Iran After Islam – Quran Naskh Script, 13 Century AD
Photo by Ibrahim Khadem Bayyat / Publisher: ICHTO

During 635-641 A.D., Iran became the target of the Muslim Arabs who were conquering the neighboring lands. In a series of battles such as Al-Qādisiyyah, Al-Mada’in, and Nahavand, Iran was defeated by the Arabs during the Sassanid Empire. As the Arabs advanced across Iran, the Sassanid Empire got gradually closer to demise as the local rulers and peasants were not satisfied with the empire system and the existing economic and social gaps and therefore, they made a compromise with Arabs with no war and serious resistance.

After the advent of Islam, for two centuries, Iran experienced one of the most sensitive periods of its history. Arabs entrance to the country and the encounter of their cultural, social, and economic structures with locals’, influenced significantly the country which can be observed in today’s history as well. It is worth mentioning that the Arabs did not insist that the Iranian should convert to Islam but the Iranians gradually converted to it by themselves and the fire temples in central and southern areas of this land were burning during several centuries.

The fertile lands, huge wealth, and Iran’s suitable geographical location appealed to be the main motivations for the Arabs who were searching for a place to immigrate. The culture of these two nations was gradually blended and the Iranian-Islamic culture emerged accordingly. One of the biggest impacts of Arab immigration was the development of urbanism, a tendency that began during the Sassanid Empire but was expanded and flourished in the Islamic era.

Nasir Ol Molk Mosque, 19 Century AD, Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
Photo by Alexander Mazurkevich/ Shutterstock

The First Two Centuries of Islam

The first two centuries after the advent of Islam in Iran is known by the slow conversion of locals to Islam, numerous political and religious movements and the lack of an independent government. In Umayyad time, Iranians did not experience appropriate economic and cultural conditions which were mainly because of the Arab racism who felt superior against the Iranians. Such led to the establishment of anti-Umayyad movements.

In this time, many Shiite elites and holy figures of the country immigrated to various parts especially to the impassable land of Tabaristan to escape from the Umayyad rulers. This is one of the reasons behind the existence of numerous holy shrines scattered all over in Iran.

In 749 A.D., the Umayyad ruling over the Islamic lands came to its end by the rebellion of Abu Muslim and Abbasid Caliphs. During the Abbasid caliphs and rulers, Iranians who were good at administrative positions found their way in the court of the rulers. Having power and influence in the court led drastically to the condition improvement of the Iranians. At the same time, there were some movements against Abbasid Caliphate such as political independence which were all suppressed.

The Abbasid’s golden age was during the governance of Harun Al-Rashid. After Harun, Abbasid became weaker and the Caliphs had to hand over some parts of Iran to their agents to provide the needed funding of their courts. One of these parts was the Great Khorasan that included the Sistan region as well.

Finally, in the ninth century and after two centuries of silence, the first semi-independent government was established entitled the Tahirid dynasty (821-873 A.D.). Although it was a short dynasty in length, it paved the way for the upcoming dynasties to gain power with the main goal of freedom.

Iran After Islam – Brass candlestick, 17 Century AD
Photo by Ibrahim Khadem Bayyat / Publisher: ICHTO

Iran After the Tahirid Dynasty

After the overthrow of Tahirid Dynasty, 15 dynasties came to the throne, each of which with a significant role in the culture, civilization and socio-political system in Iran. During some of these dynasties such as Samanid (819-999) and Timurid (1370-1507), art and culture were highly flourished.

A Focus on architecture was made in Ilkhanate (1256-1335) and Safavid (1501-1736) Empires. From Safavid time, Shia (one of the two main branches of Islam) became for the first time the official religion of the country. During the Qajar Dynasty (1796-1925), the first instances of the country’s encounter with modernity were formed, on the other hand, Iran was influenced by the Constitutional Revolution as well, which happened under the effect of European Revolutions.

However, modernity (e.g., road construction) reached its peak in the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-1979). In a religious-based country, insistence on modern elements that are not defined well for its followers can lead to the dissatisfaction of the people and religious figures. Such resulted in the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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In today’s global community, the Iranian carpet has a worthy position to declare Iran to others. Iranian carpet is a fluffy mat which is woven using silk, cotton, wool and coat according to the traditions and rituals of each region of Iran.

Many of the archeologists believe that the oldest carpet of the world which is called Pazyryk and now is kept in The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg with the antiquity of about 400 years B.C. is an Iranian carpet woven in Achaemenid Empire (330-550 B.C.). Although there is not any salient sample from Sasanian Empire (224-650 A. D.), based on the proofs it can be said that Iranian carpet was globally valid and famous in this era. In this regard, the most obvious sample is the famous carpet of Baharestan which has been mentioned in different historical sources. Many of the travelers who visited Iran in Islamic period have pointed out to the carpets of different regions of Iran and finally, in Safavid Dynasty (1501-1722 A. D.) the Iranian carpet was promoted from a rural art/ industry to a national activity and turned into a prominent part of Iran economy.

From the Safavid Dynasty onwards, the valuable samples of the Iranian carpet can be observed in different museums of the world, for example the Ardabil carpet which was woven for the tomb of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardabili, the great ancestor of the Safavid, it is kept in Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  In this period, Kashan dealt with many orders due to goodness and elegance of the carpets which were produced there and manufacture of brocaded carpets woven with gold and silver threads was flourished upon the orders of other countries specially Poland.

In Qajar Dynasty (1794-1925 A. D.) and by the boom of European markets, a lot of carpet-weaving workshops were established in different cities of Iran like Tabriz, Kerman, Mashhad, Kashan and other cities and the Iranian carpets were exported to the Europe. On the whole it must be said that the most prominent centers of carpet weaving in Iran were Isfahan, Tabriz, Ardebil, Qom, Kashan, Nain, Kerman, Yazd, Mashhad and Hamedan from the past. It is worth mentioning that in 2010 the skill of carpet weaving of Fars and Kashan were globally registered as the spiritual heritage by UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Besides, in 2015 Tabriz was known as global city of handmade carpet.

Designs in Iranian Carpets

In addition to its decorative aspect, designs of the Iranian carpets attempt to reflect Iranian identity, beliefs and goals. These designs were divided into 3 general patterns: plant designs, animal designs and human designs from among them, plant designs are the most frequent ones used in Iranian carpets. The most important plant designs in Iranian traditional arts including carpet design are Eslimi (Arabesque) and Khatai (Floral).

Eslimi: Eslimi is derived from the word “Islamic” and points out to the interwoven lines of plants with spiral foliage. Although there are proofs which show the use of eslimi designs before the history, using it developed in Islamic period, especially in Safavid Dynasty. The base of eslimi design is nature, stems and leaves. Eslimi is a design consisting of rotational arcs, stems, ties and branches and has different types.

Khatai: it is basically a design with main and perpetuated form of flower bush, leaf or blossom. In khatai design, fewer broken lines can be observed and are mostly curved, they connect flowers to each other through proportionate tortuosity. As these lines picture the branches of tree, the more they get far from the main body, the narrower they will be. The most important khatai flowers are Shah Abbasi and Botteh.

• Shah Abbasi: a design in carpet which was soared in Safavid Dynasty. The main feature of Shah Abbasi flower is the stem drawn at the end of flower and is used as 5, 7 and sometimes 12-petal flower. It is the most perfect type of khatai and its design is retrieved from lily and pomegranate flowers which was common in Iranian arts from the past, a typical example of using this design can be seen in Persepolis which was converted into Shah Abbasi flower through a lot of manipulations.
• Botteh: it is an abstract design and the Iranian believe it is retrieved from cypress tree  as it was a sacred tree in ancient Iran, its natural samples and not decorative ones can be observed in relief designs of Persepolis. Besides, cypress tree is a symbol of endurance and freedom among the Iranian and in this period Botteh design was used decoratively which was similar to the bent cypress and in its evolutionary stages, with respect to the artist’s taste and creativity of each region and cultural history of Iran, it is currently known as paisley.  Some individuals believe that Botteh is created from birds’ feather which was used by the Iranian kings on their hats.

Different Parts of Iranian Carpet Infographic
Infographic by Negar Ganji

Different Parts of Carpet

Selvedge of Carpet: it is the surrounding part of carpet which is usually designed and woven in a wide or narrow way. The selvedges lead to a special organization and beauty which are like a frame. An ordinary selvedge consists of three parts: one main selvedge and two subsidiary selvedges.

• Main Selvedge: the wide selvedge is located between narrow selvedges and forms the collection of carpet selvedges with them. Usually in wide selvedge, the motifs used in carpets are also applied. The pattern and design of this selvedge is commensurate with background of the carpet. In wide selvedge, different designs and inscriptions are used and characteristics of the carpet including name of carpet weaver, name of client, date and place of weaving are registered as well.
• Subsidiary Selvedge: it is located in two sides of main selvedge and is usually decorated with tiny geometric and floral designs.

Lachak: the four corners of the carpet are called lachak and if there is harmony between lachak and toranj with similar designs, the design of carpet is called lachak – toranj.

Toranj: the shape located in the center of carpet is called toranj. They are usually in the form of circle, diamond and oval. They are usually accompanied with sar-toranj which make the carpet more attractive. The dimensions of toranj are different in various carpets and their bigness or smallness depends on type and design of the carpet.

Sar-toranj: it is connected to the central toranj from top and bottom of the carpet. Many of the carpet designers call it “Shamseh” as well.

Katibeh (Inscription): in some carpets, there is a part between toranj and sar-toranj which is called katibeh, name of some individuals who are related to the design of carpet will be designed and registered in katibeh.

Zamineh (Background): different parts of the carpet such as flowers, branches, animals and geometric shapes are woven and registered on a background which specify the main color of the carpet.

Gelim Baaf: in order to preserve the durability of the carpet, its upper and lower parts are woven with chains which are called gelim baaf.

Risheh (Fringe): white threads woven to the width of both sides of the carpet.

Shirazeh (Binder): the longitudinal sides of the carpet which are sewed for more protection of the main part of the carpet.

What was explained above is related to the commonest design of the carpet in Iran i.e. lachak toranj (corner-medallion) but based on the classification of Iran carpet company, the main designs of the Iranian carpets are: designs of ancient works and Islamic buildings, Shah Abbasi, Eslimi, Afshan (overall flower), Eghtebaasy, Bandi, Bottheh, Derakhti (Tree), Turkmen (Bokhara), Shekargah (Hunting), Ghabi, Golfarang, Goldani (Vase), Mahi Dar Ham, Mehrabi (Prayer), Moharamat (Striped), Hendesi (geometric), ili and Talfighi (mingle).

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Tekyeh of Moaven-al-Molk – Kermanshah, Kermanshah province, Iran
Photo by IsoGFX via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

In Iranian culture, these two words (Tekyeh & Hussainiya) are sometimes used for a special place wherein mourning ceremonies and religious Ta’zieh (a Muslim passion play celebrated by the Shiʽa in Muharram) are held and sometimes they are used separately i.e. Hussainiya is a place for mourning, Rawda khwani (the Shia Iranian Muslim ritual of the Mourning of Muharram) and Sineh Zani (a common form of mourning ritual in which mourners beat on their chest) and Tekyeh is a place for performing Ta’zieh. There is no proof for existence of Hussainiya in Iran before Safavid dynasty or even during that period.

Tekyeh of Moaven-al-Molk – Kermanshah, Kermanshah province, Iran
Photo by IsoGFX via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

The exact date of formation of Tekyeh in Iran is unknown, but it is believed that it was built in Safavid dynasty for Ta’zieh. The architectural structure of Tekyeh consists of a building with/without roof, a platform in internal space with two stairs in both sides or a gentle slope for horses to pass over there, a passage all around the platform for horse riding, a place for audience to watch the ceremony, and a locker room. They have several entrances, some are for the audiences and some others for the actors of Ta’zieh and their horses.

Ta’zieh and Tekyeh were highly flourished in Qajar dynasty. Tekyeh of Hasan Khan Moaven-al-Molk in Kermanshah province and Tekyeh of Dolat in Tehran province (destroyed in 1946) are the most well-known ones.

Tekyeh of Amir Chakhmaq – Yazd, Yazd province, Iran
Photo by Babak.masarat via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

It can be certainly said that in all cities and villages of Iran that the Shia live in, there are always Hussainiya. Hussaniya of Haj Ghaffar (in Maragheh city) and Hussainiya of Mirza Mohsen Mojtahed (in Ardabil city) are the oldest ones in Iran which are considered as tourism attraction.

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