Page:From Constantinople to the home of Omar Khayyam.djvu/311

 Three other monuments at Damghan deserve mention ; they are shrines of saints, and two of them are interesting as speci- mens of Seljuk architecture in the eleventh century. The first of these is the Mausoleum of the Imam Muhammad ibn Ibra- him, who is more generally known as Pir-i ' Alamdar, ' the aged one who sways the world,' and it is located in the easterly di- vision of the city, not far from the chief mosque. In shape it resembles a huge circular tea canister, with a rounded top, and it is built of unburnt brick. The lower half of the exterior is without special design, although the bricks are set in a manner that gives a pleasing configuration ; the upper half is an elaborate piece of ornamental construction. Three narrow bands of lock-stitch' design in mortar present a filigree effect and make the transfer from the simpler base to the more ornate sections above. Directly over these bands runs a broad border of interlaced geometrical patterns, surmounted by a rich belt of Kufic texts (unfortunately so marred as to be illegible), with a single chainwork-band on either edge to set off the whole. The topmost zone, directly below the domed roof, is made decorative by studlike brick headers let in between the circling rows of larger bricks. The curving dome rests like a cover upon a vessel, but looks broken and ragged because of its shattered rim, although a finish is given to the dome by a sur- mounting ornament with a double bulb. The entrance to the mausoleum is through the vaulted portal of a crumbling chamber ; and inscriptions, recorded by others, show that the edifice was erected in 1026 by a Caliph, whose name is obliter- ated, though that of the architect, Haji ibn al-Husain of Damghan, has been preserved.^

The second mausoleum lies in a westerly direction just outside the city, and bears the romantic name of Chihal

1 A full account of the mausoleum, sischer Baukunst, Lieferung 4, p. 4,

together with illustrations (one of plate 84, Berlin, 1901, and the same

which has been reproduced here), will work, Textband, pp. 113-114, Berlin,

be found in Sarre, Denkmdler per- 1910.

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