Documenting A National Treasure: Ganj‑Nameh and the Iranian Built Environment Heritage

Despite its several-millennia long history, it was only quite recently that systematic documentation efforts aimed at identifying and introducing of Iranian architectural heritage were undertaken. It is actually only a few decades since scholars and researchers first began their scrutiny of these works in order to wipe the dust from the face of this vastly neglected albeit invaluable heritage.
 
Among these efforts Ganj-Nameh (An Anthology of Treasures) – SBU’s Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning compilation of Iranian Architecture – arguably stands out for its gargantuan scope, scholarship standards and rigorous documentation accuracy. The reference to ‘treasure’ in the title reflects the driving forces’ belief in the values of The Iranian architectural heritage and how it can inspire a sense of identity for modern Iranians, whilst offering lessons to learn on a wider global scene.
 
Ganj-Nameh is also a response to frustrations with previous accounts crafted by non-Iranian scholars whose efforts, whilst being valuable in their own right, are often seen as lacking the thoroughness and quality any such documentation requires. What is more, those accounts tend to be published sporadically, with occasionally less than noteworthy results, leaving researchers short of reliable references.
Bringing together information-rich and legible plans, clear, telling images and a thematic history of about six hundred significant historic realisations – ranging from mosques and madrasas to houses and baths – the Ganj-Nameh series seeks to not only promote research in this domain, but also encourage researchers, experts and all those interested, to initiate their own research on this rich heritage.
This is why a thematic order was adopted for the series – rather than the more common geographic  alternative – in order to make it act as a handy tool for research. It is noteworthy that, wherever similar instances of a certain building type exceed a certain limit, a geographic, city-by-city, classification is introduced. For instance, wherever the number of documented houses has exceeded a certain number, a full volume is dedicated to the houses of that city. Alternatively, wherever the specimens of a type of building are scattered in various cities, they come as one collection, be it in one or more volumes. In this way, the thematic order is kept whilst the geographic order has been taken into consideration as a secondary measure.
Another point to mention is the fact that the collection was compiled in a short period of time: some fifty years of relentless efforts by both tutors and students of the faculty is behind the anthology. It may therefore be said that a great number of the students of this major faculty, past and present, have contributed to its development. The final preparations for publication began in 1992, with the first volume published in 1995; after more than 20 years, it came to its conclusion in 2015. During this period, the first five volumes were revised and published in its second edition.
The collection addresses almost every building type and introduces a total of 573 buildings in 98 towns and cities.
Four volumes of the series are allocated to introducing historic mosques. Put together, they introduce 107 monumental structures in 57 cities. Among them 49 buildings are congregational mosques in 49 cities, which are represented in volumes VII and VIII; and 58 buildings are ordinary mosques of our cities which are depicted in volumes VI and II: due to the importance of Esfahan and its architecture and multiplicity of mosques in this beautiful city, 18 historic mosques of this city are represented independently in volume II and finally, volume VI contains 40 monumental structures from 25 different cities.
The fifth volume introduces historic madrasas (schools) in different Iranian cities. In this volume, the reader becomes acquainted with 38 ancient madrasas belonging to various periods. Undoubtedly, many more ancient madrasas exist in our cities, but it may be boldly asserted that the most important ones are included here.
Volumes eleven, twelve and thirteen are dedicated to yet another facet of Iranian Islamic architecture, that of ‘emamzadeh’s (shrines of Shia saints) and mausoleums, which they introduce through numerous examples. Innumerable shrines and mausoleums belonging to saints, mystics, scientists, writers, poets, governors, kings and political figures are scattered across Iran. Almost no region, city or village of this country is without a shrine dedicated to one or another great personality. In the popular mind, the mausoleums of these eminent individuals are considered secure havens against spiritual woes and revered as such. The very multitude of these mausoleums, which belong to different periods, bespeaks both the long history of this country`s rich culture and the ceaseless respect of successive generations of its people for their spiritual and secular leaders. The 128 buildings introduced in these three volumes represent but a small fraction of the remaining mausoleums; however, as they include the most important and the most famous among these, they present a relatively clear picture of the architectural characteristics of these buildings in the course of history. In geographic terms, they cover most of present-day Iran, and historically, they span a period of approximately 1,000 years, from the early 10th to the late 19th centuries.
The ninth and tenth volumes have been allocated to introduce the bazaar buildings. These buildings which are one of the most important parts of the Islamic period heritage are rarely studied. Although our bazaars are widely renowned, one hardly finds books or articles dedicated mainly to their architectural aspects.
Whilst being the spinal column of our cities, our bazaars are also a collection of different buildings interconnected in a special way. In general, each bazaar consists of a main body, or a main passage (Rasteh Bazaar) with several buildings attached to it. In some cases, the main passage is straight and in others takes a shape of a plant form leading to branches, but is always comprised of a simple four-vaulted space (Chahar-Taqi) with two chambers on either side. In contrast to this repeated symmetry, attached buildings to the main passage are very diverse including different kinds of governmental, commercial, religious, educational and service buildings. However, the commercial buildings are considered to be the essential part of the bazaar, and have been introduced thoroughly in the two Volumes of the Ganj-Nameh.
Buildings like caravanserais, both urban and countryside, bathhouses, cisterns, mills, both water and wind mills, ice-houses, ‘chapar-khaneh’s (postal services) and so on that served people in their everyday life were essential components in Iranian civic life during last centuries. Because of their sophisticated architecture, countryside caravanserais and bathhouses attracted the attention of scholars. Two volumes of the Ganj-Nameh are dedicated to these building types. The seventeenth volume is dedicated to countryside caravanserais and the eighteenth volume introduces the historic bathhouses of Iran.
Numerous books have been written about caravanserais, introducing almost every existing specimen. The caravanserais introduced in this volume represent a mere handful of the multitude of caravanserais scattered across this country. These twenty-two caravanserais date back to Safavid and Qajar times, the oldest being probably anterior to the reign of Shah Abbas the Great. The present volume, therefore, does not represent all types of caravanserais built in different periods; however, its detailed plans, ample illustrations and extensive architectural explanations fully describe the prevailing types of caravanserais, paving the way for a deeper, more accurate, understanding of the architecture of Iranian caravanserais
As mentioned, the above volume focuses on countryside caravanserais. Urban caravanserais, which often occur in combination with bazaars, are introduced in the ninth and tenth Volumes of the Ganj-Nameh, titled Bazaar Buildings, alongside other auxiliary bazaar buildings. Built beside desert roads, countryside caravanserais bear essential differences with urban ones as regards their architectural features, spatial organisation, function and environment; hence, these two types of caravanserais should not be confused.
Houses have always existed as part of human habitation, reflecting their culture and beliefs. No building better illustrates architecture as a response to the physical needs and spiritual desires of man than a house. Therefore, houses are unique entities in the context of cultural studies, or in terms of space creation and architecture of any ethnic group. They are also significant components of the history of architectural development.
Despite this significance, information on house architecture is truly limited. This negligence is also present in architecture books. Fortunately, though, five volumes of the series introduce 135 houses in 25 cities: vol. I: 19 mansions in Kashan, vol. IV: 21 mansions in Esfahan, vol. XIV: 24 houses in Yazd and finally volumes XV and XVI also introduce traditional houses of 22 other cities, totalling 71 houses.
Houses often lack precise construction dates. However, most of the houses presented in these five volumes can be estimated to be built in the 19th to the early-20th century, which is contemporary with the Qajar rule in Iran. A few may belong to before this era, especially Safavid period (16th and 17th centuries), as well as, some of them may be constructed during the early Pahlavi period (mid-20th century). Therefore, this collection of houses is, in fact, reflective of house architecture during the Qajar era, and highlights the tastes and trends in space creation and house design during the transformation period of Iranian architecture. 
Scrutinising the collection of houses presented in these five volumes reveals some essential connections and similarities beyond the differences in the initial encounter. It is as though they all speak the same word although in different forms, in different regions and cities which have their own specific conditions and characteristics. They are all the same in their principal essence, and the differences are in form and according to circumstances. This is like the common language of people across regions that varies according to their different conditions and preferences, and each form is called a dialect.
As the defined set of words and certain rules of combination and word order in any language, there are defined sub-spaces in Iranian architecture, and clear rules governing their connections and compositions. Different architectural form of houses in different cities can be likened to dialects or branches of a main language, which is composed of intended yet limited changes in the form of sub-spaces or their combinations. These changes, however, do not cut the connection with the main language, but rather reorganise it according to new conditions and preferences.
Volumes 19 and 20 of the series introduce the most significant among extant gardens and palaces of Iran. A sum of 33 gardens and palaces, plus one major ensemble comprising many buildings, are introduced in these two volumes. It is true that palaces and gardens are two different types of construction, and distinct examples of both types have remained. However, since palaces are usually accompanied by gardens, there are also many examples that are simultaneously a palace and a garden.
If we take no notice of the original foundations of some of the introduced works presented here, however, most of the extant examples date from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The earlier examples have changed through centuries to match a figure according to the tastes of the time.
The third volume of the series introduces religious buildings of Tehran, and is unique among other volumes in that it introduces several types of buildings. This is because the present volume was the first of the series to take shape in view of the 200th anniversary of Tehran’s adoption as capital. However, when the layout of the rest of the series was finalized, owing to the particular status of historic buildings of Tehran and the benefits the publication of this book was judged to bear, it was decided not to upset the present composition.
The truth is that historic works (religious buildings in particular) are actually lost amid the turmoil of Greater Tehran, and that Tehran today appears as a rootless city with no particular sense of identity. The first outcome of the publication of this book can be to endow Tehran with a religio-historic prestige and restore its rightfulness as a city bearing a time-honoured historic past. Obviously, this book does not include all the religious buildings of Tehran, but the compilation of the most important among them within a single volume will show that Tehran boasts a varied and valuable collection of historic buildings ranging from mosques and madrasas to mausoleums, emamzadehs, and tekiehs, many of which remain unattended amid the large and small buildings of contemporary Tehran.