A Comparative Study of the Decorations of  Prayer House and the Mirror House in Khajeh Abdullah Ansari's Tomb in Herat

 
Decoration in Islamic art and architecture has been one of the main pillars in architecture and has always been one of the most important aspects of art throughout history. The Timurid era is one of the brightest periods of Islamic civilization and the era of the rise of art and architecture. Efforts to achieve beauty, perfection and the creation of unique works can be seen in all the works of the Timurids. One of the arts used in different historical periods is the use of the art of  decoration in architectural buildings. The art of architecture and decoration is one of the most prominent manifestations of the culture of each nation and historical period and shows the human living space. Features of Timurid architecture penetrated to the farthest west of the Islamic world, where Timurid architectural innovations advanced to the west and internationalized the Timurid style. The main style of Timurid architecture flourished in a triangular area between the three cities of Mashhad, Samarkand and Herat. During this period, architecture achieved unprecedented prosperity in terms of grandeur and richness of decorations. Mosques and schools were built with unique features such as the height of the porches, the azure color that was mostly used in the domes. They are distinguished from other relics of the past. These decorations have a glorious, unifying beauty in mosques and religious places. One of these examples is the tomb of Khajeh Abdullah Ansari in Herat and belongs to the Timurid period. The decorations of this building include tiling, brickwork, plastering, stonework and carving. In this article, the authors have tried to introduce the design, color and tiling of the northern prayer hall and the mirror house of the tomb of Khajeh Abdullah Ansari. And mentions the features of this place and has adapted the decorations of the prayer hall and the mirror house. The research method of this research is historical-comparative and the method of data collection is library and preparing images in the field. At the end of this study, it is revealed that these two places are in the tomb of Khawaja Abdullah Ansari in Herat, Afghanistan. In terms of the color of the decorations, the shape of the geometric and plant motifs have similarities and differences at the same time as a whole. Most of the decorations of these two buildings are made of mosaic tiles, in which the characteristics of Timurid art can be clearly seen. Architecture has long been the manifestation of pure human emotions and the bedrock of the realization of the transcendent perfection of human beings. Architecture is a comprehensible space that, with a subtle expression, immerses a person in thinking and contemplation, and finally defines a special identity and culture for it .Support for art and efforts to build magnificent buildings continued during Timurid successor periods. Herat is one of the oldest and most famous cities in Afghanistan in the field of culture, art and literature. This historic city has maintained its cultural status to this day and has been able to nurture famous scholars, writers and artists. Herat is the land of science and art in the brilliant periods of the Taherians, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Seljuks, Al-Kurt and Timurids. The cultural center of Khorasan has grown, and the remnants of those golden periods are the evidences of this claim. Each of these periods was associated with flourishing and masterpieces such as architecture, tiling, painting and miniature. One of the most brilliant dynasties that have ruled this land for many years is the Timurid dynasty. The Timurids in Herat have perfected architecture and decorations And in every corner there are valuable works from this period. Among the architectural features of the Timurid era, we can mention the presence of golden color in tiling, the predominance of azure color in tile decorations and the tendency to height. During this period, they tried to make the building look taller, Including by creating parallel and vertical lines in the symbols, so that the eye is drawn upwards, pull the main arches of the coverings under the dome to show the ceiling higher, creating arches that pass through two floors without interrupting the distance between the two floors, the porches and high entrances of Timurid buildings are decorated with beautiful mosaic tiles The onion-shaped and grooved domes, which are mostly decorated with azure tiles, are special features of this period that distinguish the buildings of the Timurid period from the architecture of other historical periods. One of the historical monuments of the Timurid period is the tomb of the proud mystic of the fifth century, Khajeh Abdullah Ansari. Khajeh Abdullah Ansari, known as (Pir-E- Herat), was born in Herat in 396 AH and died in 481 AH in the same city. The current building of Khajeh Abdullah's tomb is a building It was built by the order of Shahrokh and with religious motives, which has preserved all the mentioned features, architecture and decorations of the Timurid period. The color and tile of this building of the Timurid era has a special beauty And has preserved all the features of decorations and architecture of this period. In this central room, which is known as the shrine in this building, it is similar to the four-porch school Which is actually described as "Hazira", which means a square enclosure around a tomb. The tomb of Khajeh Abdullah Ansari is decorated with exquisite tiles with third, hanging and Kufic lines. One of them is the mirror house (entrance hall). The designs and decorations of the mirror house include mosaic tiles and azure and turquoise bricks. These decorations surround the mirror house as well as the plant motifs (paintings) that I can see on the walls and ceiling of the mirror house. It is different in terms of color and role with the decorations inside the northern prayer hall. In the interior decoration of the prayer hall, geometric patterns (six knots) have been used in the baseboards (pizar). The arrangement of mosaic tiles with azure, turquoise and white colors together has created a special beauty in the northern prayer hall. According to the above said, this study deals with the decorations, tiles and interior of the northern prayer hall and the mirror house (entrance hall) of the tomb of Khajeh Abdullah Ansari. The purpose of this study is to study the designs of the prayer hall and mirror house of Khajeh Abdullah Ansari's tomb as one of the most important mosques in Afghanistan and Herat city, which hosts many visitors from all over the world every year due to Khajeh Abdullah's popularity and influential role in Herat city.