[ Tombs and Gunbads -Tombs]

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Sangbast
Khorasan

Thirty seven kilometers away from Mashhad, there stands a dome-covered structure and a minaret in the region of Sangbast. The monument is believed to be the burial place of Arsalan Jazeb, governor of Tus and contemporary of Sultan Mahmud, the Ghaznavid sovereign. The structure consists of a square hall with interior wall decorations of brick, originally colored in light shades. In the upper part of the walls, there is an inscription frieze in Kufic calligraphy and in blue color set on a floral background. The dome of this octagonal monument is low and heavily-built, and is decorated in the interior with kiln-fired bricks. Four crescent-shaped arches have been provided, one in each corner of the building, each surmounting an entrance door. The minaret is but a few paces away from the dome and possesses a Kufic inscription in its upper part, with decorations from the Ghaznavid period. The monument is especially interesting because of being the only architectural relief of that period within the present frontiers of Iran and is strong and in a good condition. The Gunbad and minaret once made part of a spacious frontier-station and inn constructed by the order of Arsalan Jazib between the years 389 and 421 A.H. (998-1030 A.D.).