{{short description|Columned hall or porch in Iranian architecture}} {{other uses}} [[File:Chehel Sotun Palace, completed in 1647, Esfahan-03-29-2013.jpg|thumb|The ''talar'' of the Chehel Sotoun palace in Isfahan]] A '''''talar''''' or '''''talaar''''' ({{langx|fa|تالار}}) is a type of porch or hall in Iranian architecture. It generally refers to a porch fronting a building, supported by columns, and open on one or three sides.<ref name="Babaie" /><ref name=":3" /> The term is also applied more widely to denote a throne hall or audience hall with some of these features.<ref name="Babaie" />
== History == The columned hall or porch has its roots in ancient Persia, as seen in the Achaemenid palace in Persepolis, as well as in Greco-Roman houses and possibly even in the tents of Central Asian nomads who moved into Iran over the centuries.<ref name="Babaie" /> The ''talar'' can also refer to the representation of a throne carved on the rock-cut tomb of Darius at Naqsh-e Rostam, near Persepolis, and above the portico which was copied from his palace.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Talar|volume=26|page=366}}</ref>
The ''talar'' was revived in Iranian architecture under Abbas the Great ({{Reign|1588|1629}}) during the Safavid era. Safavid architects appropriated the idea of a columned hall from Achaemenid examples and used it in the design of new royal palaces and pavilions, most notably the Ali Qapu and Chehel Sotoun palaces in Isfahan during the 17th century.<ref name="Babaie" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Alemi |first1=Mahvash |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OdLbAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 |title=Understanding Islamic Architecture |last2=Pirani |first2=Khalil K. |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-85131-5 |editor-last=Petruccioli |editor-first=Attilo |pages=76 |language=en |chapter=Persian Gardens and Courtyards: An Approach to the design of Contemporary Architecture |editor-last2=Pirani |editor-first2=Khalil K.}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> In these examples, the ''talar'' is open on three sides.<ref name="Grigor" /> [[File:Arg of Karim Khan (66).jpg|left|thumb|One of the ''talar''s of the Arg of Karim Khan in Shiraz]] Karim Khan Zand, the ruler of Shiraz in the mid-18th century, borrowed from Safavid models and employed this feature in new ways for the design of his own palaces in Shiraz. Here, the ''talar'' was combined with an iwan (vaulted hall open to one side) to form pillared halls opening onto a courtyard on one side.<ref name=":4" /> [[File:Golestan hall.jpg|thumb|Talar-e Salam (Salute Hall) of Golestan Palace in Tehran]]Under the Qajar dynasty, which eventually captured Shiraz and reunified Iran at the end of the 18th century, this feature was imported to the new royal palaces in Tehran.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="Grigor" /> Under the Qajars, a ''talar'' could refer to a relatively simple hall open on one side with columns, such as the ''Talar e-Marmar'' (containing the ''Takht-e Marmar'', the Marble Throne<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3M5EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT239 |title=The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture |publisher=Penn State Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-271-08968-3 |pages=142–144 |language=en}}</ref>) built by Fath Ali Shah in the Golestan Palace in the 19th century.<ref name="Grigor" /> The ''talar'' continued to be a popular design feature of aristocratic houses and pavilions in Shiraz, such as those of the Qavam family.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3M5EAAAQBAJ |title=The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture |publisher=Penn State Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-271-08968-3 |pages=171–176 |language=en}}</ref> It was even employed during the early 20th century, under the Pahlavi dynasty, as part of the Persian revivalist trends in architecture during this time.<ref name="Grigor" />
== Description == [[Image:Amerian House Taq.jpg|thumb|right|A 19th century Talar would be centrally situated, often under the main Iwan, where evening services would be performed for members of the andaruni. Image is of Amerian House in Kashan.]]In ancient times, as depicted in the sculptured façade of the tomb of Darius at Persepolis show, the ''talar'' had three tiers, with Atlant statues upholding each.<ref name=":1" /> This design typified the subject-people of the monarch.<ref name=":1" />
The ''talar'' built by the Qajar dynasty as part of the Golestan Palace is a spacious chamber with flat ceiling decorated with mirror panels.<ref name=":0" /> The walls are also decorated with mirror work called ''Ayeneh-kari'', which produced numerous angles and coruscations.<ref name=":0" />
==See also== *Iranian architecture
==References== {{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Babaie">{{cite book |last=Babaie |first=Sussan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y28xEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA157 |title=Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi'ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7486-3376-0 |pages=157–158 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="Grigor">{{cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YgpDwAAQBAJ |title=A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |year=2017 |isbn=9781119068662 |editor-last=Flood |editor-first=Finbarr Barry |volume= |pages=1089–1097 |language=en |chapter=Kings and Traditions in Différance: Antiquity Revisited in Post-Safavid Iran |editor-last2=Necipoğlu |editor-first2=Gülru}}</ref>
<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Curzon |first=George N. |title=Persia and the Persian Question: Volume One |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780714619699 |location=Oxon |pages=312}}</ref>
<ref name=":1">{{cite book|title=Hellenism in Ancient India|last=Banerjee|first=Gauranga Nath|date=2012|publisher=Outlook|isbn=978-3-86403-414-5|location=Bremen|pages=58}}</ref>
<ref name=":3">{{cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3M5EAAAQBAJ |title=The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture |publisher=Penn State Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-271-08968-3 |pages=137 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name=":4">{{cite book |last=Grigor |first=Talinn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3M5EAAAQBAJ |title=The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture |publisher=Penn State Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-271-08968-3 |pages=142–144 |language=en}}</ref>
}}
{{Iranian Architecture}}
Category:Architecture in Iran Category:Persian words and phrases Category:Iranian inventions Category:Iranian architectural elements
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