Grand Mosque of Qazvin expanded

1218

Under Khwarazmian patronage, master craftsmen expanded the Friday mosque at Qazvin with brick muqarnas and Kufic inscriptions. A year later the city would be sacked by the Mongols. The surviving mosque preserves a snapshot of Iranian architecture on the eve of catastrophe. Its great prayer hall, with its interlocking vaults and elegant calligraphy, stands as testament to a civilization about to be shattered.