Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/571

Bk. I. Ch. V. PERSIA. 555 to the bulb-sliaped double domes subsequently common in Persian architecture. The whole is covei-ed with glazed tiles, rivalling in richness those of the mosque at Tabreez, and with its general beauty of outline this building affords one of the best specimens of this style to be found either in Persia or any other country. These works were, liowever, far surpassed in magnificence, though not in beauty, by those of the dynasty of the Sufis, who succeeded in 1499. The most powerful and brilliant sovereign of this race was Shah Abbas the Great (a.d. 1585-1629), whose great works rendered liis capital of Ispahan one of the most splendid cities of the East. k==- J3n ffrnM"^ -^' !h i ftp 989. View of the Tomb at Sultaiiieh. Among these works by far the most magnificent was the great JIaidan, or bazaar, with its accompanying mosque and subordinate buildings. The Maidan is an immense rectangular area, 2600 ft. by 700,^ sur- rounded on all sides by an arcade two stories in height, consisting of 86 arches on the longer and 30 on the shorter sides, richly orna- mented, and broken in the centre of each face by a handsome edifice, The great mosque is at one end, opposite to which is the bazaar gate. 1 Ker Porter's "Travels," vol. i. p. 432 et seq. I cannot help suspecting that there is some mistake about these dimensions — they seem excessive. The Piaz.'ja of St. Mark's at Venice, which resembles it more than any other area, is only .jOO ft. long, with a mean breadth of about 250 ft. Probably 1500 feet by 500.