Staging Piety: The Takkiyya Muʿavin al-Mulk in Kermanshah

with Nahid Massoumeh Assemi

The Takkiyya Mu’avin al-Mulk is a privately built complex in the city of Kermanshah in western Iran, dedicated to the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of Husayn ibn ‘Ali at the Battle of Karbala in 680, an event of seminal significance to Shiʿi Islam. Private takkiyyas built by social elites were a phenomenon of the Qajar period, with their construction motivated by a political quest for legitimacy.

This talk gives a brief account of the development of the rituals of commemoration of the Battle of Karbala in Iran, and their patronage by the state and the elites of society, who solicited the loyalty of the broader public by building takkiyyas, providing the venues for pious forms of entertainment. It also argues for the role of takkiyyas in creation of a sense of community and group identity; the formative stage of the emergent idea of nationhood at the time.

It further takes the audience on a stroll through the complex concentrating on the parts dealing with the Karbala event.

About the speaker:

Nahid Massoumeh Assemi is an independent scholar who specializes in the art and architectural history of Qajar Iran. She has published articles in the peer-review journal Iran. She holds a PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, an MA in Islamic Art and Archaeology from SOAS and an MA in Fine Arts from the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris where she was trained as a classical artist. She is also a miniaturist, illuminator and calligrapher working on commission.