Behnam House

Maqsudiyeh neighborhood is one of the old neighborhoods of Tabriz city, which is famous for having many historical sites. Situated in this neighborhood, the historical Behnam House has been named after its owner, i.e. “Behnam Ganjei”.

Maqsoudiyeh Locality of Tabriz

This locality was established during the rule of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty and was named “Maqsoud Bieg”, the son of Abu Nasr Uzun Hasan, who was the founder and the most powerful sultan of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty and ruled over parts of Iran, Iraq, Eastern Anatolia, Armenia, and the today’s Republic of Azerbaijan. Uzun Hasan began his reign in 1453 AD with Diyarbakir of Iraq as his capital. He, however, changed his capital to Tabriz in 1471 AD. Maqsoudiyeh neighborhood was built when Tabriz was the capital of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty.

Besides Behnam House, this neighborhood houses several other mansions including Ganjei-Zadeh Mansion, Salmasi House, Shahriar’s House, Haidarzadeh House, Ghadaki House, and Nikdel House.

History of Behnam house

It seems that the initial building of this house was built in the last years of the Zand and the beginning of the Qajar eras (late 18th century). However, it is certain that the house was restored during the time of Naser al-Din Shah (second half of the 19th century), making it into the building that can be seen today. The decoration of the building, which includes various paintings, is related to this period.

Along with four other neighboring historical houses, Behnam House is now as a part of the Tabriz University of Art.

Architecture and Features of Behnam House

Behnam House has been built on a land of about 900 square meters. Like other old Iranian mansions, the general structure of this house consists of an internal and an external part. The house also has two residential (summer and winter) parts and since the cold season is longer in Tabriz, the summer residential part of the building had been made larger.

With its outstanding brickwork, the façade and the eye-catching doors and windows of the building, can amaze every viewer.

A vestibule connects the entrance of the house to the courtyard, which has a beautiful flowerbed. With their colorful panes, the windows of the building have created a beautiful view that can be seen from the courtyard. These windows open in north and south directions.

There is a tall pillared porch located in the south of the summer residential part, the height of which is the same as the height of the summer residence. There are some rooms on both sides of this residential part.

Using paintings to decorate the interior of the house is one of its remarkable features. Several Iranian fresco paintings were discovered during the recent operation to restore Behnam House. This type of painting was mostly used in the Renaissance period and often included several related paintings. The existence of such paintings shows that the owners and designers of Behnam House had a special inclination towards the decorations used in the interior designs of European houses. Beautiful paintings can also be seen on the wall and ceiling of the summer residence. There is a summer terrace with columns that have plaster capitals in the southern part of the House.

There is a pond with a dome-shaped roof under the summer residence. The basement of this part is quite large and the alignment of architectural proportions and the use of arches and domes in it is admirable.

The inner section of the house is located in its northernmost part, on the east and west sides of which there are some rooms overlooking the courtyard of this section, which was received more sunlight and used as the residential part in the cold seasons.

Behnam Hose was inscribed on the list of Iran’s national heritage in the year 1997.

With its outstanding brickwork, the façade and the eye-catching doors and windows of the building, can amaze every viewer.