Shah Cheragh

File:Shahcheragh.jpg

Shah-e-Cheragh

Shah Cheragh is a tomb of brothers Amir Ahmad and Mir Muhammad, both of whom were brothers of Imam Reza, who took refuge in Shiraz, Iran during the Abbasid persecution of the Shia Muslims.

Overview

The tombs became celebrated pilgrimage centres in the 14th century when Queen Tashi Khatun erected a mosque and theological school in the vicinity.

Shah Cheragh (Shah-e-Cheragh) is a Persian complex word and means "King of The Light". It is said that Ayatollah Dastgheib (the great grandfather of the contemporary Ayatollah Dasgheib) used to see a light from a distance. He investigated the site and noticed a graveyard. The grave that emitted light was excavated and a body wearing an armor was discovered. The body was wearing a ring saying "Al-Izzatu Lillah, Ahmad bin Musa" meaning "The Pride belongs to God, Ahmad so of Musa". It was then known that this was a burial site of Ahmad bin Musa, the brother of Imam Reza (peace be upon them). Due to the light that lead to this site, the site was called "Shah Cheragh" meaning "The Great Light" or "The King of Lights" or "The geat Light King".

The Mausoleum of Shah-e-Cheragh

The most important pilgrimage centre of the city of Shiraz is the Mausoleum of Mir Sayyed Ahmad, the son of the seventh Emam known as Shah-e-Cheragh, which is situated near the Masjed-e-No. Mir Sayyed Ahmad came to Ahiraz at the beginning of the third Islamic century, and died there. In the time of Atabak Abu Bakr Sa'd ben Zangi, the chief minister of that monarch, Amir Moqarrabo'd - din Badro'd-din, built the tomb chamber with its dome over the tomb, and Atabak also added a colonnaded porch, and then Queen Tash Khatun, the mother of Shah Abu Eshaq Inju, during the years 745-750 A.H. (1344-1349 A.D), carried out essential repairs there, and constructed an edifice, a hall of audience, a fine college, and a tomb for herself on the south side. She also presented a splendid and unique Qor'an, in thirty volumes, in golden Sols characters, and with gold decoration, in the style of the well-known calligraphist and mystic of that period, Yahya Jamali, which are dated 754 and 746 A.H. (1344 and 1345 A.D). Nothing now remains of the buildings set up Tash Khatun, but the Qor'ans have remained secure, and are preserved in the Pars Museum. During the reign of Shah Esma'il I, in the year 912 A.H. (1506 A.D), the guardian of the Mausoleum, whose name was Mirza Habibollah Sharifi, initiated important repairs, and in 997 A.H. (1588 A.D), as a result of an earthquake, half the building collapsed, and further repairs were carried out. In the nineteenth century also, several times damage occurred, and was made good. And in 1243 A.H. (1827 A.D), Fath'Ali Shah Qajar presented an ornamental railing for the tomb. In 1269 A.H. (1852 A.D), in consequence of another severe earthquake again the building suffered injury, and the late Mohammad Naser Zahiro'd-doleh undertook the necessary repairs. The following couplet is quoted about the dome of the Shah-e-Cheragh, before it was damaged, and then renovated: From New Mosque's door to Royal Lamp's pure shrine they gleam).

Finally, the late Nasirol'molk repaired the dome, but on account of the numerous cracks, in 1958 the whole dome was removed, and in its place an iron structure, which was lighter, and likely to last longer, in the shape of the original dome, was made at the cost of the people of Shiraz. The present building consists of the original portico, with its ten columns, on the eastern side, a spacious sanctuary with lofty alcoves on four sides, a mosque on the western side of the sanctuary, and various rooms. There are also numerous tombs contiguous to the Mausoleum.

The decorative work in a mosaic of mirror glass, the inscriptions in stucco, the ornamentation, the doors covered with panels of silver, the portico, and the wide courtyard are most attractive. The tomb, with its latticed railing, is in an alcove between the space beneath the dome and the mosque. And this custom of placing the tomb in this position, so that it is not directly under the dome, is to be seen in other famous places of pilgrimage in the city of Shiraz, and may be considered a special feature of Shiraz shrines. Two short minarets, situated at each end of the columned portico, add impressiveness to the Mausoleum, and to the spacious courtyard, which surrounds it on three sides. The Shah-e-Cheragh Mausoleum was registered on the 20th of the month, Bahman, 1318, under No. 363 in the list of the national monuments of Iran.

Sayyed Aladdin Hossein

Another important pilgrimage centre in the historical city of Shiraz is the Mausoleum (or Threshold, as it is called) of Sayyed Alao'd-din, which can be reached by passing through several small streets and turnings in a southern and eastern direction. And an easier way to approach this site is by the avenue surrounding the city, near the Qassabkhaneh (Abattoir) Gateway, which is at the south-east corner of Shiraz. This mausoleum is where Sayeed Alao'd-din is buried. He also was one of the sons of the seventh Emam, and he was another brother of sayyed Mir Ahmad (Shah-e-Cheragh). The tall building, surmounted by a lofty dome, attracts attention. The original entrance was on the south, approached by a small courtyard from the road that runs beside it. On the western side there is an area, more or less spacious, which was formerly a cemetery, but is now regarded as the western courtyard of the mausoleum.

The mausoleum's interior consists of a tall sanctuary ornamented with designs in facets of mirror beneath the dome, and the tomb, as in the other places of pilgrimage in Shiraz, is situated in an alcove on the northern side, and there is a mosque adjacent to the sanctuary behind the railing of the tomb. The original building of the mausoleum was constructed by Qotlogh Khan, who, apparently in the Moghul and Timurid period, at the close of the fourteenth, or at the beginning of the fifteenth century, was Governor of Shiraz, and had a garden where the present mausoleum stands, which was built over the site where the grave appeared to be. There is an inscription in the Sols character above the sanctuary, dated 943 A.H (1563 A.D), the writer of which was called Seyavash. And there is a poem above the door leading into the sanctuary, the last line of which is a chronogram, and reads as follows:

(To elevate this this shrine Soltan Khalil did pay; Its date enquire of (Ever Good), and so, Good-day) ???? (ever), in Arabic letters, which have a numerical value, equals 113 and ??? (good), in the same manner, equals 810. Accordingly the present Shrine was built in 923 A.H (1517 A.D). The Soltan Khalil mentioned in the above poem is Soltan Zu'l-qadr whi during the reign of the Safavid Shad Esma'il I was for fifteen years, from 911 to 926 A.H (1505-1519 A.D), Governor of Fars, and who according to what is written in the Naseri Fars-Nameh, on account of misconduct at the battle of Chalderan, was by order of Shah Esmail put to death in 926 A.H. The year 943 A.H., mentioned at the end of the inscription above the sanctuary (below the dome), indicates that in the time of Shah Tahmasb I the work of completing the mausoleum was accomplished. On account of the instability of the soil, and the earthquakes that occurred in Shiraz, this building suffered considerable damage, and a part of the dome, which had last been repaired by the late Mirza Abu'l-Hasan Moshiro'l-molk, gave way, and was threatened with collapse, and in spite of repairs, and much reinforcement, which was carried out by the late General Riazi, the former Director of Education in Fars, and subsequently, the threat of dissolution increased daily, until in the year 1950 the dome was taken down by the Fars Department of Education. Then a dome of less weight, with an interior iron structure, was prepared, at the cost of the funds of the mausoleum, and it was placed in position in 1952, and during several succeeding years a covering of brick and enamelled tiling was applied in the shape of the original dome. The Mausoleum of Sayyed Alao'd-din was registered on the 29th of the month Azar, 1316 under No, 307 in the list of the historical monuments of Iran

• Another view of Interior of Shah Cheragh.
  Another view of Interior of Shah Cheragh.
• An old photo of Shah Cheragh.
  An old photo of Shah Cheragh.
• The shrine inside the Mausoleum.
  The shrine inside the Mausoleum.
• 
  Facade of Shah Cheragh.

External links

• Photos