Imamzadah Shaykh Luqman Baba

Built in 1356 by Shaykh Muhammad bin Muhammad Luqman, the Shaykh Luqman Mausoleum is located in northeastern Iran, approximately three kilometers east of the town of Sarakhs.The plan of the Shaykh Luqman Mausoleum is composed of a large portal iwan that is flanked by a room on each side, leading into a large square chamber with square niches at the center of each of the sides. This large square chamber has a double-shelled dome, supported by four corner squinches and a wide octagonal base. The interior of the iwan portal was decorated with stucco panels of geometric patterns, while the interior of the dome chamber was decorated with plain and enameled brick.Inscriptions reveal that it was built for a Shaykh Muhammad ibn Muhammad Luqman in 1356, and that it was built by an Amir Muhammad. Both inscriptions are believed to refer to the same man.At the time of Ernst Diez's report at the turn of the twentieth century, the exterior shell of the dome and pishtaq were badly damaged.Sources:Diez, Ernst. Churasanische Baudenkmäler, 62-66. Berlin: D. Reimer, 1918.Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture: Form, Function, and Meaning, 291, 294. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000. O'Kane, Bernard. Studies in Persian Art and Architecture, VIII 116, XII 93, 94. Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press, 1995. O'Kane, Bernard. Timurid Architecture in Khurasan, 224. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 1987.Pope, Arthur Upham and Phyllis Ackerman. A Survey of Persian Art, vol. 3, 1076-1077. Tehran: Soroush Press, 1977. Wilber, Donald N. The Architecture of Islamic Iran: The Il Khanid Period, 184. New York: Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1955.