Farahabad Complex

One of the most important Safavid cities, Farhabad was built and used by Shah Abbas I (1571-1629) as a winter capital and is where he is said to have drawn his last breath. Shah Abbas named his palace in Farhabad Jahan- Nama as decorative arts from the East and West were used in its design.

The city’s inhabitants were a diverse mix of ethnicities who came from every corner of the Safavid realm. Farahabad lost some of its population to malaria before Russian rebels raided it in 1688. The Russians massacred the remaining inhabitants of Farahabad, destroyed as much of the city as they could and plundered its riches before leaving in their ships. The Russians returned once more to pillage the remaining valuables of Jahan Nama Palace, destroying its gold and jade pool in the process.

What remains of the city today is a brick mosque, which has a similar floor plan to the Shah Mosque of Isfahan. Only the base of the mosque’s two minarets still stand and its ruins indicate that it was lavishly adorned with moqarnas (decorative corbels) and tiles.

Farahabad Mosque once had glorious seven-colored tilework adorning its façade. There is a Howz (pool) in front of the mosque, which was filled by a water stream from the Tajan River. There are rooms on both sides of the mosque where seminary students lived.

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Mazandaran Province, Dangsarak

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Farahabad Complex