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Bayramzadeh R, Dadfar P, Dadkhah P, Omrani B. (2026). A Study on the Architectural and Structural Style of Ottoman Minarets and Their Typology Comparison with the Minarets of the Shams Tabrizi Tomb based on the Drawing of Matraqchi from Khoy. Athar. 46(111), 53-78. doi:10.61882/Athar.1948.3557.5
URL: http://athar.richt.ir/article-2-1948-en.html

Abstract
Historical minarets are one of the most prominent architectural works in the cultural heritage of the Ottoman period. Therefore, to compare them with Iranian minarets, the architecture of the Shams-Tabrizi Minaret was studied, which is one of the oldest historical buildings in the city of Khoy. The stability of this building after the passage of centuries and despite the occurrence of various earthquakes, indicates the necessity of its study and documentation. Therefore, one of the goals of this research is to study the minarets in the first stage based on the characteristics of the architectural structure and analyze their structural method in terms of reinforcement, and in the next step, to compare and typify the form and motifs of the Shams-Tabrizi Minarets with other minarets depicted in the drawings of Motraqchi. For this purpose, the aforementioned study is based on two questions: 1. What kind of architectural and structural features do the historical minarets of Turkey have and how do they differ from the structure of the Shams-Tabrizi Minaret? 2. What types of decorative forms and motifs, according to typology, have been used in the drawings of Motragchi on religious and mystical minarets in Iranian cities, especially Khoy? The results of this research show that the Shams Tabrizi Minaret belongs to the Safavid period based on historical events and its specific architectural type, and structural elements have been used; including the narrowing form of the minaret, reducing the thickness of its components with increasing height, creating empty space by implementing stairs. The use of such architectural and structural measures has protected the minaret from severe damage over the centuries. The data of this research was compiled using a historical-analytical strategy, and the research method was in the form of library and field data collection, and then the data was analyzed.
Keywords: Shams Tabrizi Minaret, Minaret Structure, Matraqchi Paintings, Ottoman Headdresses, Knotted Geometric Motifs.

Introduction
He oldest existing minaret or guide tower, “Mil Noorabad”, known as “Mil Ajdha” (Dragon’s Point), is located in the west of Noorabad, Fars, in the Parthian period. The staircase of the Mil Ajdha is located inside the tower and there was a stone hearth on top of it (Vandenberg, 1918: 27). A minaret with different characteristics has also survived from the Sassanid period, which now stands in the center of the ancient city of Firuzabad as a massive mass of stone and plaster. The minaret was built in a quadrangular shape with a staircase that was built on the outer body of the minaret and was also used to go up to it. (Mostafo,1924: 101). In the Islamic period, the minaret can also be considered as an independent building or near and belonging to mosques and tombs, which the muezzin uses to recite the call to prayer to invite people to prayer in Islam.
In the Ottoman period, the method of structural strengthening of minarets against earthquakes and wind was used by blacksmiths using steel reinforcing elements with special forging techniques and steel clamps were used in the stone blocks inside their cavities. For greater strength, molten lead was poured. On the other hand, Horsan mortar was used to glue the stone blocks together (Tanyeli, 1990). Also, in order to use this strengthening method, the structural method of the Shams-Tabrizi minaret and the way its steps are arranged around the mast were compared with the structural structure of historical Ottoman minarets. On the other hand, efforts were made to examine the tomb and minarets of Shams-Tabrizi from its image in the drawing to its external reality according to its visual form and morphology.
Therefore, the objectives of this research are to first examine the minarets according to the characteristics of their architectural structure and analyze their structural style in terms of strengthening, and then to compare and typify the form and motifs of the Shams Tabrizi minarets with other minarets depicted in Matraqchi’s drawings. At the end of this research, it seeks to answer the question: What kind of architectural and structural features do the historical minarets of Turkey have, and how do they differ from the structure of the Shams Tabrizi minaret? And what kind of decorative forms and motifs, according to typology, have been used in Motraqchi’s drawings of religious and mystical minarets from Iranian cities, especially Khoy?

Discussion
In the early 16th century, after the great earthquake of 1509, the Ottomans set about building 13 tall minarets to withstand earthquakes. They began to use a special technique to connect adjacent stone blocks with iron elements in vertical and horizontal directions. As shown in (Figure 1). For the effects of earthquakes and wind, blacksmiths prepared steel reinforcing elements using special forging techniques. 
In the case of the construction method of the Shams-Tabriz Minaret – with a height of 17.25 meters above the ground – at the level of the foundation face, the vertical dead load pressure is about 5 kg/cm2 on the ground. Maintaining such an effective force is absolutely impossible in the very compacted soil layers near and below the foundation support, and horizontal unconformity in the layers is made more difficult. Therefore, in addition to the general settlement in the entire foundation, another different settlement has been created by the obvious lowering of the southern and southwestern wall section of the minaret to the point where its upper part is about half a meter away from the vertical (Bayramzadeh & Hassanzah 2010, 207-223).
In the book Bayan Manazil Safar Iraqin Motraqchi, 26 drawings of different cities of Iran were drawn, in 13 drawings of its cities, minarets were seen next to religious complexes, including tombs such as “tomb+ mosque”, mosques such as “mosque+ school, mosque+ tomb and mosque+ neighborhood” or “mosque+ bazaar”. If we focus on Motraqchi’s design of minarets, the drawing of all of them in the drawings is similar to the architecture of minarets of mosques of the Ottoman period in Turkey. Many minarets are drawn either in pairs on the sides of a rock dome or onion dome or as a single minaret. Of the 13 Iranian cities in which minarets or minarets are seen in their drawings, four of them are drawn as two balconies and nine as a single balcony (Hassanzadeh & Bayramzadeh: 1402, 241-265).
The minarets drawn in the tomb of Shams Tabrizi in the Khoy drawing of Matraqchi are of the type of Ottoman pencil-shaped minarets with a single balcony. The structure of these minarets resembles one of the Ottoman helmets with cucumber lines on it. Also, the decorative motifs used on the drawn minarets are of the knotted type.

Conclusion 
There were many historical minarets in the earthquake-hit areas of Turkey, but only a few of them were severely damaged. While the minarets made of materials such as reinforced concrete and with modern architecture have suffered more damage in the earthquakes of recent years in this country than the minarets belonging to the Ottoman era and with traditional architecture. Therefore, this incident forced Turkish researchers to re-evaluate the construction and construction techniques in historical minarets. As it was observed that the documents related to minarets are very few, therefore, new studies should be carried out with the advantages of the construction techniques of historical minarets, so that at least afterwards, the damage to the minarets can be reduced. One of those construction methods and techniques is the capping of minarets that were built during the Ottoman period, which had various styles. This classification of minarets was based on Ottoman helmets. Some of them resembled the covering of cucumber lines on the helmet, such as the image of the minarets of Shams Tabrizi Khoy and some minarets were seen in the drawings of the city of Tabriz, Qasba Abhar and Qasba Dargiz. Some others were similar to flat and tall conical helmets, which can be referred to the image drawn of minarets such as Qasba Zanjan, Soltaniyeh, Qaplaniyeh and the city of Hamedan. Some were also similar to flat, short and medium conical helmets, examples of which include the minarets of Sayin Qala, Qasba Sadava, Qasba Dinhvar and Qaryeh Sazin in Hamedan.
To match the form and designs of the minarets of Shams Tabrizi with other minarets depicted in the manuscript drawings of Matraqchi, which were 26 drawings of different cities in Iran, minarets were seen next to religious complexes in 13 drawings of its cities, all of which are similar to the architecture of the minarets of Ottoman-era mosques. Of these minarets, 4 were in the form of two balconies and 9 were in the form of a single balcony. According to Matraqchi’s drawings, the designs used on the minarets are abstract and geometric knot work designs. These designs are drawn in a way that at first glance includes abstract shapes of the skull of the animal “horned ram”. It is also evident from the exterior architecture of the Shams Tabrizi Minaret that its morphological appearance resembles the hats of whirling dervishes, and its plan resembles the skull of a ram.