[2] Fakhr al-Din was the protegé of the fourth Ilkhanate ruler Arghun Khan and invested heavily in the Imamzadeh, as he also shared heritage with Hasan ibn Ali.

Historical accounts describe the monument as including a grand entrance portal with arcades leading to a mosque and an octagonal tower with a conical roof.

The octagonal tower, thought to be built before the Seljuk period, had flat interior niches and contained a blue plaster mihrab.

It was once decorated with painted stucco as well as luster tiles, highly prized mediums of the time that required valuable materials and cultivated skill to produce.

It begins with the Qur’an 62:1–4, “glorifying God, His Messenger, and His Sacred Word,” includes the date, Muharram 707 (July 1307), and concludes with a hadith.

[1] This text frames the original location of the tomb’s luster mihrab on the qibla wall, which once was decorated with 50-60 handmade tiles.

[1] The tiles were produced in a variety of shapes to decoratively fill the interior wall space, utilizing interlocking “star and cross” forms along the dado.

[6] As of 2020, historian Dr. Keelan Overton suggests, the tiles are spread around the world in 30 museums, in cities such as Doha, St. Petersburg, Tbilisi, London, Oxford, Paris, Glasgow, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and probably even Tehran.

According to Masuya, the tiles from Imamzadeh Yahya were stolen during the first phase of 1862/63-1875 where they were systematically removed and sold throughout Europe and the United States.

Worshippers who visit the tomb interact with the zarih by touching it, kissing it, praying against it, offering money through the holes in the screen, and adorning it.

Shi’a believers regard Imamzadeh Yahya’s personality as resonant in the tomb, meaning that prayers performed in the space are likely to yield positive outcomes.

[1] The large, pale indent in the wall where the mihrab once stood is often adorned by printed and drawn signs made by local visitors.

[1] On either side of the void is a collage of four images that includes views of the entire complex and photographs of the tomb’s tiles on display.