Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
View of the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yesevi in Turkestan, Kazakhstan.
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi is located in Kazakhstan
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
Location in Kazakhstan
General information
TypeMausoleum
Architectural styleTimurid
LocationTurkistan, Kazakhstan
Coordinates43°17′52″N 68°16′15″E / 43.29778°N 68.27083°E / 43.29778; 68.27083
Construction started14th century
Official nameMausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi
TypeCultural
Criteriai, iii, iv
Designated2003 (27th session)
Reference no.1103
RegionAsia-Pacific

The Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi (Kazakh: Қожа Ахмет Яссауи кесенесі, romanized: Qoja Ahmet İassaui kesenesı) is a mausoleum in the city of Turkestan, in southern Kazakhstan. The structure was commissioned in 1389 by Timur, who ruled the area as part of the expansive Timurid Empire,[1] to replace a smaller 12th-century mausoleum of the famous Turkic poet and Sufi mystic,[2] Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (1093–1166). However, construction was halted with the death of Timur in 1405.[3]

Despite its incomplete state, the mausoleum has survived as one of the best-preserved of all Timurid constructions. Its creation marked the beginning of the Timurid architectural style.[4] The experimental spatial arrangements, innovative architectural solutions for vault and dome constructions, and ornamentations using glazed tiles made the structure the prototype for this distinctive art, which spread across the empire and beyond.[3]

The religious structure continues to draw pilgrims from across Central Asia and has come to epitomize the Kazakh national identity.[3][5][6] It has been protected as a national monument, while UNESCO recognized it as the country's first site of patrimony, declaring it a World Heritage Site in 2003.[7]

Location of the mausoleum within the town's defensive walls.
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference timurid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Ro'i, Yaacov (2000). Islam in the Soviet Union: From the Second World War to Perestroika. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 373. ISBN 0-231-11954-2.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference whs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference brittanica2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference hazrat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference geopolitical was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference inscribe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).