| Shrine of Khwaja Abd Allah | |
|---|---|
| Shrine at Gazur Gah | |
 | |
| Type | Funerary Complex |
| Location | Village of Gazur Gah |
| Nearest city | Herat, Afghanistan |
| Coordinates | 34°22′29″N 62°14′26″E / 34.374756°N 62.240506°E |
| Built | 1428 |
| Architect | Qavam al-din |
| Architectural style(s) | Timurid |
  The Abdullah Ansari Shrine Complex is in Herat, Afghanistan | |
The Shrine of Khwaja Abd Allah, commonly called the Shrine at Gazur Gah (or just Gazur Gah) and the Abdullah Ansari Shrine Complex, is the funerary compound of the Sufi saint Khwaja Abdullah Ansari. It is located at the village of Gazur Gah, three kilometers northeast of Herat, Afghanistan. The Historic Cities Programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has initiated repairs on the complex since 2005.[1]
The shrine was erected by architect Qavam al-Din of Shiraz in 1425, in Herat, Afghanistan. Patron of this monument is Shah Rukh, ruler of the Timurid dynasty. He commissioned the site as a memorial mausoleum for patron-saint Khwaja Abdullah Ansari. Abdullah Ansari was both a Sufi mystic[2] and patron saint of Herat. The Timurids reigned after the collapse of the Mongol empire in 1335. The Mongols were a central Asian ethnographic group, thus the Timurids artistic styles were influenced by their Asiatic traditions. The mausoleum was built for Abd Allah Ansari resting place and the public wished to be buried beside him because they venerated the patron saint. However, commoners were not meant to be buried here and were only meant for those who held elite status within the Islamic society. The graveyard was one of the richest in the east of Herat, and the tombs of a varied populace were embellished with stones of every color and every size. The tombs were designed for princes, dervishes, state officials, soldiers, poets, and others who held a high status in society. Trees surmount the tomb of Abdullah Ansari and north from it stands a tall marble column and headstone erected in his honor.[3]
The architect Qavam al-Din Shirazi had traveled from his hometown of Shiraz to the northern parts of Iran. Some of his work during this period includes the madrasa for Shah Rukh at Herat, the congregational mosque for Gawhar Shad at Mashhad, and the madrasa Ghiyathiyah at Khargird. By the time he was commissioned by Shah Rukh to build the shrine, he had developed his own architectural style that integrated Iranian, Turanian, and his own personal stylistic elements.[4]
The shrine also includes many notables buried there, including Afghan ruler Dost Mohammad Khan. Dost Mohammad died on 9 June 1863 shortly after his re-conquest of Herat and was buried there.[5]
- ^ Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Urban Conservation and Area Development in Afghanistan. Geneva: Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2007.
- ^ Ohlander, Erik (2011). "Sufism". In Edelglass, William; Garfield, Jay (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195328998.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Wilber, Donald (1987). "Qavam al-Din ibn Zayn al-Din Shirazi: A Fifteenth-Century Timurid Architect". Architectural History. 30: 31–44. doi:10.2307/1568512. ISSN 0066-622X.
- ^ Dalrymple, W. (2013). The Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan. Borzoi book. Bloomsbury. p. 478. ISBN 978-1-4088-1830-5. Retrieved 15 June 2020.