Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 university of Tehran
2 Master's student in archaeology, University of Tehran
Abstract
The city of Susa, In the north of Khuzestan province, it is one of the first ancient places where extensive archaeological researches have been conducted. In 1947, the French archaeologist Roman Grishman managed to discover a building known as a monastery in the northeast of the mosque of the early centuries of Susa, located in the northeastern vicinity of the early centuries' mosque in Susa. Initially, upon observing the alignment of the building's wall with the mosque, he speculated that the structure might have served as a governmental or palatial edifice. Then Monique Kervran introduces this building as Rabat or the Monastery. Now, based on the writings of Al-Maqdisi, a 4th-century geographer about his visit to a monastery in the city of Shush, we can highlight the influence of Sufism or mysticism in this city. Given its antiquity, dating back to the early centuries of Islam, this monastery holds significant scholarly value and offers insights into the architectural origins as well as the behavioral and ideological framework of monastic life. The primary focus of this study is to investigate the architectural origins of the Shush monastery and analyze the religious practices that influenced its construction. The authors aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the structure and cultural significance of the monastery based on archaeological evidence. Does Shush Monastery have a structural connection with religious buildings and ideological systems before Islam, or is it derived from the foundations of the Islamic era? The following research used the descriptive-analytical method and the archaeological-historical order to address answers to raised questions. Archeological evidence indicates that certain architectural elements of the Susa Monastery are consistent with the Mehrkadeh from the Sassanid era found in southern Iran, which subsequently influenced the architecture of the middle and later Islamic periods. Some religious practices within the monastic system have their origins in pre-Islamic beliefs.
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