The "Shah Mosque" also known as "Emam Mosque" is a mosque in Isfahan,Iran, standing in south side of Naghsh-e Jahan Square. Built during the Safavid period, ordered by the first Shah Abbas of Persia.
It is regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian Architecture and an excellent example of Islamic era architecture of Iran. The Shah Mosque of Esfahan is one of the everlasting masterpieces of architecture in Iran. It is registered, along with the Naghsh-e Jahan Square, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
ts construction began in 1611, and its splendor is mainly due to the beauty of its seven-colour mosaic tiles and calligraphic inscriptions.
The chief architect of this colossal task of urban planning was Shaykh Bahai
the Shah Mosque was constructed not only with vision of grandeur, having the largest dome in the city, but Shaykh Bahai also planned the construction of two religious schools and a winter mosque clamped at either side of it.
The four-iwan format, finalized by the Seljuq dynasty, and inherited by the Safavids, firmly established the courtyard facade of such mosques, with the towering gateways at every side, as more important than the actual building itself.
Standing in the public square, or Maidan, the entrance-iwan (gateway) to the mosque takes the form of a semicircle, resembling a recessed half-moon and measuring 27 meters in height, the arch framed by turquoise ornament and decorated with rich stalactite tilework, a distinct feature of Persian Islamic architecture.
The distinct feature of any mosque is the minaret, and the Masjed-e Shah has four.
The Masjed-e Shah was a huge structure, said to contain 18 million bricks and 475,000 tiles, having cost the Shah 60,000 tomans to build. It employed the new haft rangi (seven-colour) style of tile mosaic.
The architect of the mosque is reported to be ″Ostad Ali Akbar Esfahani″.
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