The Arab-Ata Mausoleum (lit. 'Shrine of the Arab Father') is a cubical, domed brick

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

built in 977-78 in the village of Tim,

Samarqand Region Samarqand Region (Samarkand Region) ( uz, Самарқанд вилояти, Samarqand viloyati, russian: Самаркандская область) is the most populous region of Uzbekistan. It is located in the center of the country in the basi ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. Built during the

Samanid Empire The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate society, Persianate Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian peoples, Ira ...

, the Arab-Ata Mausoleum was among the earliest buildings to include three notable features of

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...

: the

muqarnas Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

, and pishtaq. Following the appearance of the mihrab in the Arab-Ata mausoleum, mihrabs became a more common feature in mausoleums from the tenth century on. The Arab-Ata is the earliest dated example of a pishtaq, with it becoming a staple of Islamic architecture. It has been proposed that the pishtaq developed further with the many

Seljuq Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (d ...

domes from the 11th and 12th centuries.

Site Description

Built on top of a ''tepa'', or triangular-shaped hill, in the 10th Century, the mausoleum fills an important gap in understanding the evolution of mausoleum architecture in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Arab-Ata Mausoleum - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Retrieved 2009-03-24. Exterior The Arab-Ata mausoleum is nearly a square building located near the remote village of Tim in the Zerafshan hills, south of the road from

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

, with dimensions of 8 meters x 8.7 meters, built entirely out of brick and mortar. The mausoleum is topped with a dome that, when facing the entrance of the mausoleum, is obscured by a pishtaq, a rectangular frame around an arch opening that rose to 9 meters high when constructed initially. The Arab-Ata mausoleum has the first known inclusion of a pishtaq. The pishtaq frames a singular ogee-shaped entrance facing northeast. Around the pishtaq ran an inscription in relief of

sura A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...

2, 281, a verse out of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

, marking it as one of the earliest surviving examples of

Arabic calligraphy Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy based on the Arabic alphabet. It is known in Arabic as ''khatt'' ( ar, خط), derived from the word 'line', 'design', or 'construction'. Kufic is the oldest form of th ...

appearing on an Islamic building in Central Asia. Part of the inscription that has been lost would have informed the visitor of the social position, date of birth, and death of the deceased, while part of what survives provides the date of completion (September/October 979). The square building itself has integrated corner columns acting to frame the mausoleum. The doorway recesses into the mausoleum and is topped by a pointed arch on two engaged columns, decorated with an interlacing star pattern done in

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

. Above the arch are three niches ornamented in geometric patterns out of stucco. Interior The mausoleum's interior is notable for being amongst the earliest mausoleums to include muqarnas and the mihrab as fundamental features of its interior design, both of which would develop into important characteristics of mausoleums. Like the

Samanid Mausoleum The Samanid Mausoleum is a mausoleum located in the northwestern part of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, just outside its historic center. It was built in the 10th century CE as the resting place of the powerful and influential Islamic Samanid dynasty that ...

in Bukhara, the Arab-Ata showcases a tripartite transition between a square base and circular dome via the construction of two spherical triangles. This was done by using corner

squinches In architecture, a squinch is a triangular corner that supports the base of a dome. Its visual purpose is to translate a rectangle into an octagon. See also: pendentive. Construction A squinch is typically formed by a masonry arch that spans ...

flanked by a half squinch on both sides. From this development, the muqarnas developed into an important decorative feature in Islamic architecture. Opposite the entrance to the mausoleum lies the structure's mihrab (prayer niche). The mihrab, is among the earliest known examples of a prayer niche in mausolea, appearing more frequently from the tenth century with the Arab-Ata.

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Tentative List on January 18, 2008 in the Cultural category.

Site Description

World Heritage Status

See also

References

Further reading