Gonbad-e Qabus (tower) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Gonbad-e Qābus
UNESCO World Heritage Site

Location	Gonbad-e Kavus, Gonbad-e Kavus County, Golestan Province, Iran
Criteria	Cultural: (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Inscription	2012 (36th Session)
Area	1.4754 ha (3.646 acres)
Buffer zone	17.8551 ha (44.121 acres)

The Gonbad-e Qabus Tower (which means "Dome of Qabus" in Persian) is a very old and tall building in Gonbad-e Qabus, Iran. It's so special that UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site in 2012. This means it's a place that's important for everyone in the world to protect.

This amazing tower was built over 1,000 years ago, in 1006 or 1007. It was made for a ruler named Qabus, who was part of the Ziyarid dynasty. He even ordered it to be built while he was still alive! The tower is shaped like a cylinder and is about 61 meters (200 feet) tall. You can see it from as far as 30 kilometers (18 miles) away! The city itself is named after this famous tower. Many people think it's a true masterpiece of Iranian architecture.

Building This Amazing Tower
- When and How It Was Built
- Its Unique Look
The Mystery of the Burial
- Why No Body?
- Old Traditions and New Ideas
Images for kids
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Building This Amazing Tower

When and How It Was Built

The Gonbad-e Qabus Tower has special writings on it that tell us when it was built. These writings say that Prince Qabus ordered the tower to be started in 1006 or 1007. He was a ruler from the Ziyarid dynasty, which was based in a region of northern Iran called Tabaristan. Back in the 11th century, many people in this area were still changing from an old religion called Zoroastrianism to Islam.

The tower's base is about 9.67 meters (31.7 feet) wide inside. Experts believe that the entrance of the tower shows some of the earliest examples of a special type of ceiling design called moqarnas. This design looks like stalactites (pointy shapes hanging down) and is very fancy.

Its Unique Look

The Gonbad-e Qabus Tower looks a bit like other round tomb towers found near Iran's Caspian Sea. But what makes it truly special is how incredibly tall it is! If you include its pointy roof, the tower stands about 50 meters (164 feet) above the ground. That's three times its width!

The tower is built entirely from high-quality baked bricks. These bricks were originally pale yellow, but over time, the sun has turned them a beautiful golden color. The way it was built was so good that it has lasted almost perfectly for over a thousand years, even through bad weather and other events.

The only decorations on the tower are two bands of writing. These bands go around the building, one above the doorway and another just below the roof. Each band is split into ten sections, placed between the tower's support pillars. These carefully planned writings, along with the tower's simple, pure shape and its amazing height, make it one of the most famous buildings in all of Iranian architecture.

The Mystery of the Burial

Why No Body?

Even though the Gonbad-e Qabus Tower was built to be Qabus's tomb, there is no body buried inside it. This is similar to other tomb towers in northern Iran. There's a legend that says Qabus was buried in a glass coffin, which was hung from the roof by chains. Some experts think that because no body was found during excavations, this story might actually be true!

Old Traditions and New Ideas

Some historians believe that the design of these towers, including Gonbad-e Qabus, might be connected to older Zoroastrian burial traditions. For example, the tower's inscription uses the old Persian solar calendar. Also, some other tomb towers in northern Iran even have writings in an old Persian language called Middle Persian.

One idea is that these towers were used in a "syncretic" way. This means they combined old traditions with new ones. At the time, the region of Tabaristan was still becoming more Islamic. So, it makes sense that people might have mixed old Zoroastrian ways of dealing with the dead with newer Islamic customs. The tower seems to fit some Zoroastrian ideas for burials, but it doesn't perfectly match either a traditional Zoroastrian burial or a proper Muslim burial. This makes the Gonbad-e Qabus Tower even more mysterious and interesting!