- Gur-e Amir
The Gur-e Amir ( _fa. گور امیر) is the
mausoleum of theAsia n conquerorTamerlane (also known asTimur ) inSamarkand (now inUzbekistan ). It occupies an important place in the history ofIslamic Architecture as the precursor and model for the great Mughal tombs ofHumayun inDelhi and theTaj Mahal inAgra , built by Timur's descendants, the ruling Mughal dynasty of NorthIndia . It has been heavily restored.History of its Construction
Gur-e Amir is Persian for "Tomb of the King". This architectural complex with its azure dome contains the tombs of Tamerlane, his sons
Shah Rukh andMiran Shah and grandsonUlugh Beg and Muhammad Sultan. Also honoured with a place in the tomb is Timur's teacherMir Sayyid Baraka .The earliest part of the complex was built at the end of the 14th century by the orders of Muhammad Sultan. Now only the foundations of the
madrasah andkhanaka , the entrance portal and a part of one of fourminaret s remains.The construction of the mausoleum itself began in 1403 after the sudden death of Muhammad Sultan, Tamerlane's heir apparent and his beloved grandson, for whom it was intended. Timur had built himself a smaller tomb in
Shahrisabz near hisAk-Saray palace. However, when Timur died in 1405 on campaign on his way to conquerChina , the passes to Shahrisabz were snowed in, so he was buried here instead. Ulugh Beg, another grandson of Tamerlane, completed the work. During his reign the mausoleum became the family crypt of theTimurid Dynasty .Architecture
The entrance portal to the Muhammad Sultan ensemble ( [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir/Gur-Emir_1.htm see picture] ) is richly decorated with carved bricks and various mosaics. The decoration of the portal was accomplished by the skilled craftsman (ustad) Muhammad bin Mahmud Isfahani.
Outwardly the Gur-e Amir Mausoleum is a one-cupola building. It is famous for its simplicity of construction and for its solemn monumentality of appearance. It is an octahedral building crowned by an azure fluted dome ( [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir/Gur-Emir_3.htm see picture] ). The exterior decoration of the walls consists of the blue, light-blue and white tiles organized into geometrical and epigraphic ornaments against a background of terracotta bricks. The dome (diameter - 15 m (49.21 ft), height - 12.5 m (41.01 ft)) is of a bright blue color with deep rosettes and white spots. Heavy ribbed fluting gives an amazing expressiveness to the cupola.
During the reign of Ulugh Beg a doorway ( [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir/Gur-Emir_4.htm see picture] ) was made to provide an entrance into the mausoleum.
Inwardly the mausoleum appears as a large, high chamber with deep niches at the sides and diverse decoration. The lower part of the walls covered are by onyx slabs composed as one panel. Each of these slabs is decorated with refined paintings. Above the panel there is a marble stalactite cornice. Large expanses of the walls are decorated with painted plaster; the arches and the internal dome are ornamented by high-relief papier-mache cartouches, gilded and painted ( [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir/Gur-Emir_5.htm see picture] ).
The ornate carved headstones in the inner room of the mausoleum merely indicate the location of the actual tombs in a crypt directly underneath the main chamber. Under Ulugh Beg's government a solid block of dark green
jade was placed over the grave of Tamerlane ( [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir/Gur-Emir_6.htm see picture] ). Formerly this stone had been used at a place of worship in the Chinese emperor's palace, then as the throne of Kabek Khan (a descendant of Genghis Khan) in Karshi. Next to Tamerlane's grave lie the marble tombstones of his sons Miran Shah and Shah Rukh and also of grandsons - Muhammad Sultan and Ulugh Beg. Tamerlane's spiritual teacher Mir Said Baraka, also rests here.ubsequent History
In 1740, the Persian warlord
Nadir Shah stole the stone, but it broke in two and he started to have a run of extremely bad luck. His advisors urged that he return the stone to its rightful place immediately. The second time the stone was disturbed was on June 19,1941 whenSoviet archaeologists opened the crypt. The anthropologistMikhail Gerasimov was able to reconstruct Tamerlane's facial features from his skull, and it was also confirmed that he was a giant for his day, was 172 cm, and would have walked with a pronounced limp. Further historical information about the assassination of Ulugh Beg and the authenticity of the other graves was also confirmed. However, the archaeologists involved also invoked the curse, as the Nazis invaded Russia three days later. The tomb inscription reads: "Anyone who violates my stillness in this life or in the next one, will be subjected to inevitable punishment and misery". Timur's skeleton and that of Ulugh Beg, his grandson, were reinterred with full Islamic burial rites in 1942, on the same day as the victory in Stalingrad.Nearby Monuments
Some consider the Gur-e Amir, Ruhabad mausoleum and Aksaray mausoleum to be a combined ensemble because of their closeness.
Ruhabad (14th c.) is a small mausoleum ( [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir/Gur-Emir_10.htm see picture] ) and is said to contain a hair of Prophet
Muhammad . The one story madrasah now accommodates craftsmens' shops. There is a functioning mosque next door to the madrasah. All three combine into one good-looking ensemble ( [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir/Gur-Emir_7a.htm see picture] ).The Aksaray mausoleum (15th c.), unrestored, is located on a quiet street behind Gur-e Amir ( [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir/Gur-Emir_12.htm see picture] ).
See also
*
Registan
*Bibi-Khanym Mosque
*Shah-i-Zinda
*Tourism in Uzbekistan External links
* [http://www.advantour.com/uzbekistan/samarkand.htm Samarkand - the Capital of Tamerlane]
* [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Gur-Emir.htm Gur Emir complex, Rukhobod, Aksaray mausoleums. Information, photos,] [http://pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/mappn.htm location]
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