Hasht Behesht Palace (Tabriz)

38°05′20″N 46°17′27″E / 38.088778°N 46.290944°E / 38.088778; 46.290944

The Hasht Behesht Palace ("Palace of the Eight Paradises") was a palace in the northern part of the city of Tabriz started by the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan (r.1452-1478) and completed by his son Yaqub Beg (r.1478–1490). Its completion is generally dated to 1483–1486.^[1]^[2]

Probably built upon an earlier structure by Jahan Shah, the Sahebabad Garden of Tabriz with the Hasht Behesht Palace at its center became the dynastic center of the Aq Qoyunlu capital of Tabriz.^[3]

The Palace was visited around 1510 by Domenico Romano, a Venetian merchant, who left an elogious and lengthy description.^[4] He described the building as an octagon some 63 to 72 meters in circumference (equivalent to 20–23 meters in diameter) two stories tall and topped by a dome, that included a hall surrounded by thirty-two chambers, with several terraces.^[5] The Venetian marvelled "This building, on the ground floor, has four entrances, with many more apartments, all enameled and gilt in various ways, and so beautiful that I can hardly find words to express it."^[6]

The palace was also decorated with many descriptive scenes of past events, all in realistic style, including the visit of an Ottoman embassy to Uzun Hasan, or his hunting expeditions. The general color palette used gold, silver, and ultramarine blue.^[7]

The Palace appears in various documents of the period, such as the 1538 map of Tabriz by the Ottoman geographer Matrakçı Nasuh.^[8]

The Hasht Behesht Palace is also known to appear in the miniatures of some manuscripts of the period, particularly the famous scene of "Khusraw at Shirin's Palace" in the Khamsa of Nizami completed in 1481 in Tabriz and commissioned by Yaqub Beg.^[8]

The new Safavid ruler Shah Ismail I resided in the Palace following his occupation of Tabriz in the early 16th century.^[9] The Palace appears in schematic form in some early Safavid paintings such as Nighttime in a City, dated circa 1540 from Tabriz.^[10]

The Palace was destroyed by the Ottoman in 1585, and replaced by the Castle of Jafar Pasha, a massive defensive structure.^[11]^[12] Nevertheless, the Hasht Behesht Palace was massively influential in the creation of other buildings in Iran, such as the Hasht Behesht in Isfahan, and contributed to the "Hasht Bihisht" model of architecture.^[3]^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b Babaie, Sussan (2022). Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran (CHAPTER 2 Peripatetic Kings and Palaces: From Tabriz to Qazvin in the Sixteenth Century). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780748633760. Hasht Behesht had been begun by the Aqqoyunlu Sultan Uzun Hasan (1453–78), Romano's Sultan Assambei or Hasan Beg, and completed by his son and successor Yaqub
^ ^a ^b Melville, Charles (1981). Historical Monuments and Earthquakes in Tabriz. p. 170. The Hasht Bihisht (...) a government palace (daulat-khana) of this name, built in 891/1486 in the Bagh-i Sahibabad by the White Sheep Turkomans, though probably on the site of a building founded by Jahanshah.
^ ^a ^b Mirzaie, Masume (2017). "Recognition the Architectural form of Tabriz's Hasht-Behesht Palace". Bagh-e Nazar, University of Tehran: 83–84.
^ Babaie, Sussan (14 July 2008). Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran. Edinburgh University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-7486-3376-0. The anonymous merchant has been identified by Jean Aubin as Domenico Romano; see his "Chroniques persanes et relations italiennes: Notes sur les sources narratives du règne de Shâh Ismâil Ier.
^ Golombek, Lisa; Wilber, Donald Newton (1988). The Timurid Architecture of Iran and Turan, vol.1. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Pr. pp. 178–179. ISBN 978-0691035871. At Tabriz, a major garden created by the Aq Qoyunlu ruler, Uzun Hasan, was visited by a Venetian merchant, who gave his impressions in some detail. His visit probably took place between 1460 and 1470. (...) The palace was in the center of the garden. Its plan was unusual: an octagon some 63 to 72 m. in circumference that included a domed hall surrounded by thirty-two chambers, all on one floor. The dome was thirty paces high. The octagon was set on a raised marble terrace and was faced with marble up to a height of 3 m. Its terrace displayed a marble water channel, more probably a pool, as the account states that at each of its corners an enormous dragon spouted water. The garden was, overall, the cross plan, well established, with marble paved paths on each axis, leading from the palace. In an adjacent pool, ships and boats could be manipulated to imitate a naval battle. A second Italian admired the vast park as having "a thousand fountains, a thousand rills, a thousand rivulets.
^ Babaie, Sussan (2022). Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran (CHAPTER 2 Peripatetic Kings and Palaces: From Tabriz to Qazvin in the Sixteenth Century). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 237. ISBN 9780748633760.
^ Barbaro, Giosofat (1873). Travels to Tana and Persia, and A Narrative of Italian Travels in Persia in the 15th and 16th Centuries. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 75. ISBN 9780511707858. Within the palace, on the ceiling of the great hall, are represented in gold, silver, and ultramarine blue, all the battles which took place in Persia a long time since; and some embassies are to be seen which came from the Ottoman to Tauris presenting themselves before Assambei, with their demands and the answer he gave them written in the Persian character. There are also represented his hunting expeditions, on. which he was accompanied by many lords, all on horseback, with dogs and falcons. There are also seen many animals like elephants and rhinoceroses, all signifying adventures which had happened to him. The ceiling of the great hall is all decorated with beautiful gilding and ultramarine. The figures are so well drawn that they appear like real living human beings. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^ ^a ^b Balilan Asl, Lida (2019). "The Physical structure of Tabriz in Shah Tahmasp Safavid's era based on Matrkci Miniature". METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture 36(2): 175–177, 178 note 18. Miniature drawn from Hasht Behesht Palace in 901AH at the time of Uzun Hassan Aq Qoyunlu entitled "Khosro under the windows of Qasre shirin"
^ Babaie, Sussan (2022). Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran (CHAPTER 2 Peripatetic Kings and Palaces: From Tabriz to Qazvin in the Sixteenth Century). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 202. ISBN 9780748633760. Most famous, however, was the Aqqoyunlu Palace of Hasht Behesht in Tabriz, completed in 888/1483 (Figure 2.1). According to the anonymous Venetian merchant-traveler, that renowned Hasht Behesht too was situated at the center of a magnificent garden and was lavishly decorated, although it rose to only one story. With the conquest of Tabriz and the annexation of the Aqqoyunlu dominions into the new Safavid empire, Shah Ismail I continued to use this most prominent of the palaces in his capital city of Tabriz. The recycling of old palaces, especially of conquered rulers, into the ceremonial spaces of a new dynasty was rare indeed. Yet, Shah Ismail appropriated the Aqqoyunlu palace not solely as a symbol of victory over his fallen predecessor but as a palace, and more importantly a capital city, to which he could legitimately lay claim. After all, Ismail was the grandson of the Aqqoyunlu Uzun Hasan and grew up in the courtly environment of Tabriz.
^ Sarabi, Mina (2023). "Architectural and Spatial Design studies of Sahibabad, Tabriz, Iran in the Persian Miniature Painting "Nighttime in a Palace"". JACO Quaterly. doi:10.22034/JACO.2022.366374.1270.
^ Melville, Charles (1981). "Historical Monuments and Earthquakes in Tabriz". Iran. 19: 171. doi:10.2307/4299714. ISSN 0578-6967.
^ "Archnet > Site > Bagh-i Sahibabad (MEGT)". www.archnet.org.
^ Pfeiffer, Judith (7 November 2013). Politics, Patronage and the Transmission of Knowledge in 13th - 15th Century Tabriz. BRILL. p. 352. ISBN 978-90-04-26257-7.

[SB-1] Babaie, Sussan (2022). Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran (CHAPTER 2 Peripatetic Kings and Palaces: From Tabriz to Qazvin in the Sixteenth Century). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780748633760. Hasht Behesht had been begun by the Aqqoyunlu Sultan Uzun Hasan (1453–78), Romano's Sultan Assambei or Hasan Beg, and completed by his son and successor Yaqub

[Melville-2] Melville, Charles (1981). Historical Monuments and Earthquakes in Tabriz. p. 170. The Hasht Bihisht (...) a government palace (daulat-khana) of this name, built in 891/1486 in the Bagh-i Sahibabad by the White Sheep Turkomans, though probably on the site of a building founded by Jahanshah.

[REC-3] Mirzaie, Masume (2017). "Recognition the Architectural form of Tabriz's Hasht-Behesht Palace". Bagh-e Nazar, University of Tehran: 83–84.

[4] Babaie, Sussan (14 July 2008). Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran. Edinburgh University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-7486-3376-0. The anonymous merchant has been identified by Jean Aubin as Domenico Romano; see his "Chroniques persanes et relations italiennes: Notes sur les sources narratives du règne de Shâh Ismâil Ier.

[5] Golombek, Lisa; Wilber, Donald Newton (1988). The Timurid Architecture of Iran and Turan, vol.1. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Pr. pp. 178–179. ISBN 978-0691035871. At Tabriz, a major garden created by the Aq Qoyunlu ruler, Uzun Hasan, was visited by a Venetian merchant, who gave his impressions in some detail. His visit probably took place between 1460 and 1470. (...) The palace was in the center of the garden. Its plan was unusual: an octagon some 63 to 72 m. in circumference that included a domed hall surrounded by thirty-two chambers, all on one floor. The dome was thirty paces high. The octagon was set on a raised marble terrace and was faced with marble up to a height of 3 m. Its terrace displayed a marble water channel, more probably a pool, as the account states that at each of its corners an enormous dragon spouted water. The garden was, overall, the cross plan, well established, with marble paved paths on each axis, leading from the palace. In an adjacent pool, ships and boats could be manipulated to imitate a naval battle. A second Italian admired the vast park as having "a thousand fountains, a thousand rills, a thousand rivulets.

[6] Babaie, Sussan (2022). Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran (CHAPTER 2 Peripatetic Kings and Palaces: From Tabriz to Qazvin in the Sixteenth Century). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 237. ISBN 9780748633760.

[7] Barbaro, Giosofat (1873). Travels to Tana and Persia, and A Narrative of Italian Travels in Persia in the 15th and 16th Centuries. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 75. ISBN 9780511707858. Within the palace, on the ceiling of the great hall, are represented in gold, silver, and ultramarine blue, all the battles which took place in Persia a long time since; and some embassies are to be seen which came from the Ottoman to Tauris presenting themselves before Assambei, with their demands and the answer he gave them written in the Persian character. There are also represented his hunting expeditions, on. which he was accompanied by many lords, all on horseback, with dogs and falcons. There are also seen many animals like elephants and rhinoceroses, all signifying adventures which had happened to him. The ceiling of the great hall is all decorated with beautiful gilding and ultramarine. The figures are so well drawn that they appear like real living human beings. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

[LBA-8] Balilan Asl, Lida (2019). "The Physical structure of Tabriz in Shah Tahmasp Safavid's era based on Matrkci Miniature". METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture 36(2): 175–177, 178 note 18. Miniature drawn from Hasht Behesht Palace in 901AH at the time of Uzun Hassan Aq Qoyunlu entitled "Khosro under the windows of Qasre shirin"

[SB2-9] Babaie, Sussan (2022). Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi`ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran (CHAPTER 2 Peripatetic Kings and Palaces: From Tabriz to Qazvin in the Sixteenth Century). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 202. ISBN 9780748633760. Most famous, however, was the Aqqoyunlu Palace of Hasht Behesht in Tabriz, completed in 888/1483 (Figure 2.1). According to the anonymous Venetian merchant-traveler, that renowned Hasht Behesht too was situated at the center of a magnificent garden and was lavishly decorated, although it rose to only one story. With the conquest of Tabriz and the annexation of the Aqqoyunlu dominions into the new Safavid empire, Shah Ismail I continued to use this most prominent of the palaces in his capital city of Tabriz. The recycling of old palaces, especially of conquered rulers, into the ceremonial spaces of a new dynasty was rare indeed. Yet, Shah Ismail appropriated the Aqqoyunlu palace not solely as a symbol of victory over his fallen predecessor but as a palace, and more importantly a capital city, to which he could legitimately lay claim. After all, Ismail was the grandson of the Aqqoyunlu Uzun Hasan and grew up in the courtly environment of Tabriz.

[10] Sarabi, Mina (2023). "Architectural and Spatial Design studies of Sahibabad, Tabriz, Iran in the Persian Miniature Painting "Nighttime in a Palace"". JACO Quaterly. doi:10.22034/JACO.2022.366374.1270.

[11] Melville, Charles (1981). "Historical Monuments and Earthquakes in Tabriz". Iran. 19: 171. doi:10.2307/4299714. ISSN 0578-6967.

[12] "Archnet > Site > Bagh-i Sahibabad (MEGT)". www.archnet.org.

[13] Pfeiffer, Judith (7 November 2013). Politics, Patronage and the Transmission of Knowledge in 13th - 15th Century Tabriz. BRILL. p. 352. ISBN 978-90-04-26257-7.

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