The Avicenna Mausoleum in Hamadan, Iran, was built in 1952, on the site of the tomb of Avicenna (d. 1037). There had been an older building marking his tomb, destroyed in 1950 to make way for the project. The mausolem was the first state commission given to Hooshang Seyhoun. It is surmounted by a spindle-shaped tower, inspired by the Ziyarid-era tomb tower of Gonbad-e Kavus.
Next to the mausoleum is a library, a small museum, and a monumental marble statue.
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 a central element of the propagation of Iranian nationalism 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.
The original tomb had been repaired in 1294/1877 by a Qajar princess by the name of Negār Ḵānom. This structure was unfortunately destroyed and replaced by a modern one (PLATE IV) in 1951. “The tomb of the mystic poet, Shaikh Abu Saʿid Doḵduh, Ebn Sinā’s host while he lived in Hamadān, is also housed in the same mausoleum as is also that of the poet ʿĀref Qazvini.
Hamadan Stone Lion and the Magnificence of Parthian Art
