Text taken from: Silk Road Cities. Documented through photographs, prints and postcards.
Sultaniyya, present-day Iran
The Mongol city of Sultaniyya in present-day Iran was founded around 1285 by the Ilkhan Arghun (1258-1291) and dedicated as the capital by his son, Sultan Öljeytü in 1313. Öljeytü probably began building his tomb at the time of his accession at the beginning of the 14th century. He also constructed a Congregational Mosque in a kosh (pair) across from the madrasa (Islamic religious school) of his favourite wife.
According to the descriptions by the 17th century travellers Adam Olearius (d. 1671) and Jan Janszoon Struys (d. 1694), the mosque was based on the four-iwan plan (four monumental gates around an open courtyard) and had a domed sanctuary along the main longitudinal axis. The main entrance was flanked with polygonal minarets, drawn by François Préault in 1808. It is possible that Timur (ca. 1336-1405) was inspired by Öljeytü’s Congregational Mosque and used its design as the basis for his monumental mosque of Bibi Khanum in Samarqand (late 14th century). In 2005 Sultaniyya was listed as a World Heritage Site.
Sources for Sultaniyya
Archnet: Sultaniyya