چكيده لاتين :
In addition to the extension of Islamic culture, Quranic inscriptions are inseparable elements from
mosque decorations, which reflect the socio-political conditions in the era they were inscribed.
With regard to its importance, vastness, number of eras during which inscriptions were made
and the volume of decorations, Jame’ Mosque of Isfahan is among buildings lodging the most
historical inscriptions in the Islamic architecture in Iran. This building has a variety of inscriptions
from different historical eras, particularly the Seljuk, the Ilkhanid, the Mozaffarid, the Timourid,
the Safavid, the Ghajar and contemporary eras. They are located in entrances (indicators of
mosques in the city), yards, porches, minarets, halls, domes, altars, stone-troughs, light holders,
altars (indicating prayer direction or qiblah) etc. The concentration of these inscriptions is mostly
in entrances, inside porches (southern, western, eastern, northern parts and Omar’s porch), main
yard, minarets, altars and domes. These inscriptions can be studied from various views such as
technique and history, context, location, builders, method of restoration, their role in architectural
space, etc. In the existing researches, little attention has been paid to the identification and analysis
of inscription contents used in this building. Hence, this article aims to identity, analyze and guess
the contents of Quranic inscriptions in entrances and altars in Jame’ Mosque of Isfahan. In order
to get access to the contents of inscriptions and to study their thematic relationship from political,
social and application aspects in this building, the research was conducted using interpretationanalytical
method; and documentary and matrix sources (observation and attending the place)
were also employed. The research findings showed that the entrances and altars of Jame’ Mosque
of Isfahan possess various inscriptions with different contents; contents under the titles of figures
(date of construction), individuals’ names (builders, rulers), artists (masters, calligraphers),
Hadiths, sacred names and Quranic verses. Among 10 entrances and 17 altars in Jame’ Mosque of
Isfahan, 7 entrances and 8 pulpits have Quranic inscriptions e.g. Al-Baqara, An-Nisa, Al-Fatiha,
Al-Ikhlas, Al-Insan, At-Tawba, Al-Anbiya, Al-Ahzab, Al-Jinn, Al-Maida, Al-Jumua, Al Imran,
Al-Kahf, An-Nur and Sad surahs. Al-Baqara surah has been repeated three times, Al-Fatiha twice,
and others have been used just once in the inscriptions in entrances and altars of Jame’ Mosque of
Isfahan. Most Quranic inscriptions in the entrances and altars of Jame’ Mosque of Isfahan have
been added during the Safavid era, and after that, Ghajar, Ale-Mozaffar, Ikhanid and Seljuk have the most Quranic inscriptions sequentially. In addition, the research findings showed that the Quranic
verses in inscriptions in the entrances and altars of Jame’ Mosque of Isfahan were inscribed during the
Seljuk, Ilkhanid, Al-e Mozaffar, Safavid and Ghajar eras. They also showed that the Safavid era had the
most Quranic inscriptions using 9 surahs and 15 verses of the Quran, and the Seljuk era has the fewest
with one surah and one verse. With regard to the fact that Isfahan has always been the scene of religious
conflicts after Islam, and it used to be an important Sunni center until the Safavid era, when Shiism
was announced as the official religion in the country, it seems that the political and social conditions in
each era have had a remarkable effect in selecting verses for the inscriptions in the above-mentioned
entrances and altars. So much so that when the political, social and religious situations were in a chaos,
the selected Quranic verses for inscriptions in altars and entrances of Jame’ Mosque of Isfahan somehow
reflected the special events in those eras. On the other hand, when somehow there was relative political
and social peace, the contents of selected verses in entrances pointed to issues regarding monotheism
and uniqueness of God, faith and belief in the resurrection day, prophecy, and the prophet’s mission,
and ultimately verses regarding the importance of mosques. Furthermore, the contents of verses in altars
point to events in Muslim communities; for instance, the change in prayer direction (qiblah), prophet’s
mission and leadership. During the Seljuk era, difference between Seljuk government and Scholars of
Isfahan led to a fire in Jame’ Mosque of Isfahan; and it seems that the aim of inscribing verse 114 of
Bahgharah Surah refers to this event. During the Ilkhanids, too, with regard to religious differences, it can
be said that the builders of Oljaito altar had no aim but advertising and expanding Shiism in Isfahan by
inscribing a Quranic text and a Hadith with a Shiite-oriented content. The existence of military conflicts
during Al-e Mozaffar era influenced the inscription in the altar of Mozaffari School and stimulation of
faithful people to Jihad. By establishing a relative peace during the Safavid and Ghajar eras and their
Shiite beliefs, the builders selected verses that referred to praising the prophet of Islam, the position of
Amir Al-Muminin (the leader of the faithful), the Shiites and how to reach Allah through death.
