When the Prophet described his ascent to heaven he spoke of an immense mother of pearl dome resting on a square with four corner pillars on which was written the four-part Quranic formula "In the Name - of God - the Compassionate - and the Merciful". The dome rested upon a square, held apart by an octagon which symbolised the eight angels.
The illustration above shows part of the dome of the Darb-e- Imam built in 1453. Note the elaborate geometry which expands the point from which the sanctuary lamp hangs into a circle and then reduces the circle to the square structure of the sanctuary through a sixteen sided polygon and thence through an octagon of eight squinches. Note too how the squinches on the corners are reduced into the walls through a series of hanging pendentives.
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the concept of Dome.
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24-February-95