بررسي مضامين ادبي كتيبه هاي قاجاريه حرم مطهر (ع) با تاكيد بر دوران قاجاريه

Analyzing the literary Inscriptions of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza in the Qajar Period

Sacred places have constantly existed within every culture and religion; places significant for both the common and superior. One of the features of such sacred places is their ornamentation that has created an arena for artists to express their inventive works. One should note that works of art find value within the walls of such places. The preservation of sacred places will grant antiquity to art, moreover, artists of a religious perspective will gain spiritual significance. The shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad is a sacred place where Shi ah Iranians pay homage to their Imam and regard the shrine as a priceless religious assessment. Likewise, Shi ah artists relentlessly felt honored to place their works of art in the shrine and decorate this holy place of pilgrimage with Islamic ornamentation. Many poets have written many eulogies regarding Imam Reza; their poems are applied on inscriptions or on the walls of porches and courtyards. Saboori, a poet who lived in the early twentieth century, was named the poet laureate of the Astan-e Ghods Razavi (the holy threshold of Imam Reza) and the lines of his famous ode can be depicted on the dados in the porch of Dar-al Sidaeh. The contemporary calligrapher Ahmad Zanjani, one of the famous artists of his age, has created his masterpiece of two inscriptions located on the angles of the mausoleum. This paper initiates with a brief introduction on the history of the shrine of Imam Reza and continues with analyzing the artwork of the calligraphers applied in the shrine. The main purpose of this paper is considering the role of the holy shrine in magnetizing artistic elites. The collaboration of this article was achieved via library and documentary research; complied via observation and analysis. Questions answered throughout the article: What are the concepts applied in the poetic verses of the holy shrine? What is the significance of the shrine in influencing poets and artistic elites?