Maqbarat al-Shoara of Tabriz

Maqbarat al-Shoara was built in the 1350s; however, considering the list of poets buried in this mausoleum, it appears that its history goes back more than half a century. Below, you can read the history of the Maqbarat al-Shoara of Tabriz:

The oldest individuals buried in the Maqbarat al-Shoara of Tabriz are two 6th-century poets named “Khaqani” and “Zahir Faryabi.” During this period, Tabriz was the center of the Atabegs of Azerbaijan’s government, known for its love of poetry and support of poets. For this reason, many poets migrated to Tabriz to benefit from the patronage of the Atabegs’ court.

After the burial of “Khaqani” and “Zahir Faryabi” in the cemetery of the Sarkhab neighborhood, other poets and literati native to and residing in Tabriz were also buried in the same place in later periods, and the cemetery became known as “Maqbarat al-Shoara.”

The poets’ mausoleum in Tabriz was destroyed by the earthquakes of 1193 and 1194 AH and then abandoned. The situation remained the same until the 1350s when the ruling authority finally considered reconstructing the cemetery.

In 1350, a design competition for the memorial building of Maqbarat al-Shoara was announced in the media, and its construction began the same year. The revolution halted the construction, and finally, in 1367, Maqbarat al-Shoara was inaugurated. The Maqbarat al-Shoara in Tabriz is the resting place of more than 400 renowned literati and poets who have been interred there for about 800 years.