Manar-i Zayn al-Din

The Zayn al-Din Minaret is named after Khwajah Zayn al-Din, a brother of Khwajah 'Imad al-Din who commissioned work on the Masjid-i Mir 'Imad in the 1460s. It is the only remaining part of what was once a larger structure that may have included a khanaqah. Its date of construction is not certain, with some authors attributing it to the Seljuq period.1In its current form, the minaret is cylindrical shaft made of brick that rises to a height of 22 meters. Two bands of glazed tile divide the shaft into segments. Today's minaret represents half of the original tower, which was close to 47 meters tall. The top half, which included a cornice, was removed after 1923 as the minaret had been damaged in previous earthquakes and threatened to collapse.Notes:Mohammad-Reza Haeri, "KASHAN v. ARCHITECTURE (2) HISTORICAL MONUMENTS," Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2012, XVI/1, pp. 12-21, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kashan-v2-historical-monuments (Accessed August 30, 2018).Sources: Nārāqī, Ḥasan. Āsār-i tārikhī-i shahristānhā-yi Kāshān va Naṭanz, 266-268. [Tehran: Anjumān-i āsār-i millī], 1348. Record updates:August 22, 2018 (AKDC staff): data edited (updated alternate names with Farsi name and preferred transliteration).August 30, 2018 (AKDC staff): data edited (updated date to "12th c." to read "possibly 12th c.", added alternate spellings of name); compiled brief description.