Qajar

Qajar architecture is the Persian building of the dynasty that ruled Iran from 1789 to 1925. Palaces and houses have tall arched portals and painted tile panels showing human figures, flowers and sometimes European landscapes. Interiors carry mirror work (ayeneh-kari), small pieces of mirror set into walls and ceilings. Houses in Kashan have windcatchers, towers for natural ventilation.

In Tehran, the Golestan Palace was rebuilt to its present form in 1865, and its Shams-ol-Emareh (1865-1867) has five floors and cast iron pillars on the upper ones. In Shiraz, the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque dates from 1876-1888 and the Qavam House from 1879-1886. In Kashan, the Tabatabaei House (about 1880) has three windcatchers. Safavid architecture (1501-1736) centers on Isfahan; Qajar buildings are later, and Shams-ol-Emareh adds a metal structure and tiles showing European landscapes.

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar founded the dynasty in 1789, after the collapse of the Safavid state, and reigned until 1797. The Qajars built palaces across Iran, notably the Golestan and Niavaran complexes in Tehran. Most of the royal buildings at Golestan date from the 19th century, and in 1865 the palace was rebuilt to its present form by the architect Haji Abol Hasan Mimar Navai.

Naser al-Din Shah, who reigned for 47 years, also ordered Shams-ol-Emareh (1865-1867), a five-floor tower combining Iranian and Western styles that holds a clock given by Queen Victoria. Provincial patrons built as well: Mirza Hasan Ali Nasir ol-Molk, a lord of Shiraz, commissioned the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque. The dynasty ended in 1925, when parliament declared Reza Shah ruler and the Pahlavi dynasty began. Golestan Palace became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.