ISHRATKHANA MAUSOLEUM
Ishratkhana Mausoleum was built near
Abdi-Darun Mazar to the south-east of
Samarkand’s Firuza gates, in the place
of the famous Temurid Garden Bagi-
Firuza This building has complex
architecture, dating back to the sec-
ond half of the 15thcentury. It suffered
greatly in its history, and was not
restored. The building has a big portal
and a high central hall, the dome of
which existed till the beginning of the
20th century. It contains a crypt with
twenty three female and children’s
tombs under the floor. Mosaics, wall
painting and plafonds decorate its
interior. Ishratkhana means “house of
enjoyment“ which expresses the idea
of an eternal home for heavenly life.
Some scientists suggest that Ishrat-
khana was originally one of Temurids’
country palaces. The mausoleum is a
necropolis for Temurid women and
children. A possible patronfor Ishrat-
khana might be Habiba Sultan-
begim—Abu Sa’id’s wife, who con-
structed the mausoleum for her
daughter Havend-Sultan-bika.
 HAZRET-HYZR MOSQUE
The mosque, named after Hazret-Hyzr,
a mythical Islamic saint and eternal
wanderer stands on the southern
slope of Afrasiab hill, at a crossroad
behind the central bazaar. A legend
says that Hazret-Hyzr helped the
patron of Samarkand Kusam-ibn-
Abbas to avoid death and become
immortal. Once, there was a Zoroastri-
an temple here with sculptures of
godsbroken in the first years of Islam.
The temple was converted into a
mosque. In the heyday of Afrasiab
there weredouble fortified southern
gates, receiving caravans from
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Tokharistan, India and Iran. Over that
place there passed an ancient aque-
duct, bringing water to the town. Per-
haps due to the aqueduct there
appeared a cult associated with Haz-
ret-Hyzr, who according to a legend
became immortal after drinking water
of eternal life. Hazret-Hyzr is respected
as a saint who can grant wealth and
good luck in trade and travelling. The
present building was erected on the
medieval foundations in1854. Carved
ganch and colored paintings on the
ceiling decorate the interior.
MAUSOLEUM OF KHADJA DANIYAR
Mausoleum of Khadja Daniyar is situ-
ated on the northern slope of Afrasiab
hill near the old Samarkand wall. Near-
by, above the Siab river, there is an
underground curative source, coming
out of the rock. According to legends,
Khadja Daniyar was a companion of
Kusam-ibn-Abbas who was consid-
ered a relative of the Prophet and one
of the first Islamic preachers. The oth-
er legends associate Khadja Daniyar
with Koranic and Biblical prophet
Daniyar (Daniel). So, the Mazar is wor-
shipped as a holy place in the three
world religions: Islam, Christianity and
Judaism. Since the Prophet Daniyar
was buried in the Middle East, it is
assumed that the remains of the holy
person were brought here by Amir
Temur. A peculiar feature of Khadja
Daniyar cult is that the saint continues
to grow in his tomb. Owing to this the
tomb was periodically extended. The
dome mausoleum above the long
gravestone was built at the beginning
of the 20th century.
 SHAHI-ZINDA
The rise of the Shahi-Zinda necropolis
is connected with Kusam ibn Abbas,
the Prophet’s cousin who had a
strong resemblance with him. There
has survived a quotation (habit), over
a carved door of Shahi-Zinda: “Said
the Prophet..: Al-Kusamibn al-Abbas,
more than others resembles me in
face and character“. Kusam ibn Abbas
took part in the first Arab campaigns
to Maverannahr. According to a leg-
end, Kusam was mortally wounded at
the Samarkand walls and hid under-
ground where he continues to live.
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That gave the name for the necropo-
lis—Shahi-Zinda—“alive king“. It is like-
ly that the cult of “eternally living
king“—the patron saint of Samarkand,
has a more ancient pre-Islamic origin,
subsumed about a thousand years
ago under the worshiping of Kusam
ibn Abbas. By the 10th–11th centuries
Kusam was considered a martyr and
gained the status of an Islamic saint. In
the 12th–15th centuries there was con-
structed a complex of mausoleums
and mosques along the path leading
to his supposed grave.
 MAUSOLEUM OF KUSAM IBN ABBAS
The base of Kusam ibn Abbas mauso-
leum consists of constructions dated
to the 11th century. First of all it is a
small dome tomb. The ceramic
stepped gravestone which was
installed during Amir Temur’s time in
the 1480s, occupies almost half of its
area. The third step was decorated
with citation from the Koran explain-
ing the name of the necropolis: “Nev-
er consider dead those who were
killed on the way of Allah. No, they are
alive“. Scientific surveys of the tombs
have revealed a grave of a man of
mature age, dating back to the 11th–
12th centuries. Nearby there are the
remains of burials from the 10th–11th
centuries. At least a few centuries sep-
arate the time of these burials with
the time of Kusam ibn Abbas’s death.
The names of the persons and reasons
for their burial in such an honored
place remain a secret. Near the tomb
there is a big memorial room with a
mihrab in the western wall. There is a
room for forty-day sole prayer made
under its floor. A small minaret of the
11th century is situated at the entrance.
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 NORTHERN GROUP
After the Mongols conquered Samar-
kand, Shahi-Zinda memorial, which
arose around the mausoleum of
Kusam ibn Abbas, was abandoned. It
began to revive in the second quarter
of the 14thcentury as a suburban Mus-
lim shrine alongside of the new city,
on the site of rabad. Then Shahi-Zinda
ensemble developed chronologically
from north to south. Khadja-Ahmad
mausoleum was erected in the 1340s
at the top of the northern part of the
memorial. It blocked the track along
the main axis of the necropolis. The
inscription on the mausoleum says: “...
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may Allah prolong their eternity to
make a tomb a garden of happiness
for Khadja-Ahmad“. In 1361 a mausole-
um was built next to it for a highborn
married woman. Both mausoleums
were decorated with carved glazed
terracotta of bluish-green, and ash-
blue colors. At the beginning of the
15th century on the west side of the
same platform, there was built a mau-
soleum and a mosque on behalf of
Tuman-aga, Temur’s younger wife. The
portal of the mausoleum is covered
with blue cashin mosaics.
 CENTRAL GROUP
A group of new mausoleums arose in
Shahi-Zinda in the 1380s–1390s. They
were built on the place of Qarakha-
nids’ madrasah (11th century). Some of
them were saved. These are two
nameless mausoleums, Amir Burun-
duk Mausoleum, a mausoleum built
by usto (master) Alim Nesefi. Amir
Burunduk Mausoleum has only an
internal dome on a 16-angled drum.
The first nameless mausoleum pre-
served a portal with a citation: “earthly
life is a burden to people, and people
are a burden to the earth.“ The mauso-
leum made by Alim Nesefi is decorat-
ed with relief majolica. Expressive
eight-pointed stars are a characteristic
feature of its facade. The central star
shows the names of twelve Shiite
imams. The lower one contains Koran-
ic text “Throne“. Between the “stars“ is
the text: “This world is joy for the peo-
ple of sin, the future world is bitter for
those who are committed to this
world, and both of these worlds are a
joy for Godly people.“ Located on the
south east of the main track, an octag-
onal mausoleum was built by Ulugbek
in 1430–40s.
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TEMURID MAUSOLEUMS
In the time of Amir Temur, among the
mausoleums of Shahi-Zinda there was
built a necropolis for the women of
his family. When in 1372 Shadi-Mulk
died (the daughter of Temur’s elder
sister Kutlug-Turkan-aga) a mausole-
um with a ridge dome and a beautiful
portal, trimmed with carved majolica
was erected at the old wall. Kutlug-
Turkan-aga died in 1383 and was bur-
ied in the same mausoleum. When
Temur’s younger sister, Shirin-bek-aga,
died in 1386 there was built for her
the most refined mausoleum. Its por-
tal was decorated with inlaid sap-
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phire-blue cashin mosaics. It also has
quotations from Socrates. Among oth-
er moral teachings there is a quote:
“Indeed people in this world are like
birds rejoicing ... and this world is like a
snare with bait placed in it“. One of
Amir Temur’s confidants Amir Hussein
built a mausoleum for his mother Tug-
lu-Tekin next to these mausoleums. In
that period there also was erected the
mausoleum of Amir-Zade. The portals
of these mausoleums were decorated
with carved glazed terracotta and
painted majolica.
 SOUTH GROUP
When Temur’s grandson Mirzo Ulug-
bek was the ruler of Maverannahr,
Shahi-Zinda ensemble was construct-
ed downwards from the brink of the
old wall. The two-dome mausoleum
was built in that period. According to
some sources, it belonged to Uldja-
Inaga, Amir Temur’s nurse (before the
survey, researchers thought it was the
mausoleum of the astronomer Qazi-
Zade Rumi). The mausoleum is famous
for its legendary stairway. The number
of its steps could be counted correctly
only by a truly believing person. In the
1430s, at the bottom of the wall, Ulug-
bek built a front entrance. It has the
inscription: “... founded by Abd al-
Aziz..., son of Ulugbek... in
838(1434/1435)“. The mosque and aux-
iliary premises on both sides of the
chartak were built later. In the 19thcen-
tury the khakim of Samarkand Davlet
Kushbeghi constructed a small madra-
sah at the entrance and a summer
mosque opposite to it. The remains of
a medieval bathhouse were found
during restoration work in Shahi-Zinda
at the beginning of the 21th century.
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