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Dome of the Gur-Emir Mosque. Samarkand

1905
Shown here is Gur-Emir ("tomb of the ruler") in Samarkand, the burial place of the great Timur (Tamerlane). Timur began the shrine in 1403 in memory of his beloved grandson Muhammad Sultan. Following Timur's own death from pneumonia in 1405, his body was also placed in the structure, which became the mausoleum of the Timurids. It was completed by another of Timur's grandsons, the astronomer-king Ulugh Beg. This overcast view from the east side shows severe damage to the ceramic ornamentation of the ribbed dome. The cylinder beneath the dome and the facades of the structure are adorned with sacred inscriptions as well as intricate geometric and floral patterns. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including trips in January 1907 and again in 1911 that focused the ancient city of Samarkand.

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618.jpg
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acku Afghanistan
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1800x1786 / 736.8KB
Contained in galleries
UZBEKISTAN
1905<br />
Shown here is Gur-Emir ("tomb of the ruler") in Samarkand, the burial place of the great Timur (Tamerlane). Timur began the shrine in 1403 in memory of his beloved grandson Muhammad Sultan. Following Timur's own death from pneumonia in 1405, his body was also placed in the structure, which became the mausoleum of the Timurids. It was completed by another of Timur's grandsons, the astronomer-king Ulugh Beg. This overcast view from the east side shows severe damage to the ceramic ornamentation of the ribbed dome. The cylinder beneath the dome and the facades of the structure are adorned with sacred inscriptions as well as intricate geometric and floral patterns. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including trips in January 1907 and again in 1911 that focused the ancient city of Samarkand.