| Emamieh school | |
|---|---|
مدرسه امامیه | |
  Location within Iran | |
| Alternative names | Baba Ghassem school |
| General information | |
| Status | Cultural |
| Type | school |
| Architectural style | Azeri |
| Location | Isfahan, Iran |
| Coordinates | 32°39′40″N51°41′03″E / 32.6611°N 51.6841°E |
| Completed | 1325 |
| Client | Soltan Abolhassan Talout Damghani |
The Emamieh school, Imamiyeh School, Madrasah-i Imami or Imami Madrasa, is a historical theological college, or madrasa , in Isfahan, Iran.
It is one of the earliest known madrasas in Iran, its construction being dated to 1325, in the final Ilkhanid period. Its size is 92 by 72 meters. [1] The madrasa consists in a typical Seljuk-type courtyard in baked-brick, with four iwans in the center of each internal side, which have cells for student accommodation. [1] The central space is for prayer and study. [1] Next to it was the tomb of the theologian Baba Qasim, erected by Abu al-Hasan al Talut al Damghani in 1340-41. It was lost in the 19th century, and was rebuilt as part of the madrasa. [1]
From an architectural and stylistic standpoint, the Emamieh school is considered as belonging to the "Ilkhanid era". [2]
The building was tiled by the Sheikh Mohammad ebn-e Omar, whose name was mentioned on the inscriptions of the school. [3] The inscription in the courtyard gives a date of 1354–55 CE during the Injuid period, at a time just before the city fell to the Muzaffarids in 1356–57. [4] A remarkable mihrab in mo'araq cut-tile mosaic is attributed to this date, and was recovered from the madrasa: it is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. [4] The mihrab is considered as a masterpiece of mo'araq technique, a type of decorative technique started during the Ilkhanid period in the early 14th century in the cities of Sham, Tabriz and Sultaniyya. [4]
In the Ilkhani era, in the Imami school of Esfahan... (...) In the Ilkhani sample of Isfahan Imamiyeh School... (...) the Imami Ilkhanate School...
