Archnet is an Open Access resource, provided to the public to facilitate cultural understanding and excellence in both scholarship and practice. Content from Archnet.org may not be published, displayed, or appropriated for commercial use without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder. Unless otherwise noted, Archnet material is available for instructional, nonprofit use, and personal use on the terms of a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International</a> (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. Please contact Archnet to request permission to use the Archnet.org website and its contents beyond the scope outlined above. High-resolution images may be available by contacting us using <a href="mailto:archnet@mit.edu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">archnet@mit.edu</a>. The content available on Archnet, including but not limited to information, text, graphics, logos, and multimedia related to the the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/1903" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Trust for Culture’</a>s programmes, such as the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/54" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Historic Cities Programme</a>, the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/848" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Award for Architecture</a> and the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/132" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Music Programme</a>, may be protected by copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights and laws, whether owned by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, its affiliates, or third parties. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or display of this content is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of the respective copyright or trademark holder. Violation of this prohibition may result in legal penalties.

Terms of use

Archnet is a community powered resource that provides ready access to visual and textual material to facilitate teaching, scholarship, and professional work of high quality.&nbsp;This unparalleled resource continues to grow with both the addition of historic archives and documentation on contemporary trends shaping the built environment today.&nbsp;To better serve you, our user, in the study of art and architecture of Muslim societies, we continue to build our vast collection of sites, publications, images, and videos. We invite your involvement, particularly in the areas below:<ul><li>To ensure a high level of scholarly content and accuracy in the information provided, we appreciate your expert feedback and, more importantly, your contributions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Please send comments, corrections, commendations, and other feedback to <a href="mailto:archnet@mit.edu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">archnet@mit.edu</a>.&nbsp;</li><li>If you find sites on Archnet to which you can contribute in compelling and meaningful ways, your generosity is most welcome. If you would be interested in contributing research, publications or other media to Archnet, please contact us using <a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">archnet-submission@mit.edu</a>.&nbsp;</li><li>We welcome the donation of select archives based on our current editorial policies and priorities.&nbsp;If you have a collection you would like to bring to the attention of Archnet's editors, please send an email to: <a href="http://mailto: archnet-submission@mit.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">archnet-submission@mit.edu</a>.</li><li>Occasionally, Archnet editors issue calls for contributions on specific themes or of particular types of material. Follow those on the <a href="https://libraries.mit.edu/akdc/category/contributors/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website of AKDC@MIT </a>or <a href="https://mailchi.mp/17fc345bbd94/archnetakdc-updates" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe to our mailing list</a>.</li></ul>The breadth, depth and quality of Archnet is only possible through the generosity of numerous institutions and individuals listed on the respective pages throughout the site.&nbsp;We thank you for your generosity!

Contribute

<h2>ARCHNET FAQ</h2>1. Will ARCHNET work on my device?Archnet works well on the most recent version of any major browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge), either on a mobile device or computer. It may work on older or less common browsers as well. If Archnet fails to work properly on your machine, please let us know about your experience by clicking the blue feedback button at bottom right!2. Will my URLs still work?Yes, as of October 12, 2021, all URLs from the old Archnet have been redirected to ARCHNET NEXT.&nbsp;&nbsp;3. How do I download a/n:&nbsp;<ul><li>image - Select the image you want to download from search results, a site or an authority. The image will open in your browser.&nbsp;Right click to download.&nbsp;For larger, high-resolution copies, see contact us using archnet@mit.edu.&nbsp;</li><li>publication - Open the page for the publication in your browser and click the download button. Reprinting Archnet publications is permissible only for personal use.&nbsp;Please contact us for any other requests.&nbsp;</li><li>site descriptions and metadata - Site descriptions and metadata can be used for any nonprofit or educational organization with appropriate attribution to the authors and Archnet.&nbsp;</li><li>video - Currently video downloads are not possible. If you'd like to use an Archnet video, please contact <a href="mailto:archnet@mit.edu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">archnet@mit.edu</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>See our <a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/terms" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Terms of Use</a> for information on how you can use Archnnet material.4. Can I contribute material to Archnet?&nbsp;Yes!&nbsp;See our <a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/contribute" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Contribute</a> page for more information.&nbsp;Calls for specific contributions are also also shared in our social media and on the <a href="https://libraries.mit.edu/akdc/category/contributors/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">web site of the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;5. What happened to the Archnet Timeline?&nbsp;Timeline has migrated into the ARCHNET NEXT Collections page&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/collection_type/3/1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">as a category</a>. These collections provide short introductions for each period, often offering lists of additional resources at the end of the entry. Only the timeline graphic listing the periods along a chronological axis has not migrated.6. My question isn't here.&nbsp;How can I get help?&nbsp;If your issue is with using Archnet, use the blue Feedback button to alert us to your issue. This will allow you to include a screenshot or recording. Please, also, feel free to contact us at <a href="mailto:archnet@mit.edu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">archnet@mit.edu</a>We are currently developing the help section of ARCHNET NEXT. In the meantime, please use the blue Feedback button in ARCHNET NEXT to send us feedback or other questions. Contact us at <a href="mailto:archnet@mit.edu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">archnet@mit.edu</a>.&nbsp;

Need help?

Welcome to ARCHNET, an Open Access, intellectual resource focused on the built environment of Muslim societies.Our mission:&nbsp;<ul><li>Facilitate excellence in scholarship, and professional work by providing ready access to quality, unique texts, and media focused on architecture, urbanism, environmental and landscape design, conservation issues, visual and material cultures, and related topics, both historically and in terms of contemporary best practices.</li><li>Enable teaching and learning in these domains by providing educators with reliable, effective pedagogical material and teaching aids.&nbsp;</li><li>Serve serves as a platform through which scholars, practitioners, and institutions can bring their work to new global audiences.&nbsp;</li><li>Promote intercultural understanding and dialogue through reliable, high-quality, peer-reviewed material on the diversity of, and pluralism within Muslim societies and the interaction between Islamic and other religious, cultural, and philosophical traditions.</li><li>Enable easy access to a wide variety of resources via a custom-built, web-based, mobile-friendly platform optimized to minimize financial, infrastructural, linguistic, and other barriers to access.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>Launched in 2002 after several years of development, ARCHNET is a pioneering digital resource that has proven a reliable authority on the built environment of Muslim societies, past, and present.&nbsp;ARCHNET is a partnership between the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/1342" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries </a>(AKDC@MIT) and the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/1903" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Trust for Culture</a> (AKTC), with support from the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard and MIT. ARCHNET NEXT was developed by <a href="https://www.performantsoftware.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Performant Software Solutions</a>.

About

Erzurum 

place

tomb

Türkiye

<div style="text-align: justify;">The tomb tower known as Cimcime Sultan Kümbeti is situated on the edge of the large arterial street known as Cumhuriye Caddesi, not far from the Ulu Cami. It has been attributed to ca. fourteenth century/eighth century AH.</div><o:p></o:p><div style="text-align: justify; ">The tower takes the form of a cylinder with a conical roof. Twelve blind arches formed from a continuous molding decorate the sides of the tomb. Two windows and a door surmounted by a muqarnas hood pierce the sides of the tomb.</div>

Daniel C. Waugh

Erzurum: Various Monuments (Waugh Collection)

https://admin.archnet.org/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBN2Z2QVE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--290b624542bbd47791ee27d55a14500db56f11e4/IAA140157.jpg

digital photograph

Erzurum. Cimcime Sultan Tomb. Exterior view from W.

Cimcime Sultan Kümbeti

https://admin.archnet.org/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBN2p2QVE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--b4e8d035e142307098e992aca7fe5c82592d2a58/IAA140158.jpg

Erzurum. Cimcime Sultan Tomb. View from S.

https://admin.archnet.org/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBN252QVE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--4dda3086de1f4a947e79c7ce700d1a190736dbd8/IAA140159.jpg

Erzurum. Cimcime Sultan Tomb. Portal.

https://admin.archnet.org/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBN3J2QVE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--0b0f83f3f8837b0b66614bb11b70ec209fa300e6/IAA140160.jpg

Erzurum. Cimcime Sultan Tomb. Portal. Muqarnas Hood.

Cimcime Sultan Tomb

Translated

For more information see <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2373" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Timeline: Seljuk of Rum (Anatolia)</a> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Turkish dynasty of the Great Seljuqs (1038 - 1194), that originated in central Asia, spread its authority over Persia and Irak, and from 1055 proclaimed itself protector of the <a href="http://archnet.org/timelines/48/period/Abbasid/year/750" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Abbassid</a> caliphate, whose power had been compromised by the establishment of the rival Fatimid caliphate, of Shiite confession.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Great Seljuqs waged a few campaigns in Anatolia, on the eastern limits of the Byzantine Empire, in order to prevent an alliance between the Byzantines and the <a href="http://archnet.org/timelines/48/period/Fatimid/year/916" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fatimids</a>. The battle won by the sultan Alp Arslan at Manzikert, in 1071, was decisive for the settling of the Turks in Anatolia.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Prior to that, Kutalmish, a Seljuq tribal chieftain, had rebelled against Alp Arslan in 1064; his descendants would found the sultanate of Rûm, this latter term referring to the Anatolian part of the Byzantine Empire’s Greek territories.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kilij Arslan Ier (r. 1092 - 1107) first chose Iznik (ancient Nicaea) as his capital, later transferring it to Konya. Emperor Frederic Barbarossa and the troops of the Third Crusade laid waste Konya in 1099; in 1204 the capture of Constantinople by the forces of the Fourth Crusade reduced Byzantine control in Anatolia to the region of Iznik and the principality of Trebizond. The Seljuq sultans of Rûm also subjugated rival Turkish emirates, such as the Danishmends and the Saltuqids, established in the east of the Anatolian plateau. The dynasty thrived during the first four decades of the thirteenth century, particularly in the reigns of Kaykaus I (r. 1210 - 1219) and Kayqubad I (r. 1219 - 1237). The former signed a peace accord with the Emperor Theodore Laskaris, while the latter formed an alliance with the Syrian <a href="http://archnet.org/timelines/48/period/Ayyubid/year/1176" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ayyubids</a> to foil the Khwarezm Shahs who had curtailed the reign of the Great Seljuqs and attempted to overthrow the Abbassid caliphate. The effects of the Mongol thrust were felt in Anatolia towards the middle of the 13th century; Kaykhusraw II (r. 1237 - 1246) and his army, composed of Armenians, Greeks and Franks were defeated near Sivas in 1243. From then on, though the sultan was kept on the throne at Konya, he nevertheless became a vassal of the Mongol Khans and paid them tribute. In the quarrels between Kaykhusraw II’s sons the Seljuq territory was carved up, becoming an Ilkhanid province upon the death of Masud II in 1307.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Over the course of the two centuries of Seljuq power, different ethnic groups– Turkmens, Greeks, Armenians – and faiths existed side by side on relatively good terms. The islamization of the territory was gradual, with churches and monasteries being spared. The convergence of faiths contributed to the emergence of mystic orders, including the brotherhood of the Mawlawi centred around the <a href="http://archnet.org/sites/2049" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tomb of Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi</a> (d. 1275) in Konya. A form of intermarriage between populations was practised too; the sultans, for their part, did not balk at marrying Greek or Georgian princesses. The rulers squeezed their resources from agricultural revenue and international trade, as Anatolia once again became a crossroads – by land and by sea - and a north (Crimea)-south (Syria, Egypt) exchange route (construction-timber and slaves), not to mention its dealings with the Venetian merchant-cities, the enemies of Byzantium. Numerous infrastructures relating to this trade still survive. A web of khâns spaced at distances of one day’s march (roughly 25 km) from each other and linking the Sultanate’s main towns, were founded by the Sultans, their wives, viziers or other persons of note, often according to waqf endowment-law. They looked like fortresses, with corner-towers and buttresses; the decor, when present, was focused on the entrance porches – on the courtyard and/or the great hall – or even on the booths that served as mosques, as in the case of the two Sultan Han <a href="http://archnet.org/sites/4017" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">near Aksaray</a> and Kayseri (1229). The bridges, distinguishable by their grand pointed arches crowned with a triangular-profile parapet, give an idea of the importance accorded to the communications network, beyond the fact that they enabled the collection of taxes. The sole trace of naval architecture in the Arabo-Muslim world from this period is the anchorages in the port of Alanya (1228) on the Mediterranean.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Continuing with the civil domain, the restoration or construction of town-fortifications, of which that of Erzurum (after 1230) is a fine example, is worthy of note; of the palaces, however, all that remains are foundations and fragments of decor: ceramic coatings, paneling and stucco. The palace of Kubadabad on Lake Beysehir consisted of a cour d’honneur with four îwâns, a mosque, baths and an arsenal, as well as a playing field area, notably for horseriding exercises.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the field of religious architecture abound a host of monuments, erected for the most part after 1150, in which the influence of Seljuq Iran, fused with local Greek and Armenian influences, is apparent as much in the typology of the buildings – mosques and madrasahs, mausolea (gumbat) – as in their structure: an open courtyard with one, two or four îwâns guarded by a gate, which in the case of the former is magnified and flanked by minarets, and in the case of the latter by circular- or polygonal-section towers with a conical or pyramidal roof. The reusing of materials, especially for the bicolour marble facing, enabled numerous constructions to be erected in a short time, as was the practise in Syria in the same period. The entrance porches give these buildings their character: on the simplest of structures, an arcature inscribed in a rectangle, a rich decor, sometimes bordering on exuberance, is superposed, with epigraphic rims, interlaced design and knots, vegetal and animal motifs, and muqarnas: Ince Minaret Medrese in Konya (1258), Gök Medrese in Sivas (1271), Ulu Cami Mosque in Divirgi (1229). This latter, joined with a hospital, is an example of the type of complex, fulfilling various functions, that spread through Syria and Egypt from the thirteenth century.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Aside from elements found sculpted in stone, the Seljuqs’ distinctive profuse decoration is found in wood-, bronze-, and stuccowork. One should also note their ceramic coating, whether in the form of mosaic used for the dome and pendentives of the Karatay Madrasa in Konya (1252) or of overlapping tiles in star or cross shapes found in the ruins of the palaces (Konya, Antalya, Diyarbakir). Painted beneath a glaze, lustred, sgraffiato, or made with the&nbsp;minaï technique, the decors made use of a characteristic repertoire: round-faced people with almond-shaped eyes, real and imaginary animals, signs of the zodiac, all in near-heraldic compositions. There is an evident influence from central Asia with its shamanic traditions. The Seljuq mosques have also yielded the most ancient fragments of Islamic rugs to have come down to us; their stylised motifs are sometimes combined with Kufic inscriptions. A silk fabric decorated with facing lions in medallions (Lyon, historical Textile Museum) features an inscription in the name of Kayqubad – I or III – while a dish of enamelled gold-plated glass, a technique that appeared in twelfth century Syria, displays that of Kaykhusraw II (Konya, Karatay Museum). Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/index.php?&amp;lang=en#/ho_6_8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Qantara-med –Institut du monde arabe</a>

Cimcime Sultan KümbetiErzurum, Türkiye

Cimcime Sultan Kümbeti
Erzurum, Türkiye