Examining the Origins and Evolution of the Hypostyle Hall in the Architecture of the Azerbaijan Wooden Mosques

Hypostyle hall has an ancient root in the history of Iranian architecture. And has been used in various historical periods. Hypostyle hall is used for responding to the need to have collective space and splendor that creates this element through the multiplicity and height of the columns; mainly in formal cultural, or social applications and palaces. The hypostyle hall forms with the start of the Iron Age in the northwest of Iran. The first one was identified at the Hasanlu Tepe located in northwest of the Iran. In the Achaemenid period, Hypostyle hall were used in the form of the palaces and Apadana. Hypostyle hall, Following the arrival of Islam to Iran, First, it was used to build yard in early mosques, but soon it became confined to the built homes and mosques of the cold regions. At the beginning of the Safavid period and the formation of a unifies state of Shiite religion, according to inscriptions, most wooden hypostyle mosques were built in cities and villages of Azerbaijan at the same time with the government of Shah Tahmasb and one century later hypostyle hall was entered to the palaces of Safavid kings in their capital, Isfahan city. Due to the lack of archaeological excavations and the lack of inscriptions on construction in some other wooden mosques of Azerbaijan, it is not possible to discuss the origin and initial patterns of those mosques, which are all researchers, due to the low durability of beams and wooden columns. This paper in addition to studying the evolution of the hypostyle halls in Iranian architecture, wants to respond to the origin of the formation of Azerbaijan wooden mosques in northwest of the Iran. The method of this paper is historical-interpretation. Also in the comparative studies with other architectural models have been used in comparative method.
Keywords: Hypostyle Hall, Chehel Sotoun, Wooden Mosque, Maragha, Safavid Architecture.
 
Introduction
Iranian architecture consists of a variety of elements, each of which has been experienced in different applications during their evolutionary course. Hypostyle hall is one of the important elements of Iranian architecture that plays an important role in defining cultural or social spaces and palaces over history. Achaemenid architecture is known as the use of hypostyle hall iv form of Apadana and palaces. This element has flourished in pre - Achaemenid periods in Iran, in Urartu and Masiean architecture. One of the most prominent works of post - Islam architecture can be seen in the northwestern Iranian wooden mosques (Azerbaijan). At the same time, under the rule of Shah Tahmasb government, according to inscriptions in some mosques, a significant number of mosques are constructed in most cities and villages of Azerbaijan, especially Maragha, Bonab, Ajabshir and etc, but in the absence of written documents and conclusive proof of archaeological evidence, it is impossible to build all these mosques to the beginning of the Safavid period. As some of the other valuable mosques have no inscription or inscriptions related to the history of repairs.
The hypothesis of this study about the history of construction hypostyle halls in the post - Islam architecture is not limited to the beginning of the Safavid period, even one of the distinguishing characteristics of Seljik architecture in the region of Azerbaijan has been the use of wooden hypostyle halls in the construction of local mosque in the region and these techniques during the years of preservation and experience in Safavid architecture , first in construction of mosques and about 100 years later in government palaces will be more common. Considering the questions presented, the present paper intends to clarify the ambiguities about evolution and origins of hypostyle hall in Azerbaijan wooden mosques. 
 
Discussion
With the advent of Iron Age (1500-550 BC), in the northwestern part of Iran, significant changes occur, one of the most important of which is the formation of hypostyle halls. The first example of a hypostyle hall in Iran is located in Hasanlu Tepe (1500-1200 BC). The process of transformation of hypostyle halls indicates that the problem of the gap between the columns is the main concern of many ancient - era builders and was used only in specific cultural or social applications of this model (Gopnik, 2010: 196). The Achaemenid developed hypostyle hall in form of Apadana (Kleiss, 2008).
Despite the extension of the realm of Islam and the conquests of Muslims in all parts of Iran, for a long time, the art of architecture still relied on the elements of the past (Kiani, 2013: 39). The Iranian hypostyle hall also made some initial mosques for some time. This style was limited to homes and mosques in cold and mountainous regions in the following centuries. One of the most significant remains of hypostyle hall architecture after Islam can be seen in Maragha’s wooden mosques and other Azerbaijani cities in northwest Iran. Maragha mosques, wooden columned and ceilings are one of the most interesting architectural styles in western Iran after Islam. This style is imitated during the flourishing period of the Safavid era architecture in Isfahan and produces valuable works such as Aliqapu and Chehelsotun palace (Varjavand, 1975: 13). A wider tradition of wooden architecture best represented by mosques of Central Asia, Kashmir, northwestern Iran, and post-Seljuk Anatolia (Koch, 2013: 376).
 
Conclusion
In this paper, one of the most important elements of Iranian architecture was studied and analyzed. According to the studies, the important factors in the construction of the hypostyle hall can be pointed out to the climate and cultural and social and political factors. The origins of the hypostyle hall were introduced mountainous areas of Azerbaijan and Hasanlu Tepe. Where unlike the central plateau of Iran, where many reasons, because of the abundance of natural resources, a little need of time, availability, and so on shape has been formed. As well as the abundance of wood in this region, it has played an important role in building the columns and ceiling of these hypostyle hall, and perhaps there are dangers such as fire and wear, which cannot be found in all historical periods. One of the most significant remains of hypostyle hall architecture after Islam can be seen in wooden mosques of Azerbaijan cities in northwest Iran. This style is imitated during the flourishing period of the Safavid era architecture in palaces. The exact history of the construction of the Azerbaijan mosques, is not determined. The historical, which is often considered for them, is Safavid era. But with respect to the history of the hypostyle hall before Islam in this region as well as wooden mosques in Anatolia after the Mongol invasion, in addition to the style of the mosques brick decoration in the outer wall of the mosques and so on it is reason for the construction of these mosques in the Seljuk and Ilkhanid period, and even before it in the cities of Azerbaijan, especially Maragha, which was one of the major cities of that period.