters, repairs to parts of the crypt, replacement of the entrances to the tomb and crypt, and renewal of the mortar joints between the masonry units. Landscaping around the monument, including paving, platforms, and planting beds, was completed in Dey 1403.
The tomb has also experienced loss and disturbance. An approximately eight-kilogram chain that once hung from the ceiling was reportedly stolen in 1379 after someone believed it was made of gold. Fires lit inside the tomb had completely blackened the chain. In 1370, the local elder Ruhollah Ketabollahi described a nighttime theft that had taken place about 30 years earlier. According to his account, unidentified Iranian and foreign individuals entered the crypt by removing the stone in front of its entrance and took historical objects, including jewelry, candlesticks, gold objects, and marble stones.
During cleaning of the crypt in 1346, 25 undecorated wooden coffins were reportedly found in a brick-lined and mortared burial area beneath the tomb. The bodies had been buried according to Islamic practice and were considerably more recent than the monument itself. Photographs of the coffins were confirmed in 1393 to be held by the Center for the Documents of the Islamic Revolution, but their later destination is unknown. A gravestone inscription found in the cemetery around the tomb in 1390 is now kept at the Sonqor Museum of Anthropology.
A purported underground tunnel linking Malek Tomb with Imamzadeh Ahmad, a shrine or tomb associated with a descendant of a Shiite imam, remains unverified. Cultural-heritage authorities have suggested that it may instead be an old qanat, an underground water channel carried through a gently sloping tunnel. Any archaeological investigation would require authorization from Iran’s Archaeological Research Institute.
Remains
Octagonal Tower
Upper Structure
Malek Tomb has a tower-like octagonal plan on a hill in central Sonqor. Each of its eight sides measures approximately 3.5 meters. The upper section is built of brick and is crowned by a brick dome. Its sides contain blind arches, which are recessed decorative arches that do not form open passages. Each arch has a pointed profile, with brickwork decoration inside and turquoise-colored tiles across the roughly triangular areas between the arches and their frames.
Lower Crypt
The lower part of the monument is constructed from hewn stone and contains an octagonal crypt with a domed covering. The crypt includes a brick-lined and mortared burial area, where the 25 wooden coffins were found during cleaning in 1346. The tomb currently has an entrance to the upper level, while the entrance to the crypt has been closed since 1359 and cannot be accessed.
One account describes two further levels below the upper floor, making three levels in all. In this arrangement, the lowest level reaches the crypt through a square opening in the upper floor, followed by a long stairway descending through the middle level. The opening or stairs may no longer be usable because of erosion affecting the walls and steps, or the passage may no longer exist.
Cemetery Evidence
The cemetery surrounding the tomb produced a gravestone inscription in 1390. The inscription is preserved at the Sonqor Museum of Anthropology, linking material from the surrounding burial area with the monument’s continuing archaeological interpretation.
