Antiquities of Samarkand. Tomb of the Saint Kusam-ibn-Abbas (Shah-i Zindah) and Adjacent Mausoleums. Mausoleum of Sha Arap. View of the Front

1865
This photograph, taken from the roof of the Tuman-Aka Mausoleum, shows the facade of an unidentified mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis (Samarkand, Uzbekistan). The photograph is from the archeological part of Turkestan Album, a six-volume survey produced in 1871-72, under the patronage of General Konstantin P. von Kaufman, the first governor-general (1867-82) of Turkestan, as the Russian Empire's Central Asian territories were called. The album devotes special attention to Samarkand’s Islamic architecture, such as 14th- and 15th-century monuments from the reign of Timur (Tamerlane) and his successors. Of particular note is Shah-i Zindah (Persian for “living king”), built on the elevated site of an ancient settlement known as Afrosiab and revered as a memorial to Kusam-ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Although the patron of this mausoleum has not been conclusively identified, its date of construction is known to be 1360-61. Despite major damage, the mausoleum facade has a rich array of polychrome ceramic ornamentation arranged in bands of floral, geometric, and inscriptional forms in the cursive Thuluth style. The facade arch, or peshtak, culminates in a “honeycomb” (mocárabe) vault. On the far left is a corner of the Khodzha Akhmad Mausoleum, built during the same period and with a similar style of facade decoration.

Add to Lightbox Download

Filename: 3677.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 2243x1800 / 611.0KB; 1865 Uzbekistan Samarqand Samarkand Antiquities Tombs Saint Kusam-ibn-Abbas Shah-i-Zindah Mausoleum Sha Arap Men Archaeological Sites Architectural Decorations Islamic Architecture Sepulchral Monuments Photo WDL 010137
Contained in galleries: UZBEKISTAN

1865<br />
This photograph, taken from the roof of the Tuman-Aka Mausoleum, shows the facade of an unidentified mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis (Samarkand, Uzbekistan). The photograph is from the archeological part of Turkestan Album, a six-volume survey produced in 1871-72, under the patronage of General Konstantin P. von Kaufman, the first governor-general (1867-82) of Turkestan, as the Russian Empire's Central Asian territories were called. The album devotes special attention to Samarkand’s Islamic architecture, such as 14th- and 15th-century monuments from the reign of Timur (Tamerlane) and his successors. Of particular note is Shah-i Zindah (Persian for “living king”), built on the elevated site of an ancient settlement known as Afrosiab and revered as a memorial to Kusam-ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Although the patron of this mausoleum has not been conclusively identified, its date of construction is known to be 1360-61. Despite major damage, the mausoleum facade has a rich array of polychrome ceramic ornamentation arranged in bands of floral, geometric, and inscriptional forms in the cursive Thuluth style. The facade arch, or peshtak, culminates in a “honeycomb” (mocárabe) vault. On the far left is a corner of the Khodzha Akhmad Mausoleum, built during the same period and with a similar style of facade decoration.