Sasanian Architecture

Sasanian architecture is the building tradition of the Sasanian Empire, the last pre-Islamic Persian dynasty, which ruled from 224 to 651 CE from centers including Ctesiphon in modern Iraq and sites at Firouzabad and Bishapur. It deliberately revived earlier Persian building forms, raising the barrel-vaulted iwan first used under the Parthians to massive scale and inventing the squinch, an arch built across each corner of a square room that converts it into an octagon able to carry a circular dome. The Arch of Ctesiphon, spanning more than 80 feet and rising 118 feet, is the most complete surviving example, and the Palace of Ardashir at Firouzabad shows some of the world's oldest large domes. Much of Sasanian building practice was later absorbed into Islamic architecture and helped shape the design of early Islamic cities such as Baghdad.