According to written sources, the earliest parts of the Great Mosque of Dizful date back to the third, fourth, and seventh century AH, but the majority of the building as it stands today dates to later times. The oldest inscription on the building dates to 1110 AH (1699 CE) and several other date to the fourteenth century AH (late nineteenth and early twentieth century CE). The building was severely damaged during the Iran-Iraq war and the northern side rebuilt, including the entrance portal to the courtyard.
The mosque as it stands today consists of a large square courtyard, entered through a large portal with two minarets located on its northeastern corner. The southwest and southeast sides of the courtyard have arcades leading onto covered prayer areas, while the northeast and northwest sides are bounded by an enclosure wall with blind arches.
The covered area on the southeastern side is one aisle deep and five bays long. Its facade consists of a large central pointed iwan flanked on either side by two smaller pointed archways.
The covered prayer hall on the southwestern side (qibla) is six aisles across, each four bays deep, with a central aisle twice as wide as the side aisles. It is fronted by a monumental iwan with two minarets leading onto the central aisle, flanked on either side by two pointed archways leading onto four of the five side aisles.
Sources:
Ḥājjī-Qāsimī, Kāmbīz, ed. Ganjnāmah-i farhang-i ās̲ār-i miʻmārī-i Islāmī-i Īrān. Vol. 7, 128-133 [English text: 68-73]. Tehran: Dānishgāh-i Shahīd Bihishtī, 1996.
منابع فارسى
133-128 كامبيز حاجي قاسمى. گنجنامه فرهنگ آثار معمارى اسلامى ايران. دفتر هفتم. مساجد جامع. بخش اول. تهران: دانشگاه شهيد بهشتى, 1383. ص
Record updates:
- February 7, 2019 (AKDC Staff): edited data (modified construction dates based on information from additional sources); modified description; added sources.