Significance of Epigraphy in the Islamic Architecture Emphasized on the Epigraphies in Enghelab Courtyard of Imam Reza Shrine

The Imam Reza shrine is a kind of museum with varieties of Islamic arts. In this museum the artmasterpieces are related to different historical periods. The age of this great museum is more thanthirteen centuries. This is a well-known museum because of the valuable position of the holy shrineof ‘Alī ibn Mūsā ar-Riḍā. There are too much epigraphies around this place. These epigraphieshave been repaired by the consideration to their history. There are too many epigraphies fromTimurid Empire in the Enghelab Courtyard of Haram. Another name of this courtyard is ancientcourtyard. These epigraphies indicate the social conditions of each period. The current research isdescriptive-analytic. Library studies and also field studies were used in this research. The findingsof this research indicate that epigraphy in the Islamic architecture has an effective role in order tocreate the spiritualty spirit within the building. This kind of art is derived from the spiritual essenceof Holy Quran. Therefore, the purpose of epigraphy in the holy shrine of ‘Alī ibn Mūsā ar-Riḍā iscreation of spiritual communication between God and man. The recent studies show that most ofthe epigraphies are derived from Safavid era. Most of their concepts are related to the religiouscontexts.

Keywords:

Islamic Architecture , Epigraphy , Porches of Enghelab Courtyard , Concept of Epigraphy