The first mosque here was built around 771 under the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur, in mud-brick, about 171 by 295 feet (52 by 90 m). A larger one followed in 840 and 841 under al-Mu'tasim.
The Seljuks added two great brick domes. Nizam al-Mulk's of 1086 and 1087, with eight ribs, was the largest masonry dome in the Islamic world at the time. Taj al-Mulk's of 1088 and 1089 has interlacing ribs forming pentagons and five-pointed stars. After a fire in 1121 and 1122, builders created a large iwan before the mihrab chamber and three more around the courtyard. This four-iwan form later became prevalent in Iran and beyond.
Under Uljaytu the arcade was divided into two levels, and a winter hall was added with a stucco mihrab dated 1310. Uzun Hasan added tilework to the southern iwan in 1475 and 1476. UNESCO listed it in 2012.
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