Gonbad

Gonbad denotes a grave tower with domed or conical roofs in traditional Persian architecture. In addition to the semi-circular shape of the roof polygonal conical and round conical shapes are common. The correspondences in the Turkish grave architecture called Turbe and the Arab Qubba.

The history of Gonbads dates back to the time of the pre-Islamic Iran. Already under the Parthians, it was a commonly used style element that has been further developed and perfected under the Sassanids. In this pre-Islamic times a gonbad symbolized the significant size of the ruler. In the Islamic era the building tradition was continued. This represented the dome of the sky, pointing the faithful to its place in the cosmos.

Gonbad -e Qaboos, ( 10th century, today Golestan ) (round, tapered)

Ceiling of Gonbad -e Soltanieh ( Oldjeitu Mausoleum ) in the province of Zanjan (14th century ) ( parabolic )