HERITAGE RECORD · 1188

Soltaniyeh

苏丹尼叶城

The official record, selection criteria and sourced cultural context.

World Heritage record

The mausoleum of Oljaytu was constructed in 1302–12 in the city of Soltaniyeh, the capital of the Ilkhanid dynasty, which was founded by the Mongols. Situated in the province of Zanjan, Soltaniyeh is one of the outstanding examples of the achievements of Persian architecture and a key monument in the development of its Islamic architecture. The octagonal building is crowned with a 50 m tall dome covered in turquoise-blue faience and surrounded by eight slender minarets. It is the earliest existing example of the double-shelled dome in Iran. The mausoleum’s interior decoration is also outstanding and scholars such as A.U. Pope have described the building as ‘anticipating the Taj Mahal’.

Open the official UNESCO record ↗

Wikidata reference

QIDQ4531 ↗

Area790.14 ha

Administrative areaQ31066447

WikipediaSoltaniyeh ↗

Chinese Wikipedia蘇丹尼耶 ↗

Imported locally from Wikidata; it does not replace the UNESCO record or editorial copy.

Selection criteria

This property was inscribed under the following World Heritage Convention criteria.

(ii)An important interchange of human values in architecture, technology, arts, town planning or landscape design.

(iii)A unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.

(iv)An outstanding example of a building, ensemble or landscape illustrating a significant stage in human history.

Cultural archive

Record lead

UNESCO record lead

Brief Synthesis In north-western Iran’s city of Soltaniyeh, which was briefly the capital of Persia’s Ilkhanid dynasty (a branch of the Mongol dynasty) during the 14th century, stands the Mausoleum of Oljaytu, its stunning dome covered with turquoise-blue faience tiles.

Source-led archive lead · 86%Source ↗

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