A historical Research on the Recognition of the Muşallā Plain and its Two Destroyed Buildings in Shīrāz

Muşallā plain has always been a well-known appellation in historical and literary texts related to the Shīrāz, but two historical buildings called Muşallā mansion (a space used for praying in Islam) have been mentioned less and have not played a significant role in the local historiography of architecture. The aim of the current research is to reconnaissance the plain of Muşallā and the periodization of its transformations based on historical data as a basis for the research, and then to study and represent the mansions known as Muşallā (or Qorbāngāh) based on written and visual documents. Therefore, these questions are raised that based on the historical, geographical, and natural features of the Muşallā, how was its location and function in Shīrāz? What are the geometrical and architectural features of the historical buildings known as Muşallā or Qorbāngāh? Moreover, what similarities do these two buildings have? The research used historical method. The travelogues, local histories, literary and geographical sources, and finally, archival documents and sources (drawings, photos and maps) have been used during the study. The findings of the research show that Muşallā is a vast plain that has continued its historical life with ups and downs for more than eleven centuries; These developments could be divided into five periods including: "foundation and formation", "prosperity and development", "dignity and prestige", "stabilization and continuity" and " erosion". The first known Muşallā mansion was probably a lofty brick Iwan from the time of Shāh Ţamasb II and the actions of Mohammad Ali Khān, the son of Aşlān Khān Qollār-Āqāsī, whose ruins were depicted by two Englishmen named Sir William Ouseley and Joseph D’Arcy more than eight decades later and then by John Rogers Herbert. After that, in 1878, Farhād Mirzā Mo‘tamed al-Dowleh -the uncle of Nāser al-Din Shāh- built a new building with a same centered-based Iwan, but with two small rooms at each sides, which was still standing until 1964.