Chahartaq (architecture)

Chartaq (Persian: چارطاق‎‎), chahartaq (چهارطاق), chartaqi (چارطاقی), or chahartaqi (چهارطاقی),^[1] literally meaning "four arches", is an architectural unit consisted of four barrel vaults and a dome.

History

Chartaqi was a prominent element in Iranian architecture, having various functions and used in both secular and religious contexts for 1,500 years, with the first instance apparently being developed in Gor (Firuzabad), Pars, in 210s AD by Ardashir I. The biggest instance of chahartaq is that of the so-called Palace of Shapur I at Bishapur, also in Pars. Many pre-Islamic chahartaqs have been survived, but they are usually just the sole surviving structure of a much bigger complex. The structure was adopted in Islamic architecture.^[2]

A related concept is čahārqāpū (چهارقاپو).^[2]

• 
  Chartaqi of Neyasar at Neyasar, Kashan, Iran. Late Arsacid
  or early Sassanian era. It is one of the few intact chartaqis.
• 
  Chahartaqi of Kheirabad, Sassanian period
• 
  Chahartaq in Sarab, East Azerbaijan Province. Sassanian period
• 
  Ateshgah of Baku. Many chartaqis were part of a fire temple
• 
  Fire Temple of Amol
• 
  Bahram fire temple
• 
  Chartaqi of Karchan
• 
  Chahartaqi of Konarsiyah
• 
  Chartaq on top of the Harpak fire temple in Abyaneh
• 
  A chahartaq as a small mausoleum, with a grave inside, near Isfahan, 1840 drawing by Eugène Flandin
• 
  A chahartaq as a small mausoleum: Tomb of Sheikh Yusef Sarvestani, Fars Province
• 
  Sabil ablution fountain at Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo, Egypt
• 
  Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan, Armenia

Contemporary architecture

The main plan of the Azadi Tower in Tehran is said to be influences by the architecture of chartaqis.^[3][4]

• 
  Azadi Tower
• 
  Monument of Molla Hossein Kashefi, Sabzevar, built in 1974.
  The post-modern design has incorporated the concepts
  of chahartaqi and iwans.
• 
  Scholars Pavilion (the Scholars Chartagi) in Vienna, a
  chahartaqi with elements from the architecture of Persepolis
• 
  A sample of modern Islamic architecture - The mosque of international conferences center - Isfahan

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chahartaqs.

Iranian architecture
Styles	Parsian Achaemenid pre-Parsian Parthian Khorasani Sasanian Other Azeri Isfahani Razi
Types	Bazaars Caravanserais Khaneqah Mosques Tekyeh
Elements	Ab anbar Andaruni Biruni Burj Chahartaq Dalan e Vorudi Gonbad Hashti Howz Imamzadeh Iwan Kariz Kucheh Panjdari Persian Garden (hayāt) Qanat Robats Sahn Shabestan Talar Windcatchers Yakhchal
Traditional cities	Amol Andijan Baku Bam Bukhara Ctesiphon Derbent Ganja Gur-e-Amir Hatra Herat Isfahan Kashan Khiva Mashhad Merv Nakhchivan Nishapur Persepolis Qazvin Qom Samarkand Shahrisabz Shiraz Susa Tabriz Takht-e Soleymān Tehran Yazd
Theory and analysis	Islamic architecture Traditional Persian residential architecture Traditional water sources of Persian antiquity
Lists	Architects of Iran Args, castles, and ghal'ehs List of ab anbars of Qazvin List of mosques List of ziyarat-gahs

Islamic architecture
Category	Arabic architecture Berber architecture Iranian architecture Islamic architecture Mughal architecture Ottoman architecture
Styles	Abbasid Anatolia Beyliks Ayyubid Azeri Bengali Chinese Fatimid Indo-Islamic Indonesian-Malaysian Isfahani Khorasani Mamluk Modern Moorish Moroccan Mudéjar Mughal Ottoman Razi Seljuk Somali Sudano-Sahelian Tatar Timurid Umayyad Vernacular Persian Yemenite
Elements	Roof styles Dome (Arabic dome / Onion dome / Persian dome / South Asian dome) Guldasta Tajug Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem Structural Ablaq Chahartaq Chhajja Discharging arch Four-centred arch Hasht-Bihisht Horseshoe arch Hypostyle Iwan Jharokha Kucheh Liwan Mashrabiya Moroccan riad Multifoil arch Ogee arch Pointed arch Qadad Riwaq Sahn Semi-dome Shabestan Squinch Tadelakt Vaulting Voussoir Windcatcher Religious objects Bedug Dikka Gonbad Hussainiya Imamzadeh Kiswah Loudspeakers Maqsurah Mihrab Minaret Minbar Müezzin mahfili Qibla Zarih Decorations Arabesque Banna'i Girih Girih tiles Islamic calligraphy Islamic geometric patterns Islamic interlace patterns Jali Mocárabe Mosque lamp Muqarnas Nagash painting Qashani Shabaka Socarrat Yeseria Zellige Rooms Andaruni Harem Mudhif Zenana Garden Bagh Charbagh Islamic garden Mughal gardens Ottoman gardens Paradise garden Persian gardens Reflecting pool Outdoor objects Chhatri Eidgah Howz Al-Masjid an-Nabawi Umbrellas Sebil Shadirvan
Types	Alcázar Amsar Bab Baradari Bazaar Caravanserai Dar al-Shifa Dargah Gongbei Jama Masjid Jama'at Khana Kasbah Khanqah Ksar Külliye Madrasa Mahal Maqam Maqbara Mazar Medina quarter Mosque Musalla Qalat Qasaba Qasr Qubba Rauza Ribat Souq Surau Tekyeh Türbe Turkish bath Well house Zawiya
Resources	Aga Khan Award for Architecture ArchNet
Influences	Indo-Saracenic Revival Influences on Western architecture Moorish Revival
Part of Islamic arts