The Takht-e Foulad (), also known as Lissanul Arz (), is a historical, predominately , cemetery located in Isfahan, in the province of Isfahan, Iran. It is a large funerary complex that includes several historic , , , sub-cemeteries and standalone graves.
The cemetery was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 15 June 1996 and is administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.
History
The exact origins of the cemetery are not known, but some historians have theorised that it may have pre-Islamic origins.
During the rule of the Mongol
Ilkhanate in the 14th century, the mausoleum of Baba Rokneddin Shirazi was built, and the cemetery was named after him.
The cemetery subsequently became a place for
Sufi dervishes to have mystical gatherings.
The cemetery was expanded during the
Safavid Iran, under the rule of Shah Suleiman I.
But later on during the rule of the Safavid Shah
Soltan Hoseyn, many of the mausoleums from the Ilkhanid era were demolished, under the orders of Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi, the Shaykh-ol Islam hired by the ruler. The Sufis and their dervishes were also banned from visiting the cemetery, regardless whether they were Shi'ite or not.
During the rule of
Nader Shah, the cemetery was largely ignored, save for a small number of burials.
During the Qajar Iran, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar built a takyeh in the cemetery, which he dedicated to his mother.
During the Pahlavi Iran, the cemetery had become full. Locals were then forbidden from carrying out any further burials.
Landmarks in the cemetery
Mausoleum of Baba Rokneddin
Baba Rukn al-Din, or Baba Rokneddin, was one of the most prominent Persian Sufis of the 14th century. He died in 1367,
and the mausoleum was built during the
Ilkhanate.
It had fallen into disrepair later on and was restored during the
Safavid Iran under Shah Abbas I.
It is the only structure from the Ilkhanid era to survive till modern day.
Khatoon Abadi Mausoleum
One of the
takyeh buildings located in the cemetery. Clerics belonging to the Khatoon Abadi family are buried in there, an example being Mohammed Hossein Khatunabadi, a Shi'ite
Hadith scholar.
There is a small cellar underneath the tomb, speculated to be a place where the ascetic-inclined Khatunabadi secluded himself and meditated.
Mausoleum of Mir Fendereski
The burial place of the famous mystic and scholar in the Safavid era,
Mir Fendereski.
His grave has a stone tombstone, which bears the date 1640, the year he died. Next to the grave, a
ghazal of the poet
Hafez, in the
Nastaliq script, made with stucco, by Mir Emad Hassani, is visible on the wall of the place.
Mausoleum of Agha Hossein Khansari
Agha Hossein Khansari was a very influential scientist and scholar in the court of the Safavid ruler Suleiman I.
His mausoleum is topped with a single
cupola dome, and it is the only mausoleum in the cemetery which was built for a scientist or engineer.
Roknolmolk Mosque
It was formerly known as the Aksa Mosque. The mosque was built in the Qajar era, and is at the edge of the Takht-e Foulad cemetery. The mosque has a room that contains the graves of both
Roknolmolk and his wife, located near to the entrance, as well as a mausoleum for clerics of the Kalbasi family.
Mohammad Jafar Abadei Tekyeh
Established by the Qajar viceroy, Roknolmolk, named for the Shi'ite scholar, Mohammad Ja'far Abadei.
It is adjacent to the Roknolmolk Mosque.
Golestan-e Shohada Cemetery
This smaller sub-cemetery is attached to the cemetery of Takht-e Foulad.
The cemetery is where several martyrs are buried, hence the name Shohada, is a Persianised form of the word Shuhada which means Martyr in Arabic. One of the first burials in the cemetery is that of Abolhassan Shamsabadi. Those killed in the Haft-e Tir Bombing of 1981, and those who lost their lives during the Iranian Revolution are buried here as well.
Within the cemetery, there is also a cenotaph attributed as a grave to the Biblical prophet Joshua
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