Samanids mausoleum

Samanids mausoleum

Samanids mausoleum

The Samanid Mausoleum is the oldest structure in Bukhara that has remained intact to this day. It was built in the late 9th and early 10th centuries for Ahmed ibn Asad on behalf of his son Amir Ismail Samani, the founder of the first centralized state in Central Asia. Later he was also buried in the mausoleum. In 943 Nasr, a grandson of Ismail, was also buried in this tomb. The mausoleum is not big. It was built in the form of a cube with a side length of about 33 meters. But the architects of the building erected the walls slightly leaning inwards, which gave this architectural “miniature” a monumental appearance. The walls and corners inside the mausoleum have little arches to support the one octahedral base of the dome above. To reduce the weight of the large dome at the corners of the building, smaller domes were built. A pass-through gallery runs along the upper part of the building; it has 40 openings to give lightness to the structure. All four facades of the mausoleum are identical; each of them has a lancet arch entrance with heavily attached Half columns. The Samanid Mausoleum was the first Central Asian building made of fired bricks, which were used both as building and decorative material. The interior and exterior of the mausoleum have structured decorative masonry. The experts can recognize over 20 configurations of the bricks. Each stone in the mausoleum was modeled separately from the best clay, fired and carefully polished. Only then did highly qualified bricklayers get to work. The masters of the time built the decorative masonry patterns in a special way that during the day the ornament changes color from shimmering light brown to dark gray, depending on the light. No architectural monument in the world can do with such wall decorations and such boast comparable effect. Those in the know say that the light and shadow effect on the walls of the mausoleum is best seen in the moonlight. In addition to the decorative effect, the relief surface of the stones enables a great cohesion between the bricks and the mortar masterpiece. This quality and the two meters thick walls ensure the monument's astonishing longevity. The appearance of the Samanid mausoleum is inextricably linked to the Sogdian traditions and heralded the transition to the new Central Asian architectural style. Experts believe that the source of its architectural forms can be found in Zoroastrian burial structures and fire temples, many of which have remained intact on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In pre-Islamic architecture, a cube symbolizes the earth, a dome symbolizes the sky, and in combination they symbolize the universe. The charm of the mausoleum is explained by the harmonious proportions of the neighboring building. The Samanid Mausoleum is a real masterpiece, one of the world's best architectural monuments, has been included as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

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