The Development Flow of Wooden Minbars in Iran

Minbar is one of the most important additional architectural elements of any mosque. Its importance in emphasizing the Qiblah direction as well as the position of Imam in order to deliver sermon (khutba) leads to the flourish and interference of a fairly large number of handicrafts like wooden decorations and related features specific to the mosque architecture like tile works and stucco designs. From this point of view, a survey of structural analysis of minbars can enrich our knowledge of the culture, believes, and arts of various periods. Unfortunately, studies concerning the wooden minbars from different periods, which should be categorized among the most valuable wooden masterpieces, are much more staccato for which there has been no comprehensive related investigation. Thinking of the highly valued placement of minbars, this project used a descriptive-analytical approach by the field and library data gathering methods to investigate the chronological development of wooden minbars. What results suggest is that the creation of wooden minbars, whose main frameworks had been shaped during the early Seljuk period, was deformed in the late Seljuk era by accepting a wooden doorway frame, introducing a new attitude by an increased scale and a chamber added to the seating platform contemporary with the Ilkhanid dominion. It eventually reached its final form during Timurid period by accepting doorposts.