Soltania today is not a big town or even a village located in the Shahristan of Abkhar, in the north-eastern part of the country. The city stands at an altitude of more than 1.7 km above sea level, and today there are hardly 6,000 local residents here. But about seven centuries ago, Soltania was the capital of Iran. According to populationmonster, Soltanie is one of the largest cities in Iran.
Soltaniye appeared on the map at the end of the 13th century, and, according to the testimony of contemporary historians, huge funds were invested in its construction. Ilkhan Argun, who founded Soltaniye, spent a lot of effort to adequately supply the future city with water. Ilkhan died early, but the project was completed by his heir, under whom Soltaniya replaced Tabriz as the capital of Iran.
After that, when the court moved to Soltaniya, the noble Iranians began to show off in front of each other, erecting buildings in the city, one another larger and more majestic. Soltania was on busy trade routes, so there were no obstacles to his prosperity. In 1384, Timur captured it, after which the city flourished even more, but after the death of the ruler, it began to decline, which process finally turned it into a deep province by the 17th century.
Some architecture experts claim that the Indian Taj Mahal has become a kind of heir to the incredible Oljeitu mausoleum in Soltaniye.
The last large-scale construction in Soltaniya was started by Feth Ali Shah at the beginning of the 19th century. The Shah built a fortress and his own summer residence in the city in the hope of restoring the former grandeur of the city, but the war with Russia put an end to these plans.
In 2005, the domed mausoleum of Oljeitu in Soltaniya was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
How to get there
Soltaniye is located on the highway connecting Tabriz with Tehran, closer to the latter. From the Iranian capital by car, you can get here in 2.5 hours.
Attractions and attractions Soltaniye
Soltaniya is distinguished by several interesting examples of architecture, preserved from the period when the courtiers of the founding Shah Oljeitu tried to outdo each other. But the main one remains the one that the shah himself left behind: this is his mausoleum, which was built during the life of the ruler. The mausoleum features an incredible size dome with a diameter of 25 m and a height of 20 m. The Soltaniye dome is the largest in the world, built of brick.
There are two other mausoleums in the city of similar octagonal shape, although, of course, less magnificent. This is the mausoleum of Chelebi Oglu of the first half of the 14th century. and the mausoleum of Mavlan Hasan Kashi of the 16th century, later rebuilt.
The author of the architectural project was the architect Sultan-Mohammed Khodabanda. He created an octagonal three-story structure with a total height of 52 m and surrounded the dome with thin and high towers imitating minarets. The dome was made of two layers and became the first such structure in the country.
The interior of the mausoleum, richly decorated with ceramic tiles, decorative pieces and terracotta elements, pleases the eye with variegation and saturation of colors. Its final version, which was completed in 1309, turned out to be so beautiful and unusual that Timur’s tomb was subsequently built in Samarkand in its image and likeness. And some connoisseurs of architecture claim that the Indian Taj Mahal has become a kind of heir to the incredible Oljeitu mausoleum in Soltania.
