The grandeur of the imperial style in the oversized buildings of Timur’s architecture reflects the political ambitions and grandeur of the ruler. This is a key feature of his architectural style. Many researchers have noted that Timur’s desire for colossal structures was influenced by the Mongolian invasion, which disrupted the balanced harmony that characterized earlier architecture. The next generation softened these extremes and returned to proportionality.
Even during Timur’s lifetime, alongside the massive palaces, mosques, and grand mausoleums, smaller, traditionally styled tombs were built. These simpler tombs, known for their elegant forms and tasteful use of color, were meant for Timur’s close circle. The best examples of these can be found in the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, the most famous sanctuary in Samarkand, which is only indirectly connected to Timur. Most of its patrons were Timurid princesses, wives, and sisters of the ruler, who built their family tombs around the shrine of Kusam ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Over twenty mausoleums and mosques from different periods still stand in the above-ground part of this necropolis. Archaeological work has revealed that there were about fifty such structures in total.
The portals of the mausoleums at Shah-i-Zinda impress visitors with their stunning decorative details and the variety of expensive techniques used. The colorful glazed tiles, carved terracotta, and intricate mosaics are combined with exquisite calligraphy of Arabic and Persian inscriptions, often featuring elegiac poetry alongside Quranic texts.
Each mausoleum has a unique decorative style. The entrance facades are examples of imperial decoration, while the walls not meant for viewing are left in simple brickwork, typical of pre-Mongolian architecture. This shows that the “old style” was not completely forgotten but was somewhat sidelined. Shah-i-Zinda serves as a bridge connecting the pre-Mongolian Afrosiab to the Timurid Samarkand, linking different historical eras of the city. This short stretch of around 200 meters on the southern slope of the legendary site contains such a wealth of archaeological and architectural material that it is hard to fit into a single book.
Historians have identified several historical and cultural phases in the development of the Shah-i-Zinda complex, with the main ones occurring during the rule of the Karakhanids (11th-12th centuries) and the Timurids (14th-15th centuries), when Samarkand regained its status as a capital twice. These were periods of intense construction activity linked to the political and socio-economic stability of both empires. The most challenging phase to study is during the Karakhanid rule (11th-12th centuries), when Samarkand became the capital of the Western Turkic Kaganate and when Shah-i-Zinda was established.
This site remains a treasure of architectural art and culture in the region and is an important spiritual center for modern Muslims. The earliest architectural and ideological foundation of Shah-i-Zinda is the “mashhad of Kusama,” with the supposed grave of the martyr (the complex of Kusam ibn Abbas in the northeastern part) dating back to the early 11th century. The emergence of this sanctuary three and a half centuries after the death of its namesake was driven by the need of the recent Turkic-Karakhanid nomads, who conquered the region, to legitimize their power. They achieved this not only by adopting Islam but also by integrating into the local traditions of pagan origin.
The famous Samarkand toponyms Afrosiab and Shah-i-Zinda are primarily linked to two characters from Iranian-Turkic mythology associated with the idea of eternal life. Afrosiab is a legendary hero and the ancestor of the Turkic peoples, who made sacrifices to the goddess of water and fertility, Ardvisura-Anahita, hoping for immortality. Shah-i-Zinda, meaning “living king,” is associated with Kusam ibn Abbas, who, according to local legends, did not die at the hands of pagans during prayer but miraculously disappeared, hiding through a mihrab (or rock), or in other versions, took his severed head and descended into a well (cave), where he still lives.
Researchers (Rahimov, Terletsky 2006) have also drawn parallels between the myth of the “living king” and another well-known shrine, Chashmai Ayyub in Bukhara. This complex, which developed from the 14th to the 16th centuries, includes the supposed grave of Ayyub, a Quranic character corresponding to the biblical Job, and a sacred well with fresh water believed to have healing properties.
This example illustrates the personification of healing water and sheds light on the hypothesis by R. R. Rahimov and N. S. Terletsky regarding the origin of the name Shah-i-Zinda. They refer to local beliefs about an underground connection between the well near the small mosque Hazrat Khizr at the site of the Kesh Gates of Afrosiab and Shah-i-Zinda. Hazrat Khizr (al-Khadir) is a character in Islamic mythology associated with the spirit of water, fertility, and purification, as well as immortality. Other authors also note the syncretic nature of the figures of Kusam and Khizr in later legends. It is likely not a coincidence that a bathhouse was built next to the well at Shah-i-Zinda, commissioned by Timur for his own use. This idea may have been inspired by the legend of Alexander the Great bathing in a spring of living water, which supposedly led to his worldwide fame and greatness. Specialists suggest that we cannot completely disregard certain representations in which Hazrat Khizr sometimes appears as a “headless horseman.”
Another interesting perspective is that Kusam represents a syncretic figure related to the celebration of Nowruz, incorporating elements of ancient Iranian heroes, particularly Siyavush, as well as the Muslim Khizr. To understand the origin of the name Shah-i-Zinda, we should also consider the phenomenon of remythologization of sacred sites and note that the Tajik language has the word “choq,” meaning well. This has led to the hypothesis that Shah-i-Zinda may derive from a similar-sounding name, Chohi Zinda, meaning “living well” or “well of living water”.
Every legend carries traces of ancient beliefs and myths, so we should not dismiss them as mere folklore. A thoughtful analysis of these sources can significantly expand the evidence base for researchers. According to “Mala Kandiyi,” the actual grave of Kusam ibn Abbas was located in the 7th-century Arab cemetery Banu-Nahiya near the southern gates of Samarkand (Vyatkin 1906: 260-262) and by the 11th century, it likely no longer met the standards of the established commemoration ritual (ziyarat) and the needs of the time. It is known that the graves of early Muslims were initially unmarked. In the 7th century, it might have been a dirt mound with a pole at the top, and the more the mound eroded, the more sacred the grave became. The “mashhad of Kusama” with the supposed grave of this important figure in Islamic history comprised a group of interconnected rooms (the grave of Kusama, including a gurkhana and ziyaratkhana, as well as a mosque, minaret, and a chillahana for forty days of solitude – the main aspect of Sufism), determined by the ritual of worship at holy sites.
Excavations have shown that during the 11th-12th centuries, an aristocratic necropolis of the Karakhanids emerged around the shrine, featuring richly decorated tombs. At the same time, in Muslim countries, the spread of Sufism and the revival of the cult of saints led to the establishment of sacred complexes or individual mazars-mausoleums at “holy graves,” including “mashhads.”
In the 1220s, power in the region shifted to the Mongol shamans, leading to a more than century-long pause in construction at Shah-i-Zinda due to the loss of state support for Islam. However, during this time, the Muslim shrine remained an important religious and cultural center. It is possible that the mashhad of Kusama was restored under the patronage of Chagatai, Genghis Khan’s second son, or his family by the mid-13th century. According to Ibn Battuta, during this period, the shrine was regularly visited not only by Samarkand residents but also by Mongols with valuable donations.
The main part of the Shah-i-Zinda complex, which developed during Timur’s reign from the 1370s to the early 15th century, was preceded by the construction of two earlier mausoleums – Khoja Ahmad (1340s) and an anonymous female mausoleum from 1360/61, attributed by tradition to one of Timur’s wives, Kutlug-Aka. In total, during the life of the great conqueror, eight of the most well-preserved mausoleums were built, along with several that have since disappeared, identified through excavations. These were mostly small, single-chamber tombs that did not overwhelm with their size or scale, unlike other monuments of Timurid Samarkand. In contrast, the structures from the 14th century are more intimate and elegant, creating a harmonious and proportionate panorama with their colorful facades.
It is important to highlight the significant social importance that the Timurids placed on the cult of saints. The tradition of honoring the family and companions of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as great Sufi sheikhs, united the interests of all social classes and had an ecumenical character. It affirmed the commonality of heroes in Muslim sacred anthropology, bringing together the interests of Sunnis, Shiites, Sufis, and sects from nearly all directions. Timur and his descendants needed symbols to consolidate the subjugated societies, which led to extensive commemorative construction at ancient shrines like Shah-i-Zinda, Khoja Ahmed Yasavi in the city of Yasi (modern Turkestan), Abdullah Ansari in Gazurghah near Herat, Hazrat Ali (the Blue Mosque) in Mazar-i-Sharif, Imam Reza in Mashhad, and many others.
The third significant phase in the life of the Shah-i-Zinda complex occurred under Ulugh Beg, who ruled from 1409 to 1449. During this time, a “lower group” of buildings was added along the outer slope of the Afrosiab site, including an entrance portal, darvazakhana, mosque, and a bath for winter ablutions, excavated in 2004. This reconstruction was part of a state program by Ulugh Beg linked to the construction of an observatory on the Kukhak heights northeast of Afrosiab. For the first time, Shah-i-Zinda had two entrances: the old western one for ordinary pilgrims, leading from Timurid Samarkand through the former Kesh (Iron) Gates, and the southern one with a monumental portal from 1434/35, leading from the country road to the observatory, for the ceremonial ziyarat of the ruler and his entourage to the “mashhad of Kusama.”
The existing ensemble from the 14th-15th centuries has been recognized in many publications as a masterpiece of medieval architecture in Central Asia and represents an important chapter in the history of culture and architectural art in Samarkand and the entire region. The high level of patronage led to equally high architectural and artistic standards in the royal tombs of Shah-i-Zinda. The construction of the mausoleums involved the best local and foreign craftsmen, whom Timur brought from conquered lands. The names of some of them are inscribed on the main facades, integrated into complex ornamental patterns, but the majority of the vast army of engineers, architects, epigraphists, and designers who created this masterpiece remain anonymous.
Shah-i-Zinda of the 14th-15th centuries is a living encyclopedia, showcasing the monumental architecture not only of Samarkand but of the entire Central Mawarannahr, where the Samarkand school of architects set the tone. There is no other monument of such scale and historical-cultural significance that reveals the construction practices, aesthetic priorities, traditions, and innovations in the culture of the region over the centuries in Central Asia. The main merit of the ensemble lies in its artistic appearance, in the extraordinary variety of decorative and finishing techniques, as well as in the plant, geometric, and epigraphic patterns.
In Shah-i-Zinda, different finishing materials changed, transformed, and combined over a short period. The mausoleums from the 14th-15th centuries feature all known types of painted majolica, carved glazed terracotta, mosaic, and colorful ganch paintings with a lot of gilding, ganch and ceramic stalactites draping the engineering transitions to the dome, and panjara grilles with intricate patterns and colored glass inserts. All of this gives the Timurid ensemble an extraordinary charm.
Finally, experts believe that Shah-i-Zinda holds the leading position among all surviving ensembles in the Islamic world in terms of the richness and diversity of monumental calligraphy. Here, we see around ten different styles of script, and when considering their individual variations that clearly show a synthesis of diverse styles, this number increases significantly.
Over just one century – from the mid-14th to the mid-15th century – Shah-i-Zinda vividly demonstrates the evolution of the structural and architectural design of single-chamber tombs. Early mausoleums from the 14th century feature squat proportions, single-layer domes, small foundations, and a lack of a base and structural connection between the above-ground part and the crypt. By the turn of the 14th-15th centuries, different vertical dimensions emerged. The tombs elongated with double domes placed on a faceted or cylindrical drum.
This structural technique is particularly evident in the mausoleums of Tuman-Aka in the northern part of Shah-i-Zinda and the tomb of the “Mother of the Sultan” in the southern part, where the powerful ribs supporting the helmet-shaped domes are concealed by tall drums. This technique increased the height of the 15th-century mausoleums compared to the 14th-century tombs by approximately three times – from 8 to 24 meters.
After the collapse of the Timurid state, constructions in Shah-i-Zinda during the 16th-19th centuries lacked elegance. A new type of burial structure appeared, known as dahma, which bore no resemblance to the portal-dome masterpieces of the past. Harsh wooden “sarcophagi” – simple structures on short legs – and marble gravestones covered in intricate inscriptions within ornamental frames emerged. Actual construction activity was limited to the “lower courtyard,” where in the early 19th century, a small provincial medrese of Davlet Kushbegi was built to the right of Ulugh Beg’s darvazakhana, and to the left, in the early 20th century, a summer mosque in the form of an iwan on wooden columns with a painted ceiling, friezes, and carved ganch on the walls was erected.
Throughout its history, the Shah-i-Zinda ensemble has undergone numerous reconstructions, but the original overall layout based on the urban planning network of southern Samarkand (a canal and a street perpendicular to it) has remained unchanged. The last reconstruction of the complex occurred in our time and slightly altered the familiar structure, which had existed for many centuries, into a narrow corridor along the street-road from the 9th-10th centuries, making it more convenient for modern tourist flows but also destroying the elusive aura of authenticity along with some remnants of the Karakhanid walls.
Regrettably, modern constructions have effectively swallowed many medieval ruins, making the authenticity of several areas of glazed facades problematic. Moreover, excessive reconstruction of Shah-i-Zinda does not provoke criticism in the local community; on the contrary, it is seen as a sign of the current state’s care and attention to this living sanctuary.
based on the article by Ruslan Muradov ‘Shakh-i-Zinda: A Thousand-year Life of a Shrine’