Small Mosques And Tombs - Abbasids

 Although popular, the hypostyle mosque was not the only type of mosque built during this period. At Nayriz in Iran, for example, the prayer all of the mosque consists of a single barrel vault, open at the end, a type of space known as Iwan. Iwan has been used for centuries in Iranian architecture, but no earlier mosques incorporating them are known. 

Single barrel Vault

The early date of the Nayriz mosque is suggested by an inscription in the mihrab which mentions that the mosque had been built in 973/974, repaired in 1067/68, and repaired again in 1164/65. some scholar believes that small, domed cubes also served as a mosque in early Islamic Iran. The updated doomed mosques at Yazd-i Khwast and Qurwa, for example, maybe older buildings that have been converted into mosques.

Yazd-i Khwast and Qurwa

In addition to Friday mosques meant to serve the entire community, there was also a smaller mosque built to serve smaller segments. At Siraf, for example, at least 10 small mosques, ranging in size between 320 and 1100 square feet, were found in residential quarters of the site. Most of these were simple rectangular structures entered through a yard divided by an arcade that supported the roof. Three of them are staircase minaret, an early type known from the Umayyad period.

From archeological evidence, the most widespread type of small mosque was a square structure with four internal columns and piers supporting nine domes. This type is found from Spain to central Asia. One of the best examples of nine domed mosques is found at Balkh. The building is square and measures 66 feet on each side. The walls are built of baked brick, but all of the nine domes they originally supported have fallen. The glory of the building is its decoration.

Other buildings erected in the provinces during this period were tombs, which are known from textual sources and monumental remains. Tombs were also built for local rulers. The earliest complete example to survive is the tomb of Samanids at Bukhara. Tombs were also erected in Egypt.