Eurasian Studies

Balkans, Anatolia, Iran, Caucasus and Central Asia Studies Notebooks

Cycles and Circumferences

The Tower of Gonbad-e Kāvus as a Time-Marking Monument

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Abstract

The focus is on the tower of Qābūs ibn Wušmgīr, Ziyarid ruler of Gīlān between the tenth and the eleventh century CE. In spite of the archaeological evidence, the monument is still considered as a mausoleum by most scholars. However, the tower’s geometrical and mathematical features can reveal the outstanding significance of the building as a time-measuring monument. A new interpretative key for the well-known tower of Gonbad-e Kāvus, based on the major time-reckoning cycles of Iranian world, is proposed. On this basis, it is possible to see how the building quite satisfies three needs at least: a need for dynastical propaganda, an administrative need in a fiscal equality perspective, and an Islamic orthodox need, as far as the accuracy of the daily prayer is concerned.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Language: en

Keywords Qābūs ibn Wušmgīr • Ziyarids • Gonbad-e Kāvus • Iranian calendar

Copyright © 2016 Simone Cristoforetti. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.14277/6969-100-3/EUR-5-5


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