Typology of tombs in the Azerbaijan region from a monumental perspective
Subject Areas : Islamic Architecture
Saleheh Chartab Mohammadi
1
,
minou gharehbaglou
2
,
Negar Salehi Alamdari
3
1 - M.A of Architecture graduate, Roshdieh Non-Profit-Non-Governmental Higher Education Institute, Tabriz, Iran
2 - Professor, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Iran.
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Roshdieh Non-Profit-Non-Governmental Higher Education Institute, Tabriz, Iran.
Keywords: Typology, Tombs, Azerbaijan, Monument, Collective Memory,
Abstract :
Typology of Tombs in the Azerbaijan Region
from a Monumental Perspective[1]
Saleheh Chartab Mohammadi*
Minoo Gharehbeiglu**
Negar Salehi Alamdari***
The present study aims to review the “typology of tombs in the Azerbaijan region from a monumental perspective” and to explore the systematic connection between form, function, meaning, and archetype in two cognitive dimensions: “historical-geographic” and “cultural-social.” The main goal of this study is to explain how the physical language of the building (geometry, proportions, structure, and materials), ritual and social roles, symbolic connotations, and archetypal codes coexist in shaping sacred experience and collective memory. The research method is descriptive-analytical and comparative; data is collected and analyzed based on documentary sources. The findings identified five different types of clustering, including: ritual verticality or the axis of the world; multifocal ritual-social complexes; introverted ascetic retreats; cosmic polygonal orders; and community-building heroic-moral monuments. Conclusions from the results showed that Azerbaijani tombs, while continuing common formal languages, represent distinct semantic and functional scenarios and, in connection with historical-geographical and socio-cultural contexts, strengthen spatial identity and collective memory.
Keywords:Typology, Tomb, Azerbaijan, Monument, Collective Memory
Introduction
Tombs, as monumental elements that play a role in building local identity and recording collective memory, have attracted the attention of researchers in architecture, anthropology, and heritage studies in recent years. Signs of erosion of symbolic functions, weakening of socio-cultural ties, and physical changes in the Azerbaijani tomb complex have been raised in field studies and heritage-oriented reports. Weakness in semantic protection, transformation of ritual functions into secondary uses, and inconsistency in physical interventions are among the reasons that justify the necessity of typological and monumental revision in the analysis of these monuments.
The problem of this research is as follows: How can we find systematic and explainable links between the archetypal, physical, semantic, and functional characteristics of the tombs of the Azerbaijan region? The research community consists of a set of representative tombs in the Azerbaijan region (including examples such as Maqbar al-Shuara, Shams Tabrizi, Pouriya Vali, Mulla Hassan Kashi, Salar Daylami, Aghalar, and other local examples) and the study context is the historical-geographical composition and cultural-social networks surrounding these monuments. The main variables of the research are: archetypal features (example: ascension axis, memory house), physical indicators (geometric shape, centrality/multifocality, height), semantic components (symbols, cultural epigraphy) and socio-ritual functions (pilgrimage, community building, cultural programs).
The nature of the research design is descriptive-analytical and typological, and the research method is a mixed qualitative-documentary method based on field analysis, historical documentation and matrix adaptation of the physical-semantic-functional-archetypal framework. The aim of the research is to present an analytical model that can classify tombs according to monumental patterns and clarify semantic and functional similarities; and at the applied level, to present proposals for conceptual conservation and event-based planning.
Research hypotheses: 1- There is a significant relationship between the type of spatial organization (central/multifocal) and the dominance of the community-building function; (multifocal spaces provide the possibility of hosting rituals and gatherings). 2- Examples that have a multifaceted-domed structure benefit more from the archetype of the “house of memory/cosmic order” and have a higher historical-geographical semantic load; (link of the dome form with symbols of immortality in Iranian tradition). 3- Modern or simple-built tombs (such as Pouria Vali) emphasize the socio-moral function more than the ritual function; (changing social contexts and the need for contemporary symbols of identity). Each hypothesis is tested in the methodological section by indexing variables and using matrix analysis tools and case sampling. Clarifying these links can lead to conservation reinterpretation and meaning-centered planning in urban memory and regional heritage.
Research Method
The research method is based on a descriptive-analytical and comparative approach. The data were collected based on written sources and historical documents and then analyzed in the form of a four-dimensional typological model including the dimensions of "physical-form", "functional", "semantic" and "archetypal". This model was simultaneously applied to two cognitive dimensions of "historical-geographic" and "cultural-social" in order to reveal the spatial and temporal connections of the buildings on the one hand and to clarify the continuity or change of cultural patterns in them on the other hand. Case examples included the tombs of Sheikh Shahab al-Din Ahri, the Tabriz Poets' Tomb, Shams Tabrizi, Mulla Hassan Kashi, Salar Daylami and Aghalar, Pouriya Vali and Aun bin Ali, each of which is considered to represent a specific branch of the tomb typology spectrum.
Results
The findings show that the “dome/polygon” form in Azerbaijani tombs is not only a dominant physical pattern, but also a language for organizing sacred and memorial experience. Vertical and minimal tombs, such as the monument attributed to Shams Tabrizi, reflect the archetype of the “axis of ascension” or the “vertical world” and provide an experience of transcendence and connection with the sacred. In contrast, multifocal spatial organizations such as the Tomb of the Poets and the Awn ibn Ali complex, by creating memorial networks, emphasize social function and collective memory and become a vehicle for community building.
On the other hand, small and simple tombs such as Aghalar, Salar Daylami, and Mulla Hassan Kashi demonstrate the continuity of ascetic tradition and individual-centered rituals. These examples, in comparison to larger collections, rely on solitude and the individual experience of mourning and pilgrimage rather than on physical display or spatial grandeur. The modern example of Puriya Vali, with its horizontal and sparsely decorated structure, represents a new trend in which the emphasis is on socio-moral function and heroic identity rather than ritual coding.
This typology shows that the tombs of Azerbaijan, while continuing the common elements of Iranian-Islamic architecture, each present distinct semantic and functional narratives. At the macro level, the connection of these tombs with the historical-geographical context and socio-cultural context strengthens the spatial identity and the coherence of collective memory. However, in some cases, excessive overlap in conceptual layers or excessive reliance on external explanations has reduced the capacity for perceptual arousal and prevented the creation of a deep sacred experience.
Discussion and Conclusion
A common pattern of movement towards “physical and semantic unity” is observed in the tombs of Azerbaijan. Most examples (except the Puriya Vali tomb) are based on a multifaceted form centered on the dome; a pattern that has ancient roots in pre-Islamic Iranian traditions and has been used over the centuries as a physical foundation for representing the sacred and immortal. Meanwhile, the Shams Tabrizi tomb, with its vertical minaret form, demonstrates the archetype of the “axis of ascension,” and the Maqbar al-Shu’ara tomb, with its spatial multiplicity and break from the centrality of the dome, displays a “multiple” pattern and a network of collective memory. In contrast, the Puriya Vali tomb, as a modern work, distances itself from the dome and, with its simple and horizontal structure, emphasizes social and moral function rather than ritual coding.
The physical and semantic typology of tombs is correlated with historical-geographical and socio-cultural cognitive dimensions. Small and minimal tombs (such as Aghalar, Salar Daylami, and Mulla Hassan Kashi) demonstrate the continuity of simplicity in local contexts and individual-centered rituals, while high-rise and composite examples (Maqbareh al-Shuara, Aun ibn Ali, Sheikh Shahab al-Din Ahri) indicate the strengthening of the function of community-building and collective memory-building. Accordingly, the “dome archetype” and the “multifaceted body” as the dominant language in this region not only reveal the historical continuity of Iranian architecture, but also make the fundamental differences between individual solitude and cultural community recognizable at the semantic and functional levels.
From a physical perspective, the “complex geometric composition” and “cosmic proportions” are not simply a formal language, but a strategy for encoding the “plurality of sounds” in a polycentric monument; a form that creates a “networked field-monument of memory” instead of a single tomb. The function of the building also goes beyond the “space of cultural interactions” and becomes a “platform for the representation of literary memory”; where commemorative rituals and literary events perpetuate the process of memory-making. In this research, the studied complex was classified into five “species families”: 1) “ritual verticality/universe axis” with the predominance of ascension and symbolic monofocality (Tomb of Shams Tabrizi); the minimal vertical form activates the archetype of ascension in a context for revelation. 2) “Multifocal ritual-social complexes” (Maqbar al-Shu’ara, Awn ibn Ali tomb) in which the multi-dome/multifocality of the body is combined with a collective and ritual-oriented function. 3) “Introverted ascetic retreats” (Sheikh Shahab al-Din Ahri tomb) that embody the archetype of solitude/purification with spatial minimalism. 4) “Cosmic polygonal orders” (Mullah Hassan Kashi tombs and the Deylami and Aghalar tombs) that embody the metaphor of balance and perfection with their hexagonal/octagonal and central dome. 5) “Community-building heroic-moral monuments” (Pouriya Vali tomb) that translate the moral-heroic identity into a solid and field-oriented structural language. This clustering reveals significant similarities across all four typologies and illuminates the distinctions between the “social-ritual network” and the “spiritual solitude”, or between the “symbolic verticality” and the “horizontal-ecclesiastic order”.
Each tomb is defined in terms of an “archetypal operational pattern/functional scenario/geometric device”. Thus, the Tomb of the Poets as a “networked monument of memory”, Shams Tabrizi was recognized as the "axis of asceticism," Sheikh Shahab al-Din Ahri as the "retreat of asceticism," and the Polygonal Complex as "cosmic order and balance"; and the Puriya Vali Mausoleum was an example of a "moral-heroic monument" that strengthens the connection between meaning and community.
References
Cellerino, A., &Foietta, E. (2018) The sanctuary and cemetery at Kal-e Chendar, Shami (Khuzestan, Iran). In Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East.https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv10tq3zv.8
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[1]. This article is derived from the first author's master's thesis entitled "Design of the Memorial Tomb of Houshang Ebtehaj in Mohtasham Garden, Rasht", which was conducted under the guidance of the second author and the third author's thesis at the non-profit-non-governmental Roshdieh Institute of Higher Education in Tabriz.
* Corresponding Author: M.A of Architecture graduate, Roshdieh Non-Profit-Non-Governmental Higher Education Institute, Tabriz, Iran
s.chartab.mohammady@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0009-0006-19ا16-2087
** Professor, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Iran.
minoo.gharehbeiglu@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2639-2906
*** Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Roshdieh Non-Profit-Non-Governmental Higher Education Institute, Tabriz, Iran.
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7840-3074
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Dallai, M. (2020) The vaulted funerary hypogea in Mesopotamia between the second and first millennium BC: Localization and architectural features. EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste. http://hdl.handle.net/10077/30232.
Ingraham, M. L., & Summers, G. (1979) Stelae and settlements in the Meshkin Shahr plain, northeastern Azerbaijan, Iran. Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran Berlin, 12. http://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetail&idt=12590808.
Ökse, A. T. (2005) Early Bronze Age chamber tomb complexes at Gre Virike (Period IIA) on the Middle Euphrates. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 339(1). https://www.jstor.org/stable/25066901.
Wicks, Y. (2015) Bronze ‘bathtub’ coffins in the context of 8th–6th century BC Babylonian, Assyrian and Elamite funerary practices. Bronze ‘Bathtub’ Coffins in the Context of 8th–6th Century BC Babylonian, Assyrian and Elamite Funerary Practices. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvr43kwr.
Zalaghi, A. (2018) Digging up the past: Revisiting the Elamite underground vaulted tombs at Tappeh 497 (KS 53), Susiana Plain. In ELAMICA: Elam and its Neighbors – Recent Research and New Perspectives: Proceedings of the International Congress Held at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, September. https://doi.org/10.22034/PJAS.7.26.97.
