Seljuk minarets & Irish round towers
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: Post-Classical Middle East
Forum Discription: SW Asia, the Middle East and Islamic civilizations from 600s - 1900 AD
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=31612
Printed Date: 28-Apr-2024 at 22:19
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Seljuk minarets & Irish round towers
Posted By: Cyrus Shahmiri
Subject: Seljuk minarets & Irish round towers
Date Posted: 24-Apr-2012 at 08:24
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I see some similarities between these buildings, both of them are round towers which were built about 1,000 years ago, of course Seljuk minarets seem to be taller, they have a single door raised some meters above the ground, they can be religious buildings but it is not clear what their exact purpose was, ...
The round tower at Glendalough, Ireland:
 Sareban minaret in Isfahan:
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Replies:
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 25-Apr-2012 at 20:09
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Perhaps they were introduced by noblemen returning from the crusades? The tower would be a great observation post and easy to defend
------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 25-Apr-2012 at 22:22
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I thought that a minaret's use was to provide the muezzin with a way to get high above the tops of town so everyone hears him as he calls for prayers. In Shumen, where I was born, there is a mosque, supposedly the largest mosque on the Balkans, and I had climbed up the minaret - the stair was very narrow and steep, goes in circles, so one gets dizzy by the time one reaches the top.
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Posted By: medenaywe
Date Posted: 26-Apr-2012 at 00:20
Was Obelisk exchanged with minarets&towers?Place in front of obelisk was place for pray&sacrifice!Answer please!
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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 26-Apr-2012 at 00:26
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I never thought about this, this is an interesting question. It seems reasonable to me.
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Posted By: Centrix Vigilis
Date Posted: 26-Apr-2012 at 00:36
Then? yup. Until they were mined, trenched and placed under siege and faced with equipment. Now....nope. But whatever their origins it's a simple and yet elegant style.
------------- "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" S. T. Friedman Pilger's law: 'If it's been officially denied, then it's probably true' |
Posted By: Cyrus Shahmiri
Date Posted: 26-Apr-2012 at 03:17
Of course if it really were a minaret, it should be for this purpose but some of these Seljuk minarets are in the regions where no one lived to hear adhan, like Ziyar Minaret (51 meters high), about 33km east of Isfahan:
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Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 26-Apr-2012 at 20:28
Even when facing a modern army, tall towers like these are ideal for snipers. By the time the enemy locks on to where the shooting came from, the sniper would have moved to another location ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: medenaywe
Date Posted: 28-Apr-2012 at 10:52
| Needles they are still! |
Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 29-Apr-2012 at 13:13
Then all I can think of is defensive purpose - someone to stand a watch over the nearby area and signal if there is an enemy coming; and to shoot arrows on the enemy from on nigh. ------------- |
Posted By: Cyrus Shahmiri
Date Posted: 30-Apr-2012 at 00:52
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It is possible but I think of a lighthouse, they were also needed in the deserts to warn caravans and travellers. -------------
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Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 30-Apr-2012 at 19:53
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They had lighthouses in the desert? Perhaps this explains the "pillar of fire" that guided the Israelites to safety
------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 02-May-2012 at 20:20
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Here's a question for Abdul: whose idea was it to instal minarets on the first mosques? ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |