Significance of Conical and Polyhedral Domes in Persia and Surrounding Areas: Morphology, Typologies and Geometric Characteristics

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify the unique features of the conical and polyhedral domes which topped a majority of distinct tomb towers during the early Islamic era. As opposed to previous general historic studies, this paper introduces a new analytical approach which allows the complete comprehension of the formal architectural language of conical and polyhedral domes based on an epistemological premise of their space syntax. Through an analytic review of selected examples, the paper suggests and addresses the origin of conical domes, their formal morphological compositions and typological forms based on the number of their external shells from the Seljuk era throughout the Timurid period in Iran and nearby regions. The theoretical framework for the formal language of conical and polyhedral domes sheds new light on undiscovered information about the essential characteristics of Persian domes in this region.

Maryam Ashkan was born in Iran in 1978, and graduated with the M. Arch degree in 2003 from Qazvin Azad University, Dept. of Architecture and Urban Design. After receiving her master’s degree, she started her professional career as an architect in local architectural firms until 2006. In August 2010, she received her Ph.D. in architectural history from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, in the Faculty of Built Environment. She has also published several academic papers on historic Eastern domes in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Associate Professor Dr. Yahaya Ahmad received his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (1986), Master of Construction Management (1987) and Master of Architecture (1988) from Washington University, USA; and his Ph.D in Conservation Management from the University of Liverpool, UK (2004). He has published many academic papers on conservation and is directly involved in many conservation projects. He was involved in the drafting of the National Heritage Act (2005) Malaysia, headed the nomination team to prepare the nomination dossier for Melaka and George Town for listing on the World Heritage List, and headed expert teams in the re-construction of Melaka fort. He was seconded to the Department of National Heritage as Deputy Commissioner of Heritage Malaysia 2007–2009, and was elected as ICCROM Council Member 2007–2011.