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Musalla complex

Coordinates: 34°21′33″N 62°11′10″E / 34.359284°N 62.18608°E / 34.359284; 62.18608
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Musalla complex
Remains of Musalla Complex seen in 2005.
Herat is located in Afghanistan
Herat
Herat
Location in Afghanistan
Alternative nameMusallah complex, Gauhar Shad Musallah
LocationHerat, Afghanistan
RegionHerat Province
Coordinates34°21′33″N 62°11′10″E / 34.359284°N 62.18608°E / 34.359284; 62.18608
TypeIslamic religious complex
Height55 m (180 ft) minarets
History
BuilderQueen Goharshad of Timurid Empire of Herāt.
Founded1417
Abandoned1885
CulturesIslamic
EventsRuins razed in 1885
Site notes
ConditionRuined
Public accessYes
Architecture
Architectural stylesTimurid
Architectural detailsTimurid Mosque, Shah Rukh madressa, mausoleums, 20 minarets,

The Musalla complex, also known as the Musallah Complex or the Musalla of Gawhar Shah, is a former Islamic religious complex located in Herat, Afghanistan containing examples of Timurid architecture. Much of the 15th-century complex is in ruins today, and the buildings that still stand are in need of restoration. The complex ruins consists of the five Musallah Minarets of Herat, the Mir Ali Sher Navai mausoleum, the Gawhar Shad Mausoleum, and the ruins of a large mosque and a madrasa complex. Construction on the complex began in 1417 under Queen Gawharshad, the wife of Timurid ruler Shah Rukh and ended in the late 1400s with the building of a madrassa by Sultan Husayn Bayqara. Shah Rukh made Herat the capital of the Timurid Empire.[1]

History

Shah Rukh made Herat the capital of the Timurid Empire in 1405, moving it from Samarkand. The complex was then commissioned by Timurid Queen Gawhar Shad and construction began in 1417, likely under architect Kavamad-Din of Shiraz who also built a similar madrasa in Khar Gerd.[2] The madrasa was built between 1417 and 1426,[3][4] possibly as late as c. 1432. It had two minarets by its eastern façade on either side of the main entrance and the mausoleum in its northwest corner.[5] The mosque was completed in 1437.[6][7] A madrasa by Sultan Husayn Bayqara called Madrasa Ni'matiyya was probably built around 1493 (898 A.H.) and could have been built between 1469 and 1506.[1]

The Musalla complex was heavily damaged in the late 19th century. Due to artillery fire, the minaret tops were destroyed in 1868. Then during the Panjdeh incident of 1885, Russian soldiers attacked Afghan soldiers southeast of Merv. Most of the buildings in the complex were leveled to prevent the Russians from using the buildings as cover by the British and Emir Abdur Rahman Khan. They only allowed the Gawhar Shad mausoleum and nine of the original twenty minarets to remain.[1][7]

Then, an earthquake in 1932 destroyed two of the mosque's four minarets and another earthquake in 1951 destroyed another, leaving only one standing.[1][2] Only five out of the original twenty in the complex remained in 2021.[1]

The complex was visited and photographed in the 1930s by the travel writers Robert Byron and Annemarie Schwarzenbach. Byron's book, The Road to Oxiana mentions the minarets and discusses Timurid history.[6] The mausoleum of 'Ali Shir Nawa'i was rebuilt in 1950.[7]

Preservation efforts

By the 20th century, the mausoleum had been extensively damaged, with the cupola in particular being severely deteriorated. Intervention in the 1950s supervised and led by Fikri Saljuqi resulted in drastically changing the appearance of the building, with an entirely new eastern façade along with a partly new southern facade built and the hexagonal Mihrab being demolished and replaced with a rectangular one. The interior dome received decoration and mosaics were put on the outside walls up to a height of one meter (3 ft).[7] Resoration and repairs to the mausoleum often were of poor quality and often used inappropriate materials.[5]

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) along with Italian architect Andrea Bruno started conservation and restoration preliminary efforts in 1974–75. Work started on the minarets of the Nicmatiyya madrassa in April of 1977. A year later, structural reinforcement started in cooperation with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government. Its aim was to restore the faience decoration and to prevent masonry erosion. The work was slowed due to a lack of steel piping. While close to finishing the mosque restoration, Herat's March 1979 uprising and the resultant suppression caused work to end. UNESCO only returned in 1989 to briefly review the situation.[7]

In the Soviet–Afghan War, the mausoleum and minarets suffered additional damage. Herat was the only urban battlefield during the war, and historical buildings were often targeted to lower morale. The mausoleum's roof was struck in 1984–1985 and lost several tiles, especially on the northern and western portions. At the bottom of the dome, writing in Kufic was partially destroyed on the eastern side and completely gone on the north. The 1950 eastern façade was hit by a shell and repaired with regular bricks. Evidence of the former connections to the masadra to the east and south was destroyed. Its inner square chamber remained in good condition. The last minaret that stood at the corners of the mosque was almost completely destroyed during this period by Soviet heavy artillery, leaving only 12 metres (39 ft) of its base remaining. The middle minaret also suffered damage, with tile work in the best condition on the southern side and partly remaining on the eastern side. The balcony supports were destroyed and shells hit the minaret. A two meter hole was created 17 metres (56 ft) up, showing the staircase inside. A scar two meters below the hole was also created. The eastern minaret in the southeast corner was the most affected of the four eastern minarets. Two holes were created by howitzers 30 metres (98 ft) off the ground 2 metres in diameter. Further repairs were done by the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) and the WFP between 1992 and 1994. DACAAR added masonry and covered the dome of the mausoleum along with the base with a thin layer of cement.[7]

Emergency preservation work was carried out at the site in 2001 by the Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage (SPACH), which included building protective walls around the Gawhar Shad Mausoleum and Sultan Husain Madrasa, repairing the remaining minaret of Gawhar Shad's Madrasa, and replanting the mausoleum garden.[1][8][9][10] In 2020, the Aga Khan Development Network made a pledge to the President of Afghanistan to restore a minaret in danger of collapsing.[11][12]

In 2014, UNESCO and the Afghanistan government coordinated to attempt to preserve and replicate the tile work on the exterior dome.[13] UNESCO is presently considering the nomination of Herat as a World Heritage Site.[14]

Description

The Timurids built the complex initially north of the city along the Khiyaban avenue one mile north of Darvaza-yi Malik.[7] The location was convenient because of its close vicinity to the royal residence in the Bagh-i Zaghan.[15] In 2015, Herat's suburbs were surrounding the site.[5] The complex was centered around a musalla 106 metres (348 ft) by 64 metres (210 ft). The inner court had four iwans, with two arcades going around it.[16] The madrasa with the mausoleum in its corner was built to the northwest Mosque. Husayn Bayqara's madrassa was built to the northwest of Gawhar Shad's madrasa.[7] There is also the mausoleum of Ali-Shir Nava'i between the ruins of the madrasas.[2] Across from the masoleum of Gawhar Shad there was the tomb of Sheikh Zadeh Abdallah. Abdallah's tomb was octagonal with four iwans, with the north iwan being the largest.[16]

Minarets

Main article: Musalla Minarets of Herat

The complex used to have 20 minarets adorned with tiled surfaces of beautiful intricate patterns and designs. By 2002, the five remaining minarets had their tiles scattered on the ground around them.[4][7]

Minarets of Ni'Matiyya Masadra[7]
Designation Location Height Lean[a]
M1 Southwest 51.83 metres (170.0 ft) 70 centimetres (28 in)
M2 Northwest 54.75 metres (179.6 ft) 50 centimetres (20 in)
M3 Northeast 58.23 metres (191.0 ft) 200 centimetres (79 in)
M4 Southeast 58.72 metres (192.7 ft) 170 centimetres (67 in)

The minarets four eastern stood at the corners of Sultan Husayn Bayqara's Ni'matiyya masadra before it was demolished and outlined a courtyard. They have one balcony each and had a brighter blue than the four minarets that used to stand in the west. When built, they were at least 70 metres (230 ft) tall. Due to wind and changes in temperature, they all lean westward. The shelling in the Soviet–Afghan war increased that leaning. They had an ornate turquoise tile covering before it was destroyed. Robert Byron wrote it "was as if one saw the sky through a net of shining hair planted suddenly with flowers". There were also two tall arches over an entrance depicted in 1887. The tombstone of Bayqara's grandfather, called the Stone of the Seven Pens, is close.[6][7]

Four minarets in the west that stood at the corners of the former mosque were wider and had one balcony each. The minarets were eight sided supported by white marble panels and the color of grape-blue. Three fell due to earthquakes in the 20th century.[1] The remaining minaret stood in the southwest and was called Minar-i Nahbas. Before the Soviet–Afghan War, it was 37.5 metres (123 ft) tall. A school was built at its base in 1940, incorporating the minaret into its norther façade.[2] Both minaret and school were destroyed by Soviet artillery in 1985, and only 12 metres (39 ft) of minaret base remains today.[6][7]

The middle minaret with a height of 42.40 metres (139.1 ft) has two balconies and was decorated by blue lozenges separated by regular bricks with flower mosaics. The top of the minaret (above the second balcony) was destroyed after artillery hit it. It had a lean of 90 centimetres (35 in) before the Soviet–Afghan War and had a 350 centimetres (140 in) lean by 1998. The minaret was one of two minarets standing at the sides of the entrance into the masadra.[6][7][2]

Gawhar Shad Mausoleum

Main article: Gawhar Shad Mausoleum

The mausoleum was originally constructed to house the remains of Prince Baysunghur, a son of the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh by Gawhar Shad.[17][18] Some members of Baysunghur's family were interred alongside him. They included Gawhar Shad herself and her brother Amir Sufi Tarkhan,[19] her other son Muhammad Juki,[20] Baysunghur's sons Sultan Muhammad[21] and Ala al-Dawla, as well as the latter's son Ibrahim. More distantly related Timurids, Ahmad and Shah Rukh (sons of Abu Sa'id Mirza, who was responsible for Gawhar Shad's execution), were also buried in the mausoleum.[17] Baysunghur's father Shah Rukh was briefly interred as well, before later being transferred to the Gur-e-Amir in Samarqand.[22]

Gawhar Shad's mausoleum is 27 metres (89 ft) tall. It lies is between the two western minarets and was built in the masadra's northwest corner.[6][7] The building forms a cruciform shape, with a dome covering the center.[16] This dome is the most impressive feature of the structure, in that it is actually three domes superimposed over one another: a low inner dome, a bulbous outer cupola and a structural dome between them.[5] The outer cupola is decorated with flowery light-blue-green mosaics. The inner dome is adorned with gold leaf, lapis lazuli and other colours which form intricate patterns. The interior of the tomb itself is a square chamber with axial niches.[23][7]

Due to the widespread habit of tombstones being taken and re-used, it is unknown how many burials there are in the mausoleum. Though some sources claim there were as many as twenty grave markers at one time, at present there are only six.[17] Lying in the center of the room, they are oblong shaped and made of matt black stone, with floral patterns carved on them. There are two larger stones, three smaller cenotaphs, and a child sized tomb.[6][7]

In 1998, some objects were located inside the mausoleum to preserve them and prevent robbery. They include 12 100 cm (39 in) by 60 cm (24 in) marble slabs, a piece of the base of a minaret rising from the mosque, a large slab with seven lines of writing, and other marble panels.[7]

  • Photo by Annemarie Schwarzenbach, 1939
    Photo by Annemarie Schwarzenbach, 1939
  • Photo by Annemarie Schwarzenbach, 1939
    Photo by Annemarie Schwarzenbach, 1939
  • 2009
    2009
  • Ruined Gawhar Shad Mausoleum.
    Ruined Gawhar Shad Mausoleum.
  • Remaining minarets in 1939–40.
    Remaining minarets in 1939–40.
  • Musoleum in 2009.
    Musoleum in 2009.
  • Vegetable Stands near the ruins in 2009.
    Vegetable Stands near the ruins in 2009.
  • A minaret in 2009.
    A minaret in 2009.
  • New replanted trees in complex garden in 2009.
    New replanted trees in complex garden in 2009.
  • Minaret in 1962.
    Minaret in 1962.
  • Minaret in 1969.
    Minaret in 1969.
  • The site in 1975.
    The site in 1975.
  • Herat skyline with Musallah minarets in 1969.
    Herat skyline with Musallah minarets in 1969.
  • Herat skyline with Musallah minarets in 2009.
    Herat skyline with Musallah minarets in 2009.
  • A panorama of the ruins.
    A panorama of the ruins.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A measurement of how off-balance the minaret is

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Masjid-i Jami'-i Gawhar Shad-". Archnet.org. Retrieved 5 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e Dupree, Nancy Hatch (2012). Historical guide to Afghanistan. University of Arizona Libraries. doi:10.2458/azu_acku_ds351_d87_1977.
  3. ^ "Musalla Complex & Minarets | Herat, Afghanistan Attractions". Lonely Planet. 15 January 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b "Monuments Of Herat, Afghanistan's Ancient Cultural Capital, In Danger Of Destruction". rferl.org. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Cassar, Brendan; Noshadi, Sara (2015). Keeping history alive: safeguarding cultural heritage in post-conflict Afghanistan. UNESCO Publishing. pp. 184–186. ISBN 978-92-3-100064-5.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Byron, Robert (1937). The Road to Oxiana. Macmillan and Co. Ltd. pp. 97–103.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Tirard-Collet, Olivier (1998). "After the War. The Condition of Historical Buildings and Monuments in Herat, Afghanistan". Iran. 36: 123–138. doi:10.2307/4299980. ISSN 0578-6967. JSTOR 4299980. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Mousallah Complex in Herat – Afghanistan – Tourist Spots Around the World". Touristspots.org. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Afghanistan: Race To Preserve Historic Minarets Of Herat, Jam". Rferl.org. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Tư vấn sản phẩm". Adventuretravelphotos.com. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  11. ^ "AKDN Vows to Restore Ancient Minaret in Herat". TOLOnews. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Ambassador Hirji discuss Afghan peace process with Minister Naderi". Afghanistan Times. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Italian-Funded Conservation of Gawhar Shad Mausoleum in Herat Underway by Afghan Government and UNESCO". unesco.org. UNESCO. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  14. ^ "City of Herat". unesco.org. UNESCO. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  15. ^ Golombek, Lisa (1969). "The Timurid Shrine at Gazur Gah". Occasional Paper - Royal Ontario Museum, Art and Archaeology (15). Royal Ontario Museum: 90.
  16. ^ a b c Petersen, Andrew (2002). Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-134-61365-6.
  17. ^ a b c Knobloch, Edgar (2002). The Archaeology & Architecture of Afghanistan. Tempus. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7524-2519-1.
  18. ^ Roemer, H. R. (1989). "BĀYSONḠOR, ḠĪĀṮ-AL-DĪN". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  19. ^ Green, Nile (2017). Afghanistan's Islam: From Conversion to the Taliban. Univ of California Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-520-29413-4.
  20. ^ Barthold, Vasilii Vladimirovitch (1963). Four Studies on the History of Central Asia. Vol. 2. Brill Archive. p. 147.
  21. ^ Golombek (1969, p. 86)
  22. ^ Manz, Beatrice Forbes (2007). Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press. pp. 258, 263. ISBN 978-1-139-46284-6.
  23. ^ Dupree, Louis (2014). Afghanistan. Princeton University Press. p. 318. ISBN 978-1-4008-5891-0.

Timurid Herat by Terry Allen

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