Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
The most important Samarkand's architectural works of the period of
Timur is as follows:
SHAH-I ZINDEH MAUSOLEUM COMPLEX (10TH-19TH
CENTURY)
Beautiful queen Samarkand carries—Islam's precious gift to her—the
Tomb of Shah-I Zindeh, like a brooch that she wears right on top of her
heart. This shrine would be the most valuable of all the spiritual posses-
sions of the city. During Imam Osman's period Kussam Ibn Abbas had
come to Samarkand upon his uncle Profit Muhammad's wish to spread
Islam in Mawarannahr. Martyred on an “eid ul-adha,” (feast of sacrifice)
Kussam Ibn Abbas is given the name “Shah-i Zinde” (King of the Liv-
ing) in accordance with the verse that says martyrs never die. The his-
toric cemetery on the way to Arasiab hill is dated as far back as the tenth
century (Fig. 10). Oldest graves are aligned with the narrow road leading
down from the tomb of Shah-I Zinde. During and after the Timur period,
the shrines for members of the dynasty, important statesmen and scholars
continued to be made on this sacred hill. The structure of the tomb gate is
made with great mastery of ivory ornament. The most important architec-
tural feature of the structure is the polished, baked earth and blue colored
different sized ceramics. Some of its rooms include colorful ceramic pan-
els (Pander, 2001). The section that belongs to the ladies of Timur's family
had a portal entrance that contained literally the most beautiful lace like
lapis-colored pottery of Samarkand. Here stands so devoted the tomb of
beloved first wife of Timur, Olcay Turkan (Fig. 11).
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