Sayyed Aladdin Hossein

Another important pilgrimage centre in the historical city of Shiraz is the Mausoleum (or Threshold, as it is called) of Sayyed Alao'd-din, which can be reached by passing through several small streets and turnings in a southern and eastern direction. And an easier way to approach this site is by the avenue surrounding the city, near the Qassabkhaneh (Abattoir) Gateway, which is at the south-east corner of Shiraz. This mauoleum is where Sayeed Alao'd-din is buried. He also was one of the sons of the seventh Emam, and he was another brother of sayyed Mir Ahmad (Shah-e-Cheragh). The tall building, surmounted by a lofty dome, attracts attention. The original entrance was on the south, approached by a small courtyard from the road that runs beside it. On the western side there is an area, more or less spacious, which was formerly a cemetery, but is now regarded as the western courtyard of the mausoleum. The mausoleum's interior consists of a tall sanctuary ornamented with designs in facets of mirror beneath the dome, and the tomb, as in the other places of pilgrimage in Shiraz, is situated in an alcove on the northern side, and there is a mosque adjacent to the sanctuary behind the railing of the tomb. The original building of the mausoleum was constructed by Qotlogh Khan, who, apparently in the Moghul and Timurid period, at the close of the fourteenth, or at the beginning of the fifteenth century, was Governor of Shiraz, and had a garden where the present mausoleum stands, which was built over the site where the grave appeared to be.

There is an inscription in the Sols character above the sanctuary, dated 943 A.H (1563 A.D), the writer of which was called Seyavash. And there is a poem above the door leading into the sanctuary, the last line of which is a chronogram, and reads as follows:

??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????                        ??? ?????? ??? ?? (??? ????) ???????

(To elevate this this shrine Soltan Khalil did pay;

Its date enquire of (Ever Good), and so, Good-day)

???? (ever), in Arabic letters, which have a numerical value, equals 113 and ??? (good), in the same manner, equals 810. Acordingly the present Shrine was built in 923 A.H (1517 A.D).

The Soltan Khalil mentioned in the above poem is Soltan Zu'l-qadr whi during the reign of the Safavid Shad Esma'il I was for fifteen years, from 911 to 926 A.H (1505-1519 A.D), Governor of Fars, and who according to what is written in the Naseri Fars-Nameh, on account of misconduct at the battle of Chalderan, was by order of Shah Esmail put to death in 926 A.H.

The year 943 A.H., mentioned at the end of the inscription above the sanctuary (below the dome), indicates that in the time of Shah Tahmasb I the work o fcompleting the mausoleum was accomplished. On account of the instability of the soil, and the earthquakes that occurred in Shiraz, this building suffered considerable damage, and a part of the dome, which had last been repaired by the late Mirza Abu'l-Hasan Moshiro'l-molk, gave way, and was threatened with collapse, and in spite of repairs, and much reinforcement, which was carried out by the late General Riazi, the former Director of Education in Fars, and subsequently, the threat of dissolution increased daily, until in the year 1950 the dome was taken down by the Fars Department of Education. Then a dome of less weight, with an interior iron structure, was prepared, at the cost of the funds of the mausoleum, and it was placed in position in 1952, and during several succeeding years a covering of brick and enamelled tiling was applied in the shape of the original dome.

The Mausoleum of Sayyed Alao'd-din was registered on the 29th of the month Azar, 1316 under No, 307 in the list of the historical monuments of Iran.

Pictures of the Mausoleum of Sayyed Aladdin Hossein