Tomb of Ferdowsi

Ferdowsi, the influential Persian poet and author of the Persian epic, Shahnameh died in 1020AD in Tus, Iran (Persia), in the same city in which he was born. During his life time, Ferdowsi was not recognised for all his literary contributions. It was only after his death that his poems won him admiration. For hundreds of years, his resting place was nothing more than a minor dome-shrine erected by a Ghaznavid ruler of Khorasan, without any permanent edifice in place in the garden of his house where Ferdowsi's daughter had originally buried him. It was not until 1934 that the Iranian government, then under the control of Reza Shah, first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, recognized the cultural and literary value of Ferdowsi and erected a permanent tomb in his honour. The tomb was originally designed by the Iranian architect, Haj Hossein Lurzadeh who aside from Ferdowsi's tomb also created some 842 mosques, as well as the private palace of Ramsar, part of the decoration of the Marmar palace, the Imam Hossein Mosque in Tehran, the Motahari Mosque, and various parts of the Hazrat-i-Seyyed-o-Shouhada shrine in Karbala, Iraq. The present design of the structure is credited mainly to Karim Taherzadeh, who replaced the old dome-shaped design by Lurzadeh with a modern cubical design. Ferdowsi's tomb, which resembles the tomb of Cyrus the Great, is built in style of Achaemenid architecture. There is a clear link between this choice of architectural style and the politics of Iran at the time. Four years before Reza Shah came to power in 1922, a group of secular Iranian reformists had created the "Society for National Heritage" (SNH, or in Persian anjoman-e asar-e meli). Composed mostly of western-educated, pro-reform intellectuals such as Abdolhossein Teymourtash, Hassan Pirnia, Mostowfi ol-Mamalek, Mohammad Ali Foroughi, Firuz Mirza Firus Nosrat al-Dowleh, and Keikhosrow Shahrokh, the SNH was critical in obtaining the funds from the Iranian parliament. File:Tomb of Ferdowsi, Old.jpg|Tomb of Ferdowsi around 1930s, by André Godard and Teymoortash. File:3rd architecture design of Ferdowsi mausoleum, by Taherzade Behzad.jpg|3rd architecture design of Ferdowsi mausoleum, by Taherzade Behzad File:BAKHTAZMAYI TICKET FERDOWSI TOMB 1924.jpg|One of the first tickets sold for the Ferdowsi millenary clearly shows the layering structure of the tomb. File:Ferdowsi tomb1.jpg|Ferdowsi's tomb, Tus, Iran File:Embelem for National Society of Iran.jpg|Society for National Heritage File:Abdolhossein Teymourtash.jpg|Abdolhossein Teymourtash File:Arbab kaykhosro shahrokh.jpg|Keykhosrow Shahrokh File:Foroughi PM1314.jpg|Mohammad Ali Foroughi File:Seyyed Hassan Taqizadeh.jpg|Hassan Taqizade File:Ali Asghar Hekmat.jpg|Ali-Asghar Hekmat File:Hosein Ala.jpg|Hoseyn Alaa File:Am Djanhanbani.jpg|Amanollah Jahanbani File:Hassan Pirnia 3.jpg|Hassan Pirniya File:ESFANDIAARI.jpg|Hassan Esfandiyari File:Hassan Mostowfi al-Mamalek young.jpg|Hassan Mostowfiyol Mamaalek File:1000th of ferdowsi 1313.jpg|Ferdowsi millennial celebration commemorative medal ==Structural details==

The basic structure of the tomb is rectangular with a large garden surrounding the structure and interacting with the structure in the Persian style of gardening known as Char-bagh (or Chaharbagh translating to four gardens in Persian). In the center of the cross created by the legs of the garden surrounding it, is an edifice made of primarily white marble. The edifice can be divided into a "wide chamber" that lies at the base and a cubical erection on top, with four pillars surrounding it and scenes from the epic of Shahnameh and text ornating it. The body of the poet is actually interred in the center of the rectangular wide chamber underneath the overlying four pillars cube. This resemblance is intentional as the designer of this edifice intended to revoke the original Achaemenid style of architecture. In fact every other facet of the edifice has a Zoroastrian symbol known as Faravahar. This is not coincidental. There are multiple applications of this in the Achaemenid architecture mainly in Persepolis in Fars province today. The "Society for National Heritage of Iran" (SNH) heavily relied on the use of Faravahar as this was the symbolic representation of ancient Iran since Achaemenid times. Marble decorations are used to ornate the siding and the floor of the "wide base" structure as well the wall. Persian flower designs (concentric flower designs composed of a flower with seven (7) ovaloid pellets surrounding a central circle), and hexagonal marble designs are commonly used in the structure. Comparison of the Persepolis columns, and the columns used in Ferdowsi's mausoleum: ==Historical context==

Iran's history has been closely tied to geopolitical changes that has taken place since the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire in Persis all the way to the modern day Iran. Two major events are of critical importance in Iran's history specially its literary history as it pertained to Ferdowsi: Arab conquest of Persia and the Mongolian invasion of Persia. Ferdowsi lived his life as a poor man constantly moving from court to court, and eventually died a poor widower, having lost his only son. In the time frame preceding the construction of the mausoleum, nationalistic feelings in Iran were high. There was a renewed sense of national identity partly due to the pressures felt by foreign powers including the constant Anglo-Persian political struggle specially over the issues of oil, and partly due to inability of the Qajar dynasty from protecting Iranian lands in central Asia to the Russians and in the east to the British. Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) was an important source of contention for Iranians. One journalist studying during this time period reflects his and his colleagues personal experience: File:Negare (1) (Statues) of Ferdowsi.jpg File:Negare (Statues)(2).jpg File:Negare (Statues)(3).jpg The architecture of Ferdowsi's tomb is also influenced by poet's own personal life, reflecting a constant struggle between the poor poet and the lazy king, and adversity and hope. The Society for National Heritage in 1930s drawing on poet's attempt to revitalize the Persian language, also attempted to revitalize Persian culture and Iranian identity through architecture. This was in many ways taken literally with Persian poems from Shahnameh etched into the white marble facets of the edifice of the poet's mausoleum. After the Iranian revolution, both tomb of Ferdowsi and even mausoleum of Cyrus the Great survived the initial chaos. One of the most dangerous threats to the structure was that it would be equated with the late Pahlavi dynasty by the new regime and destroyed. It however was not and was instead embraced by the new local government since claims were made that Ferdowsi was a devout Shia Muslim. File:Negare (Statues)(4).jpg|A damaged sculpture of Ferdowsi tomb, by Fereydoon Seddeghi. ==Interior design==

Ferdowsi's Shahnameh inspires tales of heroic act by protagonists fighting against their antagonists. In that sense it is a national epic that encompasses not only fictional and literary figures but also incorporates parts of the history of pre-Islamic Iran. This has led to the interior of the edifice of Ferdowsi to reflect the same heroic scenes. The chief architect responsible for the design of the interior of the tomb of Ferdowsi is Feraydoon Sadeghi who created deep frieze scenes using three dimensional statues each depicting a scene from Shahnameh. Rostam, the hero of the book of Shahnameh is the focus of the majority of the scenes inside of the edifice. As Shahnameh is essentially a text, artistic recreation of its heroic scenes are multiple. Centered inside the edifice surrounding by the frieze scenes and other artistic endeavors is the tomb stone of the poet. Etched in the tomb stone in Farsi (Persian) is the description of Ferdowsi's contribution to the Persian-speakers and at the end it ends by denoting the poet's date of birth, date of death, and the date at which the mausoleum was built. The Persian inscription on the tomb: بنام خداوند جان و خرد. این مکان فرخنده آرامگاه استاد گویندگان فارسی‌زبان و سراینده داستان‌های ملی ایران، حکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی طوسی است که سخنان او زنده‌کننده کشور ایران و مزار او در دل مردم این سرزمین جاودان است. تاریخ تولّد: ۳۲۹ هجری قمری – تاریخ وفات: ۴۱۱ هجری قمری – تاریخ بنای آرامگاه: ۱۳۵۳ هجری قمری A more exact English translation: File:Ferdowsi phoenixferdowsi.jpg|A frieze sculpture scene inside of the tomb depicting the mystical bird simurgh and the hero File:Tus shahnameh.jpg|Another frieze scene, this one depicting a scene from Shahnameh. ==Legacy==

Today Ferdowsi's tomb is one of the most photographed in Iran. The site has also inspired many Persian poets including Iranian poet Mehdi Akhavan-Sales who is actually physically buried not far from the tomb of Ferdowsi, in his own tomb in the grounds of Ferdowsi's complex. Iranian classical singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian is also buried at the complex. ==References==