Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

Pedagogy and education was always important in Islamic Era that is mean learning and in another words, refinement and guidance but teaching is meaning pedagogy and action of pedagogy systems. Mosques were the first places that pedagogy and education was done in them but in The Seljuk Era “Nizamiyah”, independent schools were made and these actions were done in it. After this period, seminaries were the most important place in Islamic architect Era. With ideology change in each Era and period concept of pedagogy and education were different and have some variation. Actually after starting of Islamic Era, emergence of schools and their ideology in pedagogy and education went out of Arabia border and fusion with other cultures especially Iranian culture was started. According to these every method of education has different educational hierarchy and different place. So the main question of this paper is “what the relationship is between different perspectives of education and structural elements such as spatial organization and architecture of seminaries?” The Seljuk and The Safavid Era were the most important era in school structures and changes in the educational system as we can see the number of Safavid schools that were built and Nizamiyah that Nizam al-Mulk made them. A comparative comparison between The Seljuk and The Safavid Era’s schools was done in this research. This research is due to historical interpretive methods, case studies and documentary literature review to understand the concept education of these Era and analysis them. For this purpose selected four schools of each Era and analysis them in terms of features available in the overall scheme of structure. It has been tried to select the variety choice of these schools. For example the school of “Madar-e shah” that was one of the most important schools of Safavid Era has been chosen and smaller schools that had remarkable architecture elements as well. Another factor that was influential in choosing of Seljuk and Safavid schools is the availability of each school and its plans. According to the Mongol invasion, there is almost nothing special remains from the Seljuk schools in Iran and just a very little can be found about them in the documents and writings. But there are more numbers of Seljuk buildings remaining in the Anatolia and Central Asia compare to Iran. One of the reason could be noted was using furnace bricks and whole cut stones. So Seljuk schools have been chosen from schools in Anatolia and contemporary Turkey that are still standing to review and compare. According to limited number of Seljuk schools, Safavid schools were selected the same number. Seljuk available and reliable schools, include: “Cifte Minareli”, “Gok”, Seyit Battal Gazi Kulliyesi Medrese” and “Ince Minareli”. Safavid schools include: “madar-e shah”, “Musalla Safdar Khan School”, “Molla Abdollah” and “Mirza Hossein”.
The results indicate that architecture of school based on some requirements such as educational system, political and social developments changed to responding to concept of education. Hypothesis of research is based on results. Concept of pedagogy and education in Islamic Era have some turning points in its process and made some changes in schools architecture that The Seljuk and The Safavid Era were the most important turning points. Actually both Era were the peak point of this process. Surveys of two Era shows that change of education concepts made some change on structures and architecture of schools such as free or task pedagogy and education changed. This means that in Safavid Era task pedagogy and education was more public and social than The Seljuk Era. Entrance schools system from simple scheme of The Seljuk Era was evolved and turned into some entrance and complicated scheme. In Safavid Era school yard was particular important and sometimes it was the place for teaching and debating while the Seljuk school divided to the school with yard and the school without yard. It means some school had no place that called it “yard” and the school with yard in terms of quantity and scale and quality of space were in lower range in compared with the Safavid era.  The number and quality of chambers in Safavid Era in compare with Seljuk Era were very advantage. The Seljuk Era’s school had one “Madras” on the main axis while in some Safavid Era’s school had some “Madras” in this plans and according to methods of pedagogy and flexible education of that time the second floor of chambers, seraglio and yard , might use for “Madras”. About the relationship between praying place and mosques with educational place in schools, mosque usually is placed at the end of the “Qiblah porch” with dome or porch form in Seljuk Era; but Safavid schools Considering their approach, have more variety In terms of the Relationship between educational and Praying places; including Schools with altar and distinctive dome for the praying place, Schools without index Praying place but built beside a mosque and Schools without index praying place with only educational approaches.