Haji Piyada

lo
Persian: آرامگاه حاجى پياده بابا‎
Shown within Afghanistan
Location near Balkh, Balkh Province
Coordinates 36°43′47.1″N 66°53′7.1″E / 36.729750°N 66.885306°E / 36.729750; 66.885306
Type ruin

Haji Piyada Mosque ḤĀJI PIĀDA or Noh Gonbad Mosque (Persian: مسجد نُه‌گنبد‎ "Mosque of Nine Cupolas"), a Samanid-style building in Balkh province of northern Afghanistan. Built in the 9th century, it is thought to be the earliest Islamic building in the country.[1] Carbon dating conducted in early 2017, together with historical sources, suggest it could have been built as early as the year 794.[2] It was built on the remains of a Buddhist monastery.[3]

The site was listed on the World Monuments Fund's 2006 World Monuments Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites.[4]

Description

The tomb measures 20×20 meters. The outside walls are of mud-brick construction. The interior is divided into nine bays, each originally covered by a dome. The columns and the arches that divide the bays are decorated in deeply carved stucco, depicting a wide variety of designs, stylistically comparable to Abbasid decoration in Mesopotamia.[5]

In modern times, pilgrims visit the tomb of an obscure saint, Haji Pyada, who was also buried there in the 15th century.

References

  1. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "City of Balkh (antique Bactria) - UNESCO World Heritage Centre".
  2. ↑ "The mysterious, ancient Nine Domes Mosque of northern Afghanistan". Agence France Presse. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  3. ↑ https://technology.inquirer.net/71087/mysterious-ancient-nine-domes-mosque-northern-afghanistan
  4. ↑ World Monuments Fund's World Monuments Watch 1996-2006. – Retrieved on 12 November 2008. Archived 5 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Archaeological gazetteer of Afghanistan (Title in French: Catalogue des sites archeologiques d'Afghanistan), Warwick Ball, Volume I & II, Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, Paris, 1982.


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