Mazinan Caravansary
Mohammad Yusef Kiani
Reprinted from: Traditions Architecturales en Iran, Tehran, No. 2 and 3, 1976


Mazinan village is located near Sabzevar, on Meshed road. The caravansary of the same name was built on the outskirts of the village, during the reign of Shah Abbas II.

It is rectangular, 65x60 Sq. m, and it was built on 4-verandas plan. The portal entrance is on the north side and 6 arches on either side flank it. There are 2 symmetrical rooms, 5x3.40 m, on either side of the vestibule.

The courtyard is also rectangular, 30.50x35.50 m, and there are 24 chambers of equal size, 3.10x2.30 m, around the courtyard. Each chamber has a veranda of the same size.

Opposite the portal entrance, there is the main veranda of the caravansary, which measures 6.35 m long and 4.75 m wide.

It contains a 2-story building. The first story is rectangular, 6x4.75 m, and it contains a brick niche. It is, in fact, the mosque of the building. The small stairs lead to the second story, which is also rectangular, 5.30x7.50 m. The design of the second story seems to have been built for special guests or important persons.

There is a stable on each corner of the caravansary. The floor is of earth and the rest of the structure is from fired brick.

There are 3 stone inscriptions on the upper part of the entrance. One of the inscriptions is written in Thulth script, by Mohammad Reza Imami. It states that the caravansary was erected in 1663, at the Shah Abbas II, by Hajj Moin Isfahani. Another inscription states that the structure was repaired by a wealthy merchant, Hajj Ali Naqi Kashani, in 1866.

It would be noted that according to the historical sources, there was another important caravansary, located in this village at the beginning of the Islamic period. At the present, traces of the old caravansary and parts of its ruins are still visible on the north side of the Safavid Caravansary.