Gallery
Description
Property Name: Samanid Mausoleum
Inventory No: 998-65-1
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2009-03-18
Country (State party): Uzbekistan
Province : Bukhara
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 39° 46′ 36.7″ N
64° 24′ 1.88″ E
Historic Period: 10th century, 1st half
Year of Construction:
Style: Samanid
Original Use: Mausoleum
Current Use: Mausoleum
Architect: Unknown
Significance
The Samanid Mausoleum is the burial place of Ismail Samani, who was the powerful ruler of the Samanid Empire. It is in the form of a cube, raised on a square-shaped platform and covered with a dome. Its modest dimensions and the simplicity of its form make this mausoleum a masterpiece not only in Bukhara but also in Central Asia.
Selection Criteria
iii. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared
iv. to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
In recent years, the walls of the mausoleum were reinforced with injections. The monument is in a good state of preservation.
During 1937-1939, the Mausoleum was further studied and major restorations works took place under the leadership of B.N. Zasipkin. During the Soviet era, sometime after World War II, the cemetery that surrounded the Mausoleum was paved over, and an amusement park (still in operation) was built next to and around the building.
References
Pugachenkova, G. A., F. M. Ashrafi, B. M. Usmanov, F. K. Kasymov, N. K. Sharipov, Bukhara: Architectural Monuments, Ministry of Culture, Tashkent, 1997
Petruccioli, Attilio (ed). Bukhara: The Myth and The Architecture, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Cambridge, 1999
Bulatov, Timur. Bukhara: A Museum In The Open, Gafur Gulyam Art and Literature Publishers, Tashkent, 1991.
Gombos, Károly. The Pearls of Uzbekistan: Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva, Corvina Press, Budapest, 1976.
World Heritage Center Website: http://whc.unesco.org
Archnet Website: http://archnet.org