Avicenna Mausoleum
Dedicated to the Persian polymath Avicenna, the complex includes a library, a small museum, and a spindle-shaped tower inspired by the Ziyarid-era Kavus Tower.
History
The Pahlavi government had plans to build the mausoleum since at least 1939. Houshang Seyhoun won competitions for the mausoleums of Ferdowsi and Avicenna before heading to France. He completed his training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1948 with the project "Le mausolée d'Avicenne à Hamadan." The mausoleum was eventually dedicated in a grand ceremony in May 1954, and the avenue running in front of it was also renamed in honor of Avicenna.
As the monument was constructed by the Pahlavi government, it was consequently in danger of being defaced, but as Khomeini himself was an admirer of Avicenna, the square was not renamed after the 1979 Revolution.
Gallery
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Mausoleum of Avicenna
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Mausoleum of Avicenna
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Outside view
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A model of the complex
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An interior view
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The old mausoleum drawn by Charles Heath
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Avicenna Mausoleum on the reverse of a 1954 10 Iranian rial banknote
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Avicenna Mausoleum on the reverse of a 1981 200 Iranian rial banknote