The long history of Iranian architecture is characterized by many ups and downs, while political, geographic, and social factors have certainly influenced Iranian architecture over the years. Generally speaking, the common architecture of Iran, or 'people's architecture', in other words, how ordinary people built their houses, hasn't change much over the centuries. Invariably, indigenous construction materials, and indigenous designs were used. But in Iran's "Royal architecture", that is, the architecture used to build palaces and mansions for kings, monarchs, and the ruling classes, we see a very different type of architecture, with very expensive and new, and sometimes imported construction materials, being used. Given the considerable financial resources of kings and monarchs, this is not entirely unexpected.Also we see variations in the outward appearance, and internal decorations of buildings constructed in different historical eras.In our last programme, we said architectural styles in Iran can be subdivided into six different categories, and we have examined all six of them. However, in the 18th century AD, corresponding to the 12th Century after Hejira, a new style of architecture cropped up in Iran, known as "Iranian Baroque" or "mixed architecture." Because this style of architecture was used in construction of Iranian buildings for a long period of time, we have decided to dedicate this programme to examining the special features of this type of architecture.The 18th century AD, corresponding to 12th century AH, was really the century of conflict and turmoil in Iran. The powerful Safavid dynasty collapsed, when seemingly insignificant and relatively small numbers of Afghans invaded Iran. Years of bloodshed and murder by the occupiers followed. The bloodletting and mayhem stopped in 1735, when Nader Shah Afshar drove out the Afghan invaders from Iran. He was the founder of Afsharid dynasty, after which the Zand dynasty came to power, and the transition years were again full of conflict and turmoil. The Qajarid dynasty was officially set up in 1785, and the Qajar kings ruled Iran for the next 135 years or so, when they were replaced by the British with the upstart Pahlavis. Trade and exchanges with Europe came to its peak in the Qajarid period. Expansion of trade with Europe, and superficially imitating Europe, were two central features of the later Qajar period. Nassereddin Shah traveled to Europe in 1884. He was enthralled and captivated by what he saw in Europe. When he returned to Iran, he decided to imitate the Europeans, superficially in many ways. He wanted Iran to have the outward appearance of Europe, and he ordered some changes. These changes began with architecture.It has to be said that Nassereddin Shah's many trips to Europe was not the only reason for these changes. Iranian students were sent to study in European universities and politicians and businessman began traveling to Europe at this time. This made Iranians more familiar with European arts. It also has to be said that the industrial revolution flourished in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, with Europeans making great stride in science and technology. The colonialist policies of European governments placed European countries in a much better position compared to other nations. During Nassereddin Shah's 52-year reign, it became fashionable for wealthy individuals to build their houses and mansions in European style. The architecture was inspired by Europe, even if it wasn't truly European. It was said that Mohammad Khan Saane'ie, a famous architect at the time, used postcards and photographs of Europe as a basis for constructing buildings. But because he, and other architects like him, relied so much on postcards and photographs, an intelligent way of combining the best of Iranian architecture and European architecture never took place. Iranian and European architectures were never combined. This is why the Qajar-era European-inspired architecture of Iran is referred to as "Iranian Baroque". Because some superficial features of European Baroque architecture is quite visible in Qajar-era architecture, although it is by no means truly European Baroque.Having said all this, it has to be said that traditional Iranian architecture, dating back to earlier times, was still used in the Qajarid period, particularly for building Bazaars, Caravansaries, Religious Schools, Mosques, and public baths. What was new and innovative, architecturally-speaking, during the Qajari period, was urban architecture, mainly in the construction of palaces, mansions, military barracks, and other buildings.Another feature of Qajar-era architecture was building "City Gates", with their many decorations. All main roads leading to major Iranian cities passed through a "gateway". By convention, the gate was named after the town where the road originated. For example, the road from Qazvin to Tehran, once it reached Tehran, went through the "Qazvin Gate". The city gates were left open during specific hours in daytime and nighttime for travelers and people who used the roads. The ceilings of the gates were crescent-shaped and curved, and they were decorated with elaborate mosaics and tiles and chalk-work. The style known as "mixed architecture" can best be seen in royal palaces in Tehran. Even after the collapse of the Qajar Dynasty, "mixed architecture" continued to be used in Tehran, mainly for palaces for many decades. What started during the reign of Nassereddin Shah, continued for many decades after the Qajar era.In the Qajar era architectural decorations were mainly made with tiles, mosaics and paintings. Before the Qajar era, tiles were painted with beautiful metallic and mineral-based colours. These retained their beauty and vibrant colours for many centuries. However, during the Qajar period, packaged colourings for tiles were imported from Russia. These were unfortunately of inferior quality, and tile colourings rapidly deteriorated in this period. Qajar-era tiles and mosaics soon lost their colour. Because of the low quality of imported colours used on tiles, these "aged" after a while, meaning the colours on the tiles changed or simply faded away. This led to the peculiar situation that Qajar-era buildings 'looked a lot older than those constructed several hundred years before the Qajar period. This was because the colours on the Qajar tiles faded, making them look deceptively a lot older than they actually were. Some Qajar-era tiles are decorated with drawings of European churches, European palaces, or even European windmills. Again this points to the non-Iranian nature of architecture and blind aping of European decorations during Qajar period.Gradually, intricate mirror and glass works replaced stucco for decoration of walls and ceilings in the Qajar period, and yellow, white and pink became the dominant colours for decoration.Another feature of Qajar-era architecture is the use of pyramidal roofs, quite steep, and the use of Roman arches, and Greek-style column heads, which sat awkwardly alongside traditional Iranian architecture. A prominent example of this can be seen in the "Golestan Palace Complex" in Tehran. This collection of palaces and other buildings were built during the reign of Nassereddin Shah, and the architecture used was influenced by Europe. The "Golestan Palace Complex" covers a huge area, and is made up of a large number of buildings, constructed using a variety of architectural styles. A private royal residence, a palace, museums for keeping royal treasures and jewelry, a library, the Hall of Mirrors, a building for commemoration of religious ceremonies, and the famous Shams al-Emareh building are all part of the "Golestan Palace Complex". The complex is situated in the old quarters of Tehran. The buildings in the "Golestan Palace Complex" exhibit a variety of architectural styles, with many of these buildings being built using a combination of ancient Iranian, Islamic-era and Western architecture. The buildings are decorated in a variety of styles.In the book: "A Journey through Iranian Architecture", it is written that the features of "Iranian Baroque" architecture are very wide-ranging, precisely because this architecture has been influenced by so many styles of architecture.For example the double spiral staircase, that is, a stairway on the left and a stairway on the right, which starts from the middle of the room, is really an import from Russian architecture. Building of beautifully-decorated cellars, covered in bricks, known in Persian as "Hoze- Khanehs", mainly for relaxing and entertainment, also began in the Qajar era. But because Qajar architecture effectively ignored the proud heritage of Iranian architecture of earlier times, and because it was suitable for a European climate rather than Iran's climate, it wasn't generally welcomed by ordinary people in Iran. After the Qajar period, this style of architecture gradually faded away. Today, you can see examples of this architecture at some locations in Tehran. These are mostly museums today, visited by tourists and the public alike.
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