Early years Dar-ul-Imarah (Royal Residence) or the garden of
Humayd ibn Qahtaba al-Ta'i was a fortress in the village of Sanabad. It dates from before the
Islamic era. It had been placed at the fork road of Sanabad,
Neishabour,
Sarakhs,
Toos and
Radkan. This fortress had been a place for the frontier guards to take position and establish the security of these roads and regions. After the demise of
Harun al-Rashid, he was buried in this place. Due to this historical event, the Dar-ul-Imarah was known as the Mausoleum of
Haruniyyeh. The original inner building of Dar-ul-Imarah had been a
Zoroastrian temple. This building was demolished by the order of
al-Ma'mun, and then it was reconstructed according to the special architecture of
Khorasan. Four plain and short walls, covered with a low-slope dome, were constructed around the building. Afterwards, the name of the mausoleum (Haruniyyeh) was changed and known as the Mashhad-ur-Reza. Mashhad literally means 'a place where a martyr has been buried'.
Martyrdom of Ali al-Ridha In 818,
Imam Ali al-Ridha was murdered by the
Abbasid caliph
al-Ma'mun (ruled 813–833) and was buried beside the grave of al-Ma'mun's father,
Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809). After this event, the location was called Mashhad al-Ridha ("the place of martyrdom of al-Ridha"). Shias and
Sunnis (for example,
Ibn Hibban wrote in his Kitab al Siqqat that whenever troubled and in Mashad he would always visit the shrine to ask for relief from problems that bothered him) began visiting his grave on
pilgrimage. By the end of the 9th century, a dome was built on the grave and many buildings and
bazaars sprang up around it. For the next thousand years, it has been devastated and reconstructed several times. Although there are limited architectural remnants from their time, historical accounts suggest that the Samanids contributed to the preservation and modest development of the shrine, ensuring that it remained a focal point for pilgrims in the region. Their support laid the groundwork for later dynasties to expand the shrine.
Ghaznavid era By the end of the third
Hijri century, a dome was built on the grave of Imam Reza and many buildings and bazaars sprang around the shrine. In ,
Sebuktigin, the
Ghaznavid sultan devastated Mashhad and stopped the pilgrims from visiting the shrine. But in ,
Mahmud of Ghazni started the expansion and renovation of the shrine and built many fortifications around the city.
Seljuk era Sultan Sanjar, after the healing of his son in the shrine, renovated the sanctuary and added new buildings within its precincts. At the time of Sultan Sanjar Saljuqi, after Sharaf al-Din Abu Tahir b. Sa'd b. Ali Qummi repaired the shrine, he began to construct a dome over it. In , as borne out by inscriptions on certain tiles, Allaudin Khwarezm Shah carried out renovations on the shrine. Sultan
Muhammad Khudabandeh Öljaitü, the Mongol ruler of Iran, converted to Shi'ism and ruled Iran from until , once again renovated the shrine on a grand scale.
Safavid era With the emergence of the
Safavid dynasty in 1501 CE and their declaration of the Twelver Shi'ite sect as the state religion, Mashhad reached the peak of its development. However, since Khorasan was a border province of the Safavid Empire, Mashhad suffered repeated invasions and periods of occupation by the Uzbek Khans – Muhammad Khan, Abdullah Khan Shaibani, Muhammad Sultan and especially Abdul-Momen Khan. These invasions continued up to , the reign of
Shah Abbas I, who finally drove out the
Uzbeks from Khorasan. Sahn Atiq was extended in the time of Shah Abbas I, and during the Safavid era, efforts were made for its further improvement. During the Safavid era, the shrine also received patronage from rulers of the Indian subcontinent, namely
Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk (founder of the
Qutb Shahi dynasty) and
Mughal Emperor Akbar. The latter was notably a
Sunni.
Afsharid and Qajar eras Nader Shah Afshar and
the Qajar Shahs who ruled Iran from 1789 to 1925 CE expanded the various places in the shrine. There were also some improvements in the shrine complex during the Qajar Dynasty. There was also some repair in both courtyards during the reign of
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah. Following the coup in December 1911, Russian artillery shelled revolutionaries who had taken refuge in the shrine. The whole complex was greatly damaged in 1911, but it was repaired after a while.
Modern era , with volunteers placing carpets in the Imam Ridha Mosque for the afternoon prayers|thumb There were significant changes in the complex in . The Old Falakah was extended up to a radius of and an important part of Holy Buildings' historical structure was demolished without considering its antiquity and elegance. On 13 July 1935 (11th Rabi al-Thani 1354 AH), during the
Goharshad Mosque rebellion, armed forces of
Reza Shah, the reigning monarch of Iran and founder of
Pahlavi dynasty, invaded the shrine and massacred people gathered in the Goharshad Mosque. The people there were protesting against the modernization policies of the Shah which many, especially amongst the Shia clergy, considered to be anti-Islamic, including the
banning of hijab for women in Iran. During the
Iranian Revolution, on 21 November 1978, troops under orders from the regime of
Mohammad Reza Shah, Reza Shah's son and successor, killed 2 people inside the shrine. The shrine is depicted on the
reverse of the Iranian 100
rials coin, issued since 2004.
Kitchen The harem kitchen receives 10 to 40 thousand visitors per day and sometimes on occasional events cooks for as many as 250,000. It has an Astan quds website page and there is an ID register and ticket lottery for a one course meal per person every three years. During Ramadan, the Commune Kitchen feeds approximately one million pilgrims and citizens.
Incidents 1994 bombing On 20 June 1994, a bomb explosion occurred at the shrine. To maximize the number of casualties, the explosion took place on
Ashura, one of the holiest days for Shia muslims, when hundreds of pilgrims had gathered to commemorate the
death of their third Imam, Husayn ibn Ali. The attack left at least 25 dead and at least 70 injured. Although a Sunni militant group claimed responsibility, the Iranian government laid the blame on the
People's Mujahedin of Iran, and others accused a Pakistani militant.
2022 stabbings On 5 April 2022, a stabbing attack took place at the shrine, killing two Shia
clerics and wounding a third. The perpetrator, identified as foreign national Abdullatif Moradi, was immediately arrested along with six others accused of assisting him. The victims were active members of non-profit constructing and cultural communities, motivated by
anti-Shi'ism. ==Specifications==