{{Short description|Structure in Iranian and Islamic architecture}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
[[File:Mir-i-Arab Medressa (8145368475).jpg|thumb|330px|Multiple iwans and tiled domes of the 16th-century Persian-style [[Po-i-Kalyan#Mir-i Arab Madrassah|Mir-i-Arab madrasa]], [[Bukhara]], Uzbekistan]] An '''iwan''' ({{langx|fa|ایوان|eyvān}}, also ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān;'' {{langx|ar|إيوان|’īwān}})<ref name=Wright508>{{harvp|Wright|1992|p=508}}</ref><ref name=Boas266>{{harvp|Boas|2010|p=366}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://azerdict.com/izahli-luget/eyvan|title=Eyvan|website=azerdict.com|language=az|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505115248/https://azerdict.com/izahli-luget/eyvan|archive-date=May 5, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=May 5, 2019}}</ref> is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called '''{{transliteration|fa|pishtaq}}''', a [[Persian language|Persian]] term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with [[Islamic calligraphy|calligraphy]] bands, [[Zellij|glazed tilework]], and [[Islamic geometric patterns|geometric designs]].<ref>[https://archnet.org/library/dictionary/entry.jsp?entry_id=DIA0502 Dictionary of Islamic architecture: Pishtaq] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172823/https://archnet.org/library/dictionary/entry.jsp?entry_id=DIA0502 |date=2011-06-29 }} archnet.org.</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/461774/pishtaq Pishtaq] ''[[Britannica.com]]''.</ref> Since the definition allows for some interpretation, the overall forms and characteristics can vary greatly in terms of scale, material, or decoration.
Iwans are most commonly associated with [[Islamic architecture]]; however, the form is pre-Islamic [[Persian architecture|Iranian]] in origin and was invented much earlier and fully developed in [[Mesopotamia]] around the third century CE, during the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian era]].
==Etymology== ''Iwan'' is a Persian word that was subsequently borrowed into other languages such as [[Arabic]] and [[Turkish language|Turkish]].<ref name=":052">{{Cite book |last=Grabar |first=Iwan |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |year=1997 |isbn=9789004161214 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |volume=4 |location= |pages= |chapter=Īwān |editor-last2=Bianquis |editor-first2=Th. |editor-last3=Bosworth |editor-first3=C.E. |editor-last4=van Donzel |editor-first4=E. |editor-last5=Heinrichs |editor-first5=W.P.}}</ref> The [[New Persian]] form is ''eyvān'' and its etymology is unclear.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5qxtAAAAMAAJ&q=doubtful+etymology+14 |title=Northern Akkad Project Reports |date=1991 |publisher=University of Ghent |pages=78 |language=en}}</ref>
A theory by scholars like [[Ernst Herzfeld]] and [[Walter Bruno Henning]] proposed that the root of this term is [[Old Persian]] {{transliteration|peo|apadāna}}, but this is no longer taken for granted.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grabar |first=Oleg |date=2011 |orig-date=1987 |title=AYVĀN |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/ayvan-palace |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":052" /> The word {{transliteration|peo|apadāna}} appears in what modern scholars call the [[Apadana]] palace at [[Persepolis]], where king [[Darius I]] declares in an inscription: "I, Darius, ... had this {{transliteration|peo|apadāna}} constructed". In this case, the word denoted a type of structure, the iwan proper and not the palace.
The term in Old Persian means "unprotected",{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} and the design allows the structure to be open to the elements on one side. At Persepolis, however, the {{transliteration|peo|apadāna}} takes the form of a [[veranda]] (a flat roof held up by columns rather than a vault) but is still open to the elements on only one side.
By the time of the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] and the [[Sasanian Empire]]s, the iwan had emerged as two types of structure: the old columned one and a newer vaulted structure; both, however, carrying the same native name of apadana/iwan, because both types are open on one side to the elements.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}
''Ivan'' is an alternative form of the name, used in Iran, reflecting the Persian pronunciation.<ref>{{harvp|Sitwell|1957}}</ref>
==Origins== Many scholars, including Edward Keall, André Godard, Roman Ghirshman, and Mary Boyce, discuss the invention of the iwan in Mesopotamia, the area around today's [[Iraq]]. Although debate remains among scholars as to how the iwan developed, there is a general consensus that the iwan evolved locally, and was thus not imported from another area.<ref>{{harvp|Keall|1974|pp= 129–130}}.</ref><ref group="Note">Some scholars have claimed that the iwan developed not in Mesopotamia, but in [[Nisa, Turkmenistan|Nisaea]] (the ancient Parthian capital) where it was a result of Greek workers living and working in Parthia. For more information on the Nisaea theory, see {{harvp|Curatola|Scarcia|2004|p= 57}}.</ref> Similar structures, known as "pesgams", were found in many [[Zoroastrians in Iran|Zoroastrian]] homes in [[Yazd]], where two or four halls would open onto a central court; however, it is not known whether these spaces were vaulted.<ref>{{harvp|Keall|1974|p= 126}}</ref>
The feature which most distinctly makes the iwan a landmark development in the history of Ancient Near Eastern architecture is the incorporation of a [[Vault (architecture)|vault]]ed ceiling. A vault is a ceiling made from arches, known as [[arcuated]], usually constructed with stone, concrete, or bricks.<ref>Doulas Harper, "Vault", last modified 2010, www.dictionary.com.</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2018}} Earlier buildings would normally be covered in a [[post and lintel|trabeated]] manner, with [[post and lintel]] beams. However, vaulted ceilings did exist in the ancient world before the invention of the iwan, both within Mesopotamia and outside it. Mesopotamian examples include [[Susa]], where the [[Elam]]ites vaulted many of their buildings with [[barrel vaults]], and [[Nineveh]], where the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] frequently vaulted their passages for fortification purposes.<ref name="Keall, Early Iwans, 124">{{harvp|Keall|1974|p= 124}}</ref>
Outside Mesopotamia, a number of extant vaulted structures stand, including many examples from [[Ancient Egypt]], [[Rome]], and the [[Mycenaeans]]. For example, the Mycenaean [[Treasury of Atreus]], constructed around 1250 BCE, features a large [[corbel]]led dome. [[Ancient Egyptian architecture]] began to use vaulting in its structures after the Third Dynasty, after around 2600 BCE, constructing very early barrel vaults using mud bricks.<ref>{{harvp|Smith|Simpson|1998|pp= 18, 82}} </ref>
Iwans were a trademark of the [[Parthian Empire]] (247 BC – AD 224) and later the [[Sasanian architecture]] of [[Persia]] (224–651), later finding their way throughout the Arab and [[Islamic architecture]] which started developing in 7th century AD, after the period of [[Muhammad]] ({{circa|570}}–632).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archnet.org/library/dictionary/entry.jsp?entry_id=DIA0162&mode=full|title=Dictionary of Islamic architecture: Ivvan|publisher=archnet.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172834/https://archnet.org/library/dictionary/entry.jsp?entry_id=DIA0162&mode=full|archive-date=2011-06-29}}</ref> This development reached its peak during the [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk era]], when iwans became a fundamental unit in architecture, and later the [[Mughal architecture]].<ref name="Farrokh173">{{harvp|Farrokh|2007|p=173}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Warren|Fethi|1982|p=30}}</ref> The form is not confined to any particular function, and is found in buildings for either secular or religious uses, and in both public and residential architecture.
==Parthian iwans== [[File:Crazy Troop Visit Ancient Ruins of Hatra 2.jpg|thumb|View of an iwan at [[Hatra]] (present-day Iraq)]] Although some scholars have asserted that the iwan form may have developed under the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucids]], today most scholars agree that the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]] were the inventors of the iwan.<ref group="Note">Although the Parthians have been credited with the invention of the first fully developed iwan, there have been claims that some iwan-like forms existed during the Seleucid period in Mesopotamia, namely at Dura Europos. F. E. Brown claimed that an iwan-type hall may have existed in the Temple of Zeus Megistos; however it has been contested. Many scholars believe that any iwans built at the Temple were likely later Parthian additions. Brown argued that the Temple of Zeus Megistos could have been modeled after the triple-iwan terraces at Masjid-I Solaiman or Bard-è Néchandeh, both of which archaeologist Roman Ghirshman claimed to date from the Achaemenid Persians; however, in later excavations Ghirshman discovered that both terraces did not in fact support iwan structures. Susan Downey argues that both the date and the western location make any early iwans at Dura Europos unlikely. Every other iwan from before the Sasanian period is found further east, such as at Hatra, Ashur, or Seleucia-on-the-Tigris. For more information on the claimed Seleucid iwans, see {{harvp|Downey|1988|pp=78–85}}.</ref>{{Citation needed|date=September 2022|reason=This footnote contains extensive discussion and refers to various authors, but without accompanying citations. A note at the end suggesting to consult a source for further reading is insufficient and unclear for verifiability purposes. If all of this information (including the summary of works by other authors) comes from the Downey source, please make this explicit with one or more full citations (see Wikipedia guideline at WP:SAYWHERE); otherwise please include the relevant citations for each author and for each significant claim.}} One of the earliest Parthian iwans was found at [[Seleucia| Seleucia (Seleucia-on-the-Tigris)]], located on the [[Tigris River]], where the shift from post-and-lintel construction to vaulting occurred around the 1st century CE.<ref name="Keall, Early Iwans, 124"/> Other early iwans have been suggested at Ashur, where two buildings containing iwan-like foundations were found. The first building, located near the ruins of a [[ziggurat]], featured a three-iwan façade.<ref name="Downey_151">{{harvp|Downey|1988|p=151}}</ref> The proximity of the building to a ziggurat suggests that it may have been used for religious preparations or rituals.<ref name="Downey_151"/> It could also indicate a palatial building, as it was common for the ziggurat and palace to be situated next to one another in the Ancient Near East. What seems to be a palace courtyard had iwans on each side, which remained a common features well into Islamic times.<ref name="Rawson, 46">Rawson, 46</ref>
The second iwan building is located across a courtyard, and Walter Andrae, a German archaeologist, suggested that it served as an administrative building rather than as a religious center because there is no evidence of inscriptions or wall carvings.<ref>{{harvp|Downey|1988|p=152}}</ref> Although the absence of inscriptions or carvings does not equate necessarily to a civic function, it was not uncommon for iwans to serve a secular use, as they were frequently incorporated into palaces and community spaces.<ref>{{harvp|Curatola|Scarcia|2004|pp=56–61}}</ref> Other early sites including Parthian iwans include [[Hatra]], the Parthian ruins at [[Dura Europos]], and [[Uruk]].<ref>{{harvp|Downey|1988|pp=137–173}}</ref>
==Sasanian iwans== The [[Sasanian Empire]] also favored the iwan form, and adopted it into much of their architecture; however, they transformed the function. The Parthian iwan led to other spaces, but its primary function served as a room itself. In contrast, the Sasanian iwan served as a grand entranceway to a larger, more elegant space which was usually domed.<ref>{{harvp|Curatola|Scarcia|2004|p=92}}</ref> Both the Parthian and Sasanian iwans were often elaborately decorated with inscriptions and sculpted reliefs including scenes of hunting, vegetal motifs, abstract, geometric patterns, and animal scenes.<ref>{{harvp|Curatola|Scarcia|2004|pp=94–104}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Downey|1988|pp=156–170}}</ref> The reliefs’ style shows a blend of influences including other Near Eastern cultures, [[Ancient Rome|Roman]], and [[Byzantine]] decorative traditions.<ref>{{harvp|Curatola|Scarcia|2004|pp=92–96}}</ref> For instance, the rock-cut iwan at [[Taq-e Bostan]] features Roman style figures, Eastern-inspired vegetal patterns and crenellations, and wide-eyed, stylized Byzantine-esque angels and mosaic interiors.
<gallery heights="150"> File:Taq-e Bustan II Iwan (4690189031).jpg|[[Taq-e Bostan]] File:Firuz abad iwan.jpg|The iwan of the [[Palace of Ardashir]] </gallery>
===<span class="anchor" id="The Iwan of Khosrau"></span>Iwan of Khosrau=== [[File:ArchOfCtesiphon.jpg|thumb|right|[[Taq Kasra]], [[Ctesiphon]], Iraq, {{circa|540}}]]
The most famous example of a Sasanian iwan is the [[Taq Kasra]] ("Iwan of Khosrau"), part of a palace complex in [[Mada'in]], which is the only visible remaining structure of the ancient Sasanian capital of [[Ctesiphon]]. It is near the modern town of [[Salman Pak]], [[Iraq]], on the Tigris River about twenty-five miles south of Baghdad. Construction began during the reign of [[Khosrau I]] after a campaign against the Eastern Romans in 540 AD.<ref name=Julian185>{{harvp|Reade|1999|pp=185–186}}</ref> The arched iwan hall, open on the facade side, was about 37 meters high 26 meters across and 50 meters long, the largest [[vault (architecture)|vault]] ever constructed at the time.<ref>Iran, Seven Faces of Civilization - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtcE37IIqfQ</ref> Early photographs and 19th-century drawings show that the remaining part of the hall has reduced since then.
The dating for the Taq Kasra has been debated throughout history; however, a variety of documents detailing the arrival of Byzantine sculptors and architects sent by the Byzantine Emperor [[Justinian]], suggest that the correct date for the construction is around 540 CE.<ref name="Kurz">{{harvp|Kurz|1941|pp=38–40}}</ref> The 540 date suggests that the construction of the Taq Kasra, and perhaps Justinian's “help” was in response to the victory of Sasanian king Khosrau I over [[Antioch]] in 540, which is depicted in the mosaics decorating the interior of the Taq Kasra.<ref name="Kurz"/> The Taq Kasra was finally demolished for the most part by al-Mansur, who reused the bricks to build his palace complex.<ref>{{harvp|Bier|1993|pp=63–64}}</ref>
==Islamic iwans== [[File:Taj Mahal, Agra views from around (55).JPG|thumb|The [[Taj Mahal]] in [[Agra]], India (17th century), uses iwans for both entrances and decorative features.]] [[Islamic art]] and architecture was also heavily influenced inspired by Roman, Byzantine, and Sasanian designs, both due to the presence of extant examples and contact between cultures. For example, the [[Umayyad Mosque|Great Mosque of Damascus]] was built in the early eighth century CE on the site of a Roman Christian church, and incorporates a [[nave]]-like element with a tall arcade and [[clerestory]]. The Sasanian Empire also had a tremendous impact on the development of Islamic architecture; however, there was some overlap between the Sasanians and the Muslims making it difficult at times to determine who was influencing whom.<ref>{{harvp|Bier|1993|pp=58–61}}</ref> Islamic art and architecture borrowed many Sasanian decorative motifs and architectural forms, including the iwan.
Iwans were used frequently in Islamic non-religious architecture before the twelfth century, including houses, community spaces, and civic structures such as the bridge of [[Si-o-se-pol]] in [[Isfahan]].<ref>{{harvp|Curatola|Scarcia|2004|pp=129–135}}</ref> Furthermore, Islamic architecture incorporated the Sasanian placement for the iwan by making it a grand entrance to the prayer hall or to a mosque tomb, and often placing it before a domed space.<ref>{{harvp|Bier|1993|p=57}}</ref> The iwan became common in Islamic religious architecture from the twelfth century onward.<ref name=":0522" /><ref name=":24" />
Within the [[Islamic world]] the iwan was especially important in the architecture of [[Central Asia]] and [[Greater Iran]], but it was also adopted into the local architectural traditions of other regions. It was highly adaptable and it appears in a variety of contexts and in different configurations.<ref name=":24" /> Iwans could be placed along the sides of the interior courtyards of buildings, as they were in many [[madrasa]]s, or on the exterior of buildings, as at the [[Taj Mahal]] and other [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] mausoleums.<ref name="Rawson, 46" /><ref name=":0522" />
Under the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubids]] and [[Mamluk]]s, who ruled Egypt and the [[Levant]]ine region, it became a common feature of madrasa architecture, although in [[Cairo]] the vaulted iwans of earlier periods were replaced with flat-roofed iwans in the later Mamluk period.{{Sfn|Behrens-Abouseif|2007|p=73-77}}{{Sfn|Williams|2018|p=30}} Starting in the late 13th and 14th centuries, the word ''iwan'' in Mamluk Egypt itself seems to have been become more restricted, on the one hand, to secular architecture while, on the other hand, it was used in this context to denote large domed structures in addition to vaulted halls.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Rabbat |first=Nasser |date=1993 |title=Mamluk Throne Halls: "Qubba" or "Iwān?" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4629449 |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=23 |pages=201–218|jstor=4629449 }}</ref> The celebrated monumental throne hall of Sultan [[al-Nasir Muhammad]] was thus called the [[Great Iwan]] (''al-Iwan al-Kabir'') even though its main element was a domed hall, not a vaulted hall.<ref name=":1" /> <gallery widths="150" heights="150"> File:Ardestan Jame mosque.jpg|alt=|Iwans in the [[Jameh Mosque of Ardestan|Friday Mosque of Ardestan]], Iran, added in 12th century by the Seljuks File:Divrigi hospital interior DSCF2933.jpg|alt=|Iwan inside the [[Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital|Hospital of Divriği]], Turkey, built in [[Anatolia]] under [[Sultanate of Rum|Seljuk domination]] in the 13th century File:Aleppo Madrasa Firdows 0208.jpg|Iwan in the [[Al-Firdaws Madrasa]] in [[Aleppo]], Syria, built by the Ayyubids in the 13th century File:SamarkandBibiKhanym.jpg|Iwan entrance of the [[Bibi-Khanym Mosque]] in [[Samarkand]], Uzbekistan, built by [[Timur]] in the early 15th century File:Cairo, moschea di al-ghouri, interno 02.JPG|alt=|Qibla-side iwan of the [[Sultan Al-Ghuri Complex|Madrasa of al-Ghuri]] (early 16th century) in [[Cairo]], Egypt, an example of an iwan with a flat roof in [[Mamluk architecture]] File:Irnr147-Isfahan-Meczet Sułtana Lotfollaha.jpg|Iwan entrance of the [[Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque]] in [[Isfahan]], Iran, built under the [[Safavid Iran|Safavids]] in the early 17th century File:Khane Amerian iwan.jpg|Iwan of the [[Āmeri House]] in [[Kashan]], Iran (18th century) </gallery>
===Four-iwan plan=== {{anchor|four-iwan plan}} [[File:20180301124354 IMG 4179And6more Interior 3.jpg|thumb|The courtyard of the [[Jameh Mosque of Isfahan|Great Mosque of Isfahan]], one of the earliest and most prominent uses of the four-iwan plan in mosque architecture, introduced in the early 12th century<ref name=":172" />]] The '''four-iwan plan''' (cruciform) is one of the most characteristic floor plans of Islamic architecture,<ref name=":0522" /><ref name=":243" /> consisting of four iwans arranged around a central square or rectangular courtyard ({{transliteration|ar|[[durqāʿa]]}} or {{transliteration|ar|[[ṣaḥn]]}}), with the iwans aligned with the central axes of the courtyard. For cruciform mosques and [[cruciform madrasa]]s, one of the iwans could be oriented towards the [[qibla]] (direction of prayer) and include a [[mihrab]] in order to serve as a prayer space.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blair |first1=Sheila |last2=Bloom |first2=Jonathan M. |title=The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250–1800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-mhIgewDtNkC&pg=PA226 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-300-06465-0 }}</ref>
The history of the evolution of the standard four-iwan plan has been debated by scholars.<ref name=":0">{{harvp|Godard|1951|p=}}</ref><ref name=":24" /> The four-iwan plan was already in use in palace and temple architecture during both the Parthian and Sasanian periods.<ref name="Keall, Early Iwans, 124" /><ref name="Rawson, 46" /> The earliest known appearance of the four-iwan plan in Islamic architecture is at the ''dār al-imāra'' (governor's palace) in [[Kufa]], as rebuilt by the Umayyad governor Ziyād ibn Abīh in the late 7th century.<ref name=":0522">{{Cite book |last=Tabbaa |first=Yasser |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |language=en |chapter=Architecture |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref> It only became common in mosque design in the twelfth century, long after the iwan's invention in the first century CE.<ref>{{harvp|Keall|1974|p=123}}</ref>
The first patrons to incorporate this layout into mosques were the Seljuks, with the first example probably being the Seljuk modifications to the [[Jameh Mosque of Isfahan|Great Mosque of Isfahan]] in the early 12th century, though the layout also appears in other mosques in Iran built or renovated by the Seljuks around the same time.{{sfn|Ettinghausen|Grabar|Jenkins-Madina|2001|p=140-144}}<ref name=":172">{{Cite book |last1=Blair |first1=Sheila |title=Islam: Art and Architecture |last2=Bloom |first2=Jonathan |publisher=h.f.ullmann |year=2011 |isbn=9783848003808 |editor-last=Hattstein |editor-first=Markus |location= |pages=368–369 |chapter=The Friday Mosque at Isfahan |editor-last2=Delius |editor-first2=Peter}}</ref><ref name=":24">{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last=M. Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan |location= |pages=337 |chapter=Iwan |editor-last2=S. Blair |editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref> [[André Godard]] attributes both the origin and spread of this design to the appearance of madrasas, which also began with the Seljuks, and he further argued that the layout was derived from the style of domestic architecture indigenous to [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":24" /> The details of Godard's origin theory have not all been accepted by other scholars,<ref name=":244">{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last=M. Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan |location= |pages= |chapter=Architecture; V. c. 900–c. 1250; A. Eastern Islamic lands; 2. Iran, c. 1050–c. 1250. |editor-last2=S. Blair |editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref> but it is widely-attested that the four-iwan layout spread to other regions with the subsequent proliferation of madrasas across the Islamic world.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan M. |chapter=Madrasa |editor-last2=Blair |editor-first2=Sheila S.}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=Pedersen |first1=J. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |last2=Makdisi |first2=G. |last3=Rahman |first3=Munibur |last4=Hillenbrand |first4=R. |publisher=Brill |year=2012 |chapter=Madrasa}}</ref><ref name=":0522" /> In some regions it also spread to other building types such as [[caravanserai]]s and [[bimaristan]]s.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":0522" /><ref name=":243">{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last=M. Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan |location= |pages= |chapter=Architecture |editor-last2=S. Blair |editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref>
In the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods of Egypt and Syria the four-iwan plan was prominently used in the architecture of madrasas, with the most monumental example being the massive 14th-century [[Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan|Madrasa-mosque of Sultan Hasan]].{{Sfn|Behrens-Abouseif|2007|p=}}{{Sfn|Williams|2018|p=}}<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Blair|first1=Sheila S.|title=The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800|last2=Bloom|first2=Jonathan M.|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1995|isbn=9780300064650|location=|pages=}}</ref> In some more distant regions, like the [[Maghreb]], the four-iwan plan was not commonly adopted for mosque architecture,<ref name=":0522" /> but it most likely influenced the axial designs of local madrasas that began under [[Marinid Sultanate|Marinid]] and [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsid]] rule.{{Sfn|Marçais|1954|p=285, 293}}<ref name=":242">{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last=M. Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan |location= |pages= |chapter=Architecture; VI. c. 1250–c. 1500; D. Western Islamic lands. |editor-last2=S. Blair |editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref><ref name=":0522" /> In [[early Ottoman architecture]], particularly as it developed in [[Bursa]] around the 14th century, the four-iwan plan was adapted in a pragmatic way for religious buildings. In these early Ottoman designs the central court is covered by a dome instead of being open to the sky and one of the four iwans is repurposed as the vestibule of the building.<ref name=":0522" /> <gallery widths="150" heights="150"> File:Çifte Minareli Medrese (Erzurum) Courtyard 026.jpg|alt=|[[Çifte Minareli Medrese (Erzurum)|Çifte Minareli Medrese]] (13th century) in [[Erzurum]], Turkey, a variation of the four-iwan plan in [[Anatolian Seljuk architecture]] File:مسجد و مدرسة السلطان حسن - Mosque and school of Sultan Hassan.jpg|Four-iwan layout at the [[Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan|Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan]] (14th century) in Cairo, Egypt File:Green Mosque DSCF1116.jpg|alt=|Interior of the [[Green Mosque, Bursa|Green Mosque]] (14th century) in [[Bursa]], Turkey, an example of the modified four-iwan plan in early Ottoman architecture </gallery>
==See also== * {{annotated link|Exedra}} * {{annotated link|Liwan}}
==Notes== {{Reflist|group=Note}}
===References=== {{Reflist|21em}}
===Bibliography=== {{refbegin|32em}} * {{Cite book|last=Behrens-Abouseif|first=Doris|title=Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and its Culture|publisher=The American University in Cairo Press|year=2007|isbn=9789774160776}} * {{cite journal |last=Bier |first=Lionel |year=1993 |title=The Sassanian Palaces and their influence in Early Islam |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=23 |pages=57–66 }} * {{cite book |last=Boas |first=Adrian J. |year=2010 |title=Domestic Settings: Sources on Domestic Architecture and Day-to-Day Activities in the Crusader States |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-18272-1 }} * {{cite book |last1=Curatola |first1=Giovanni |first2=Gianroberto |last2=Scarcia |year=2004 |title=The Art and Architecture of Persia |translator-first= Marguerite |translator-last= Shore |location=London |publisher=Abbeville Press }} * {{cite book |last=Downey |first=Susan B. |year=1988 |title=Mesopotamian Religious Architecture: Alexander through the Parthians |location=Princeton, NJ |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691035895 }} * {{Cite book|last1=Ettinghausen|first1=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1uWZAzN_VcC&pg=PP1|title=Islamic Art and Architecture: 650–1250|last2=Grabar|first2=Oleg|last3=Jenkins-Madina|first3=Marilyn|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2001|isbn=9780300088670|edition=2nd}} * {{cite book |last=Farrokh |first=Kaveh |year=2007 |title=Shadows in the desert: ancient Persia at war |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84603-108-3 }} * {{cite book |last1=Gillispie |first1=Charles Coulston |first2=Michel |last2=Dewachter |year=1987 |title=Monuments of Egypt: the Napoleonic edition. The Complete Archaeological Plates from ''La Description de l'Egypte'' |location=Princeton, NJ |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |isbn=9780910413213 }} * {{cite journal |last=Godard |first=André |year=1951 |title=L'origine de la Madrasa, de la Mosquée et du Caravansérail Àquartre Iwans |journal=Ars Islamica |volume=15 }} * {{cite book |last=Keall |first=Edward J. |year=1974 |chapter=Some thoughts on the early iwan |pages=123–130 |title=Near Eastern Numismatics, Iconography, Epigraphy, and History, Studies in Honor of George C. Miles |editor=Dickran Kouymjian |location=Beirut |publisher=American University of Beirut }} * {{cite journal |last=Kurz |first=Otto |year=1941 |title=The Date of the Ṭāq i Kisrā |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=37–41 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00093138 |s2cid=162160996 }} * {{Cite book|title=L'architecture musulmane d'Occident|last=Marçais|first=Georges|publisher=Arts et métiers graphiques|year=1954|isbn=|location=Paris|pages=}} * {{cite journal |last=Najm |first=Ra'ef |year=2001 |title=Islamic architectural character of Jerusalem: with special description of the al-Aqṣā and the Dome of the Rock |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=721–734 |doi=10.52541/isiri.v40i3-4.6110 |jstor=20837154 }} * {{cite book |last=Rabbat |first=Nasser O. |year=1989 |title=The Citadel of Cairo: a New Interpretation of Royal Mamluk Architecture |location=Geneva |publisher=AKTC }} * [[Jessica Rawson|Rawson, Jessica]], ''Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon'', 1984, British Museum Publications, {{ISBN|0714114316}} * {{cite book |last=Reade |first=Julian |year=1999 |title=The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient world The Great Monuments and How they were Built |editor=Christopher Scarre |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=0-500-05096-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/seventywondersof00scar }} * {{cite book |last=Sitwell |first=Sacheverell |year=1957 |title=Arabesque and Honeycomb |publisher=Robert Hale }} * {{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=W. Stevenson |first2=William Kelly |last2=Simpson |year=1998 |title=The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt |location=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale University Press |series=Pelican history of art |volume=14 |isbn=9780300077476 }} * {{cite journal |last=Upton |first=Joseph M. |year=1932 |title=The Expedition to Ctesiphon, 1931–1932 |journal=The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin |volume=27 |issue=8 |pages=188–197 |doi=10.2307/3255274 |jstor=3255274 |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/pubs/bulletins/1/pdf/3255274.pdf.bannered.pdf }} * {{cite book |last1=Warren |first1=John |first2=Ihsan |last2=Fethi |year=1982 |title=Traditional Houses in Baghdad |publisher=Coach Publishing House |isbn=9780902608016 }} * {{Cite book|last=Williams|first=Caroline|title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide|publisher=The American University in Cairo Press|year=2018|isbn=|edition=7th|location=Cairo|pages=}} * {{cite book |last=Wright |first=G. R. H. |year=1992 |title=Ancient building in Cyprus |publisher=Brill |isbn=90-04-09547-0 }} {{refend}}
==Further reading== * Blair, Sheila, and Bloom, Jonathan M., ''The Art and Architecture of Islam, 1250–1800'', 1995, Yale University Press and Pelican History of Art. {{ISBN|0300064659}}. * Henri Frankfort, Michael Roaf, Donald Matthews. ''The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. {{ISBN|9780300064704}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Iwans (architecture)}} * [http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ Oxford Art Online on Iwans] * [http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ha/html/islamic.html Columbia’s Archive of Islamic Architecture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710163431/http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ha/html/islamic.html |date=2018-07-10 }} * [http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ha/html/ancient.html Columbia’s Archive of Ancient Architecture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712142800/http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ha/html/ancient.html |date=2018-07-12 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130629070657/http://gallery.sjsu.edu/islamictutorial/ UCSJ Tutorial on Islamic Architecture] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20170708023138/http://islamic-arts.org/ Sheila Blair’s Islamic Arts]
{{Iranian architecture}} {{Islamic architecture}} {{Islamic art}}
[[Category:Islamic architectural elements]] [[Category:Mosque architecture]] [[Category:Iranian architectural elements]] [[Category:Sasanian architecture]] [[Category:Persian words and phrases]]