5/5 Jamal S. 3 years ago on Google
The
Shah-i-Zinda
Ensemble
includes
mausoleums
and
other
ritual
buildings
of
11-15th
and
19th
centuries.
The
name
Shah-i-Zinda
(meaning
"The
living
king")
is
connected
with
the
legend
that
Kusam
ibn
Abbas,
a
cousin
of
the
Prophet
Muhammad,
is
buried
here.
He
came
to
Samarkand
with
the
Arab
invasion
in
the
7th
century
to
preach
Islam.
Popular
legends
speak
that
he
was
beheaded
for
his
faith,
but
he
didn't
die,
took
his
head
and
went
into
the
deep
well
(Garden
of
Paradise),
where
he's
still
living
now.
The
Shah-i-Zinda
complex
was
formed
over
eight
(from
11th
till
19th)
centuries
and
now
includes
more
than
twenty
buildings.
The
ensemble
comprises
three
groups
of
structures:
lower,
middle
and
upper
connected
by
four-arched
domed
passages
locally
called
chartak.
The
earliest
buildings
date
back
to
the
11-12th
centuries.
Mainly
their
bases
and
headstones
have
remained
now.
The
most
part
dates
back
to
the
14-15th
centuries.
Reconstructions
of
the
16-19th
centuries
were
of
no
significance
and
did
not
change
the
general
composition
and
appearance.
The
initial
main
body
-
Kusam-ibn-Abbas
complex
-
is
situated
in
the
northeastern
part
of
the
ensemble.
It
consists
of
several
buildings.
The
most
ancient
of
them,
the
Kusam-ibn-Abbas
mausoleum
and
mosque
(16th
century),
are
among
them.
Detail
of
the
column.
The
upper
group
of
buildings
consists
of
three
mausoleums
facing
each
other.
The
earliest
one
is
Khodja-Akhmad
Mausoleum
(1340s),
which
completes
the
passage
from
the
north.
The
Mausoleum
of
1361,
on
the
right,
restricts
the
same
passage
from
the
east.
The
middle
group
consists
of
the
mausoleums
of
the
last
quarter
of
the
14th
century
-
first
half
of
the
15th
century
and
is
concerned
with
the
names
of
Timur's
relatives,
military
and
clergy
aristocracy.
On
the
western
side
the
Mausoleum
of
Shadi
Mulk
Aga,
the
niece
of
Timur,
stands
out.
This
portal-domed
one-premise
crypt
was
built
in
1372.
Opposite
is
the
Mausoleum
of
Shirin
Bika
Aga,
Timur's
sister.
Next
to
Shirin-Bika-Aga
Mausoleum
is
the
so-called
Octahedron,
an
unusual
crypt
of
the
first
half
of
the
15th
century.
Near
the
multi-step
staircase
the
most
well
proportioned
buildings
of
the
lower
group
is
situated.
It
is
a
double-cupola
mausoleum
of
the
beginning
of
the
15th
century.
This
mausoleum
is
devoted
to
Kazi
Zade
Rumi,
who
was
the
scientist
and
astronomer.
Therefore
the
double-cupola
mausoleum
which
was
built
by
Ulugbek
above
his
tomb
in
1434-1435th
has
the
height
comparable
with
cupolas
of
the
royal
family's
mausoleums.
The
main
entrance
gate
to
the
ensemble
(Darvazakhana
or
the
first
chartak)
turned
southward
was
built
in
1434-1435
under
Ulugbek.
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