Monar Jonban: The Shaking-Minarets Mausoleum of Esfahan
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Iran
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Ilkhanate, Mongolian, Safavid
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Tomb
On this page12 sections
History
Monar Jonban is a mosque and mausoleum in Esfahan, Iran, built by the Ilkhanate as a shrine over the grave of the Sufi ascetic Amu Abdullah Suqla. The tomb was constructed in 1316 CE during the reign of Öljaitü, the Muslim ruler of the Ilkhanate, the Mongol dynasty that governed much of Iran in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Its first form consisted of an iwan, a large vaulted hall open on one side, positioned over the grave.
Ilkhanid foundation
Amu Abdullah is also identified as Abdullah ibn Muhammad and Amu Abdullah al-Karladani. He was regarded as a pious mystic who pursued religious discipline, devotion, and withdrawal from worldly life. The shrine was built in Karladan, a village then outside Esfahan on the road to Najafabad. A cemetery once surrounded the building, while Karladan has since been incorporated into the city. Monar Jonban now lies near Nasrabad.
The complex served as a tomb and a religious center. Ascetics and mystics used two small rooms in the building, known during its construction as Chelah Khanah, for ritual activity and seclusion. This association with religious retreat remained part of the monument’s historical character.
Safavid alterations
The paired minarets were added later, during the Safavid period, when the monument was renovated and acquired its final form. The Safavids ruled Iran from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and established Twelver Shi’ism as the state’s official form of Islam. The completed building is associated with both its earlier Ilkhanid foundation and its later Safavid architectural phase.
Final completion is attributed to Baha al-Din al-Amili, a prominent Safavid-era scholar associated with religious learning, architecture, and the sciences. The movement of the minarets appears to have become perceptible after they were added and was probably not an original deliberate purpose of the tomb. The name Monar Jonban, meaning “shaking minarets,” refers to the effect in which moving one minaret causes the other, and sometimes the rest of the building, to vibrate. This movement is understood through structural dynamics rather than supernatural power.
Preservation and historical status
Monar Jonban was added to Iran’s National Heritage List on 10 June 1942 under reference number 349. Restoration is recorded for 1380–1383 in the Iranian calendar. The monument is administered through Iran’s cultural-heritage authorities, and the Esfahan municipality is identified as its current owner. Its continuing historical interpretation rests on the combination of a saint’s tomb, a religious complex, and a remarkable structural response.
Remains
Monar Jonban is a compact structure centered on a single iwan containing the tomb, with two matching minarets rising from the building. The iwan is about 10 meters high and approximately 9 meters wide, while the monument is listed at about 13.6 meters in length and 13 meters in width. A small garden surrounds the iwan. Mongol masonry forms part of the building’s character, while the iwan and minarets also display Safavid influence through their later construction and decoration.
Central tomb and religious rooms
The iwan and graves
The iwan opens into the central space of the monument, and Amu Abdullah’s grave lies at its rear. A second grave is also located within the building. A marble stone marks Amu Abdullah’s burial place, with a border decorated by verses from the Quranic surah Yasin. A further marble inscription above the grave describes him as a pious ascetic and records his death in 1316 CE. The principal tombstone is separated from the interior by a glass barrier.
Chelah Khanah rooms
Two small Chelah Khanah rooms form part of the building. They were used by ascetics and mystics for ritual practices and periods of seclusion, linking the surviving interior spaces to the monument’s religious function.
Minarets and structural movement
Form and access
The two minarets are approximately 17.5 meters high and are topped by blue onion domes. Each is reached through a narrow entrance and a staircase that rises from the iwan to the roof and continues into the minaret. The stairways are closed to ordinary access. A caretaker is permitted to climb them and set the minarets in motion, which is demonstrated only at certain times.
Vibration system
The minarets are connected structurally to the building so that vibration can pass from one to the other. A gap of approximately 3 centimeters on each side between each minaret shaft and the roof allows the shaft to oscillate and transmit movement to the rest of the structure. Square wooden frames and braces at the upper and lower sections assist this motion. Relatively elastic bricks, mortar, timber, and tiles also contribute to the building’s flexible construction.
When one minaret moves, the other responds, and the central building can vibrate as well. Bells mounted on the minarets ring during the oscillation, making the movement easier to perceive. The arrangement has been compared to a tuning fork, because vibration introduced at one part travels through connected structural elements to the second minaret and the central building. Resonance, the amplification of vibration when a structure is acted on near its natural frequency, helps explain the effect.
Tile decoration
The monument’s surfaces are covered in blue and turquoise tiles. Their designs include four-pointed star forms, other polygonal motifs, and multi-sided turquoise elements. Together with the masonry, timber, mortar, and brickwork, these finishes belong to the surviving architectural expression of the Ilkhanid foundation and Safavid completion.
