![Registan square Samarkand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Registan_square_Samarkand.jpg)
The Registan (
Uzbek: Регистон, Registon) was the heart of the ancient city of
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
of the
Timurid Empire
The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Turco-Mongol empire ...
, now in
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 ...
. The name ''Rēgistan'' () means "sandy place" or "desert" in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
.
The Registan was a
public square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...
, where people gathered to hear royal proclamations, heralded by blasts on enormous copper pipes called ''dzharchis'' - and a place of public executions. It is framed by three
madrasahs
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
(Islamic schools) of distinctive
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 square was regarded as the hub of the
Timurid Renaissance
The Timurid Renaissance was a historical period in Asian and Islamic history spanning the late 14th, the 15th, and the early 16th centuries. Following the gradual downturn of the Islamic Golden Age, the Timurid Empire, based in Central Asia rule ...
.
Madrasahs
The three madrasahs of the Registan are: the Ulugh Beg Madrasah (1417–1420), the Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636), and the Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1646–1660).
Madrasah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
is an Arabic term meaning school.
![Registan maquette](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Registan_maquette.jpg)
Ulugh Beg Madrasah (1417–1420)
The
Ulugh Beg Madrasah, built by
Ulugh Beg
Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh ( chg, میرزا محمد طارق بن شاہ رخ, fa, میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاہ رخ), better known as Ulugh Beg () (22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as ...
during the
Timurid Empire
The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Turco-Mongol empire ...
era of
Timur
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
, has an imposing
iwan
An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...
with a lancet-arch
pishtaq or portal facing the square. The corners are flanked by high
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
s. The mosaic panel over the iwan's entrance arch is decorated by geometrical stylized ornaments. The square
courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky.
Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...
includes a mosque and lecture rooms, and is fringed by the dormitory cells in which students lived. There are deep galleries along the axes. Originally the Ulugh Beg Madrasah was a two-storied building with four domed ''darskhona''s (lecture rooms) at the corners.
The Ulugh Beg Madrasah ( fa, مدرسه الغ بیگ) was one of the best clergy universities of the Muslim Orient in the 15th Century CE.
Abdul-Rahman Jami, the great Persian poet, scholar, mystic, scientist and philosopher studied at the madrasah.
Ulugh Beg himself gave lectures there. During Ulugh Beg's government the madrasah was a centre of learning
Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636)
In the 17th century the ruler of Samarkand, Yalangtush Bakhodur, ordered the construction of the Sher-Dor ( fa, شیردار) and Tillya-Kori ( fa, طلاکاری) madrasahs.
The tiger mosaics with a rising sun on their back are especially interesting for their depiction of living beings and use of Persian motifs.
Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1646–1660)
Ten years later the Tilya-Kori ( fa, طلاکاری, meaning "Gilded") Madrasah was built. It was not only a residential college for students, but also played the role of grand ''masjid'' (mosque). It has a two-storied main facade and a vast courtyard fringed by dormitory cells, with four galleries along the axes. The mosque building (see picture) is situated in the western section of the courtyard. The main hall of the mosque is abundantly gilded.
File:Rajasthan3.jpg, Ulugh Beg Madrasah
File:Rajasthan.jpg, Sher-Dor Madrasah
File:Registan Tillya-Kari madrasah2014.JPG, Tilya Kori Madrasah
Ulugh-beg Madrassa courtyard.JPG, Ulugh Beg Madrasah courtyard
File:Lion(or tiger) on the Sher-dor madrassa.JPG, Tiger on the Sher-Dor Madrasah iwan
An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...
Gorskii 21756u.jpg, Tilya Kori Madrasah in 19th century
Other buildings
Mausoleum of Shaybanids
To the east of the Tilya-Kori Madrasah, the mausoleum of
Shaybanid
The Shibanids or Shaybanids ( fa, سلسله شیبانیان) or more accurately the Abu'l-Khayrid-Shibanids were a Persianized''Introduction: The Turko-Persian tradition'', Robert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective, ed. Robert L. ...
s (16th century) is located
see picture. The real founder of Shaybanid power was
Muhammad Shaybani
Muhammad Shaybani Khan ( uz, Muhammad Shayboniy, also known as Abul-Fath Shaybani Khan or Shayabak Khan or Shahi Beg Khan, originally named "Shibägh", which means " wormwood" or "obsidian") (c. 1451 – 2 December 1510), was an Uzbek leader ...
- grandson of
Abu'l-Khayr Khan
Abu'l-Khayr Khan ( uz, Abulxayirxon) (1412–1468) was a Khan of the Uzbek Khanate which united the nomadic Central Asian tribes. . In 1500, with the backing of the
Chaghataite Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus ( xng, , translit=Čaɣatay-yin Ulus; mn, Цагаадайн улс, translit=Tsagaadain Uls; chg, , translit=Čağatāy Ulusi; fa, , translit=Xânât-e Joghatây) was a Mongol and later Turkicized kha ...
, then based in
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
, Muhammad Shaybani conquered Samarkand and
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 ...
from their last
Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror:
* Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent
** Timurid Empire of C ...
rulers. The founder of the dynasty then turned on his benefactors and in 1503 took Tashkent. He captured
Khiva
Khiva ( uz, Xiva/, خىۋا; fa, خیوه, ; alternative or historical names include ''Kheeva'', ''Khorasam'', ''Khoresm'', ''Khwarezm'', ''Khwarizm'', ''Khwarazm'', ''Chorezm'', ar, خوارزم and fa, خوارزم) is a district-level city ...
in 1506 and in 1507 he swooped down on
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
(Turkmenistan), eastern Persia, and western Afghanistan. The Shaybanids stopped the advance of the
Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
s, who in 1502 had defeated the
Akkoyunlu (Azerbaijan). Muhammad Shaybani was a leader of nomadic
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...
. During the ensuing years they substantially settled down in oases of Central Asia. The Uzbek invasion of the 15th Century CE was the last component of today's
Uzbek nation ethnogeny.
Chorsu trading dome
The trading dome
Chorsu Chorsu may refer to:
*Chorsu Bazaar, a market in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
*Chorsu (Tashkent Metro), a metro station in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
*Chorsu (Samarkand), a building in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
*Chorsu, Vahdat, a jamoat of the city of Vahdat, Tajiki ...
(1785) is situated right behind the Sher-Dor.
Street Tashkent mausoleum Sheibanids.jpg, Mausoleum of Shaybanids
Chorsu 2015.JPG, Chorsu trading dome
See also
*
Bibi-Khanym Mosque
The Bibi-Khanym Mosque ( uz, Bibi-Xonim masjidi; fa, مسجد بی بی خانم; also variously spelled as Khanum, Khanom, Hanum, Hanim) is one of the most important monuments of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In the 15th century, it was one of the lar ...
*
Gur-e Amir
The Gūr-i Amīr or Guri Amir ( uz, Amir Temur maqbarasi, Go'ri Amir, fa, گورِ امیر) is a mausoleum of the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (also known as Tamerlane) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It occupies an important place in the history of C ...
*
Shah-i-Zinda
Shah-i-Zinda ( uz, Shohizinda; fa, شاه زنده, meaning "The Living King") is a necropolis in the north-eastern part of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
History
The Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble includes mausoleums and other ritual buildings of 11th – 15th ...
*
Timurid dynasty
The Timurid dynasty ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( chg, , translit=Küregen, fa, , translit=Gūrkāniyān), was a Sunni Muslim dynasty or clan of Turco-Mongol originB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, O ...
*
Tourism in Uzbekistan
Today, the museums of Uzbekistan store over two million artifacts, evidence of the unique historical, cultural, and spiritual life of the Central Asian peoples that have lived in the region.
According to the Statistical Internet Survey, carried ...
References
External links
*
{{coord, 39, 39, 17, N, 66, 58, 32, E, region:UZ_type:landmark, display=title
Buildings and structures in Samarkand
Squares in Uzbekistan
Islamic architecture
Timurid dynasty
Madrasas in Uzbekistan