Significance of Conical and Polyhedral Domes in Persia and Surrounding Areas: Morphology, Typologies and Geometric Characteristics

The aim of this paper is to identify the unique features of the conical and polyhedral domes which topped a majority of distinct tomb towers during the early Islamic era. As opposed to previous general historic studies, this paper introduces a new analytical approach which allows the complete comprehension of the formal architectural language of conical and polyhedral domes based on an epistemological premise of their space syntax. Through an analytic review of selected examples, the paper suggests and addresses the origin of conical domes, their formal morphological compositions and typological forms based on the number of their external shells from the Seljuk era throughout the Timurid period in Iran and nearby regions. The theoretical framework for the formal language of conical and polyhedral domes sheds new light on undiscovered information about the essential characteristics of Persian domes in this region.