tabriz

"Ghazan expanded on the construction works of his father Arghun at Sham, building his mosque-mausoleum vaqf complex there so that the place became a thriving suburb of Tabriz. Being a Muslim, he was the first Mongol ruler whose place of burial was publicly known. Masashi Haneda has analysed Ghazan's complex in considerable detail, listing to the extent possible the religious and charitable institutions that accompanied the royal mausoleum. Haneda understands Ghazaniya as a separate city representing a new type of urbanism that suited the nomadic Mongols. He calls this type the 'pastoral and mausoleum city', discussing geographical, economic and political factors determining the choice of the location of Ghazaniya and ensuring its survival. Haneda argues convincingly that the vaqf was of utmost importance for the continued existence of such places."

"At the time of Tusi's visit, Tabriz was under the control of Jahanshah and the traveller commented on some of the political issues of the day. He also marvelled at the magnificence of the dome of the mausoleum of the Chinggisid Mahmud Ghazan Khan in the suburb of Shanb-e Ghazan where his quarters were located. Reaching Maragha in great distress, he obtained some relief from one of the local inhabitants before leaving Azerbaijan on his way to Baghdad."

"Why did Ghazan choose Sham, on the outskirts of Tabriz, for his mausoleum? Because he desired above all else a splendid tomb that would cause his name to be remembered down the ages, he would have taken great pains over the selection of a suitable site for it. (...) The following account in the Jami' al-tavārīkh gives us a deeper appreciation of the careful planning that went into Ghazan's choice of Sham. "He [Ghazan Khan] constructed another city larger than Old Tabriz at a place called Shamb or Sham where he built a pious foundation surrounded by many gardens and parks. This was called Ghazaniyya. Merchants from Rūm and Europe (afranj) had their goods inspected there. To avoid bad feeling, the tamghachi there were the same as those of Tabriz (JT, p.214)." (...) We thus have ample evidence from historical documents that Shām amply fulfilled all the conditions for a "pastoral city". It is very apparent why Ghazan chose it as the site of his tomb. Being a place where nomads and sedentary people could mix freely, it was an ideal location, since the tomb would dominate the surroundings and be visited by large numbers of pilgrims. Though Sham was a "pastoral city", it had one characteristic quite different from the earlier Arghūniyya and Üjān, and other cities of the same type. This was the presence in its centre of the ruler's mausoleum surrounded by pious institutions supported by a large number of endowments. When we consider that Ghazan's own motivation for building the city was above all to support his tomb we cannot ignore the fact that it was also a "mausoleum city".""

"Among the ruins of old Tabriz the sepulchre of the Mongol king, Ghazan Khan (1295-1304), in a quarter once known as Shanb (generally pronounced Sham and Shām) i Ghazan, is no longer to be distinguished except as part of a huge tumulus. The great shanb (cupola or dome) and other buildings erected by Ghazan have also disappeared. They stood about 2 m. S.W. from the modern town, but far within the original boundaries. The "spacious arches of stone and other vestiges of departed majesty," with which Ker Porter found it surrounded in 1818, were possibly remains of the college (medresseh) and monastery (zavieh) where Ibn Batuta found shelter during his visit to the locality.""

"He also ordered another city larger than the encompassment of Old Tabriz built in Shamb (also called Shamm), where the Abwabu’l birr was constructed, in such a way that it encompassed the Abwabu’l-birr and most of its gardens. He called it Ghazania, and he ordered that merchants coming from Anatolia and Europe unload there, but the customs official for there and the city of Tabriz is the same lest there be dispute."