SHAH-I-ZINDA

The necropolis of the "Living King", Shah-i-Zinda, is a ruelle that climbs on the hill of Afrosyab and which once led to the gates of the ancient city. A little ordinary street at the edge of which, in the 676 th century, the mausoleum of Qassim-ibn Abbas, a Muslim missionary and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad arrived in Sogdiane in with the first wave of Arab conquerors. Qassim-ibn Abbas was beheaded by the infidels when he was in prayer, and the legend tells him that he would then have taken his head and went down to a well leading to heaven where he would chair a «court of souls» surrounded by two assessors. Legend repeats the fire myth of the Enfers justices: Solaire solar, Srôsh and Rashn, or even that of the «living king» dating before the Islamic conquest, and tells how after his death King Afrosyab continued to reign in the kingdom of the dead. Arab conquerors and the missionaries of Islam thus approprieront many zoroastriennes, manichéennes or nestoriennes beliefs to make them benefit from the heroes of the new religion. In the th and th centuries, many tombs and tombs were built near the mausoleum of the St. and the towering mosque. During the capture and destruction of the ancient town of Samarkand by the Mongols, only the tomb of Qassim-ibn Abbas (also known as Kussam or Kutham) was spared. At the time of timurid, in the th and th centuries, the noble families and members of the family of Timur were built at mausoleums near that of Qassim-ibn Abbas, the Islamic belief that the proximity of the tomb of a saint ensures protection in the beyond. These new constructions gave the street its current configuration. The street appears to sink into the earth because, over the centuries, the debris of the buildings of the ancient city involved in earth raised the ground level of several metres. The impression is even more striking from the outside, when you see the blue bulbs coming out of the hill, such as huge and unusual mushrooms. The poetic route from the grand pishtak to the mausoleum of Khodja Akhmad would have liked romantic;; It is also a discovery of different decorative techniques and architectural styles from the th to the th century.

The entrance gate, or pishtak, is flanked by the first chortak, a small passage surmounted by a dome supported by four arches (literally: " chortak "), where the following inscription can be read: " This majestic set was built by Abd-al-Aziz Khan, son of Oulough Begh, son of Shakhrukh, son of the Emir Timur in the year 838 of H. " (1434-1435). In fact, it was Oulough Begh who was the real builder on behalf of his still-aged son.

On the right, the Madrasas Davlet Kushbegi, dating from the early th century, is transformed into a souvenir shop. Left of madrasas, a mosque dating from the th century.

At the foot of the forty steps of the «paradise of heaven» or «the fishermen's staircase», there is a mosque with finely carved iwan and colonnades where the believers come to listen to the imam's prayers. It was at this location that Beheaded-ibn Abbas was allegedly beheaded.

The staircase leads to the mausoleum of Kazy Zade Rumi, on the left, built between 1420 and 1435 for the tutor of Oulough Begh. Regarded as Plato of his time, Kazy Zade Rumi would not, in fact, be buried here: the skeleton found in the mausoleum was that of a woman, perhaps Tamerlane's nurse. It is the largest building on the whole. The prayer room and the mausoleum are surmounted by two very high domes. The beauty of the whole must not make it forget to count the stairs of the stairs, like the pilgrims, who are once again counting on them back. If they find a different figure, they may not be able to access paradise… unless they go back times the stairs to the knees by reciting a verse of the Koran at each walk. The staircase was built in the th century at the location of the ancient walls surrounding Samarkand at the time. It rises to the second chortak, dating from the th century and erected at the site of the ancient wall of Afrosyab.

The first mausoleum to the right of the second chortak is that of the Emir Hussein, also known as Tuglu Tekin, son of a Turkish named Kara Kutkul and famous Turkish commander that Timur took for model while claiming his descent. Timur built the mausoleum in 1376, when Tuglu Tekin died as a martyr in the th century.

The mausoleum of Emir Zade (son of the Amir) faces him, and dates back to 1386 and accommodate the remains of an unknown son from Timur. Just above, on the same side, the mausoleum of Shadi Mulk Aka (1372) was built on the order of Tourkan Ata, sister of Timur, to bury her daughter. The emperor, for whom his niece had a lot, made the following inscription: " It's a grave where a precious pearl has been lost. " Tourkan Ata was also buried there, alongside her daughter. It is the oldest mausoleum in the complex and also the oldest building in the Samarkand of the Timourids. The names of the three architects from Samarkand and Bukhara are inscribed in the turquoise niche of the portal, beautifully decorated with majolica and sculpted terracotta terracotta. The interior is fully decorated. The dome is cut by a octagonal star, a symbol of the sun surrounded by eight planets. The ceramics is of origin, and surprisingly well preserved for a mausoleum over six centuries old. Their colours take different shades depending on the hours of the day and the orientation of the sun.

In contrast, in the mausoleum of Chirin Bika Aka (1385), the second sister of Timur was founded under a dome whose base has 16 sides. The facade is decorated with dark blue grill mosaics. The interior decoration was performed by an artist from Azerbaijan. A surprising and unique fact for this period when, in Uzbekistan, Sunni Islam was practised, while Azerbaijan was Shiite. Equally surprising, on the façade, on either side of the portal, inscriptions in Arabic are not surahs of the Koran but the words of the Greek philosopher Socrates. It reads: ' Socrates said: people are saddened in all (?) circumstances. '»»»»

On the same side, the octahedral mausoleum remains a mystery. Dating back to the th century, it was considered a mausoleum but no human debris was found there. According to another assumption, it could be a minaret, but its architecture in large rotunda offers no evidence that proves it. We don't know much about the following three mausoleums, left of the aisle. The first date of 1385 and bears the name of the architect Nassafi Nassafi. The next one, built in the same year, bears the name of Oulough Sultan Begum. The last one is most certainly attributed to Emir Burunduk, one of Timur's best captains. He would be more than five years old.

The third chortak opens on the north end and last part of the necropolis. Left, the Tuman Aka Mosque, dating back to 1405, and the adjoining mausoleum built in 1404 for Tuman Aka, the youngest bride of Timur's wives. On a square base, the turquoise blue dome rests on a high cylindrical drum. If the mosaics of the portal can recall Chirin Bika Aka mausoleum, the originality of the decoration is based on the use of purple colour, which is extremely rare at the time. The interior was voluntarily left white, which is also unusual, and the decorations are limited to a few frescoes of landscapes under the cupola. Above the door of finely carved wood, it can read: " The tomb is a door that everyone crosses. " In the face of the Tuman Aka Mosque, the door in fine-filled elm wood, once fortified with gold, silver and ivory, is the work of Maître Youssouf in Shiraz. Known as the «gateway of Paradise», it has been open for over 600 years on the kingdom of Qassim-ibn Abbas. Excavations have uncovered, on the right wall of the corridor, remnants of the wall of the old th century mosque, one of which can be seen the minaret above and on the right. It also dates back to the th century, which makes it the oldest monument of the whole, and the only one of that time in the Shah-i-Zinda. Past the «gateway of Paradise», the corridor leads to the mosque Qassim-ibn Abbas. The mihrab is decorated in mosaic, a technique that was used in Samarkand at the end of the th century and whose artisans in Central Asia will become virtuosos. Vernissée tiled mosaic pieces represent leaves, flower petals, fine branches or inscriptions, and are assembled without interstice. The next room is the ziaratkhana or prayer room. Behind a wooden fence, in the gurkhana, lies the tomb of Qassim-ibn Abbas, dating from the th century and entirely decorated with majolica. It reads: «The one who died following Allah is not dead: Indeed he is alive. " Archaeologists, too, have done research and discovered a well of 18 m in depth. The decorations of the room may seem original so they are erased. In fact, they were completely restored in 1995, but the degree of humidity is such that all the work was wasted in the following months. An air conditioner has been installed to try to remedy the problem, but just look at the corners of the walls and the ground to realize the vanity of the attempt. To save what remains, it is strongly discouraged to rely on walls where even fingers are put.

Leaving the tomb of the saint, right on the right and at the Tuman Aka mausoleum, stands the Kutlug Aka Mausoleum, 1360, home to another of Timur's women. Its portal is decorated with chiselled warrior and vernissée

Close the northern end of the necropolis, the mausoleum Khodja Akhmad dates back to 1350. It is the oldest Shah-i-Zinda mausoleum after that of Qassim-ibn Abbas. His portal was decorated with blue and white majolica by the Samarkand craftsman, Fakhr Ali.