Investigating the mausoleums in the Safavid city of Howzdaar in Sistan

The mausoleums are one of the manifestations of art in the Islamic architecture and has always been noticed in world of Islam, especially in Iran; In such a way that they are noticeable in most of the cities in Iran and in different historical periods. In the east side of Iran, especially in Sistan province, in internal or outer cemeteries of every historical city we can find samples of mausoleums which are very important in the region’s architecture. One of these cities that date back to the late Teimuri and the early Qajari era, is Howzdaar in south of Sistan, located in the Ramrood region which due to the high health rate of the monuments in this area, it is one of the best samples of the late architectural studies. This city holds the remains of the outer cemeteries which each one of them hold a number of unique mausoleums within. These mausoleums, which are varied in structure comparing to other similar samples, have a special place in the history of architecture in Sistan; However, with such high ranking, these mausoleums have never been comprehensively and specifically studied. In this context, the introduction and the study of these valuable heritage are the priorities of archaeological and the Islamic architectural studies in the region. The purpose of this research is to introduce, study and classify the architectural style of the mausoleums in the historic city of Howzdaar in Sistan.