Islamic Art Studies

Islamic Art Studies

The Social and Political Record of Iran’s Shiʿi Sayyids and an Analysis of the Form and Structure of Their Mausoleums in Khorasan

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Soodabeh Ghobadi 1
Sohrab Eslami 2
Hossein Khosravi 3
1 PhD student of theology, Department of History and Civilization of Islamic Nations, Khomein Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khomein, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Khomein Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khomein, Iran
10.22034/ias.2023.402944.2221
Abstract
The term Sayyid refers to individuals who trace their paternal lineage back to Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf, the exalted ancestor of the Prophet (PBUH). In Islamic society, the status of siyāda (being a Sayyid) has been more closely associated with the descendants of Imam ʿAlī (AS) and Fāṭima al-Zahrā (AS). This research employs a descriptive-analytical method, drawing on library sources. The findings indicate that with the arrival of Imam Riḍā (AS) in Iran in the early 3rd century AH (9th century CE), Iranian society became linked with this social group, and the Sayyids played a significant role in the spread of Shiʿism in Iran. Despite occasional conflicts with certain caliphs and rulers across the Islamic world and Iran, followers of various Muslim sects and schools of thought generally honored the Sayyids due to their lineage from the Prophet (PBUH). With the establishment of Shiʿi states in the Islamic world and Iran—such as the Safavid Empire—the social standing of the Sayyids further increased. Their close ties to political power and their improved economic status, stemming from their connection to the Prophet (PBUH) and the Imams (AS), elevated their social prestige. The absence of certain institutions, such as effective dispute-resolution bodies or modern educational and healthcare systems, assigned the Sayyids a network of roles, through which they further consolidated their position in the social structure.
Research Objectives:

Examining the social and political record of Iran’s Shiʿi Sayyids.
Analyzing the form and structure of Sayyid mausoleums in Khorasan.

Research Questions:

What is the nature of the social and political record of Iran’s Shiʿi Sayyids?
How are the form and structure of Sayyid mausoleums in Khorasan characterized?
Keywords
Iran&‌rsquo؛ s Shiʿi Sayyids
Internal Tensions among Sayyids
Akhbārīsm
Riḍawī Sayyids

Subjects

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