Astanababa (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: ) is a town in the Kerki District of the

Lebap Province Lebap Region () is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its administrative centre is Türkmenabat (formerly named Çärjew). It has an area of 93,727 s ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. It is about 12 km northwest of

Kerki Kerki is a city in and capital of Kerki District, Lebap Province, Turkmenistan. It was formerly known as Zamm and, between 1999 and 2017, as Atamyrat. Geography It is situated on a plain on the left bank of the Amu Darya river. Nearby towns a ...

Etymology

Astana, in Farsi, means mausoleum.

History

The site was first studied by Russian orientalist

Boris Litvinov Boris Alekseyevich Litvinov (Russian: ''Бори́с Алексе́евич Литви́нов''; born January 13, 1954, in Toretsk) is a Ukrainian teacher, politician and separatist, and former speaker of the People's Council of the Donetsk ...

in the fall of 1899. It was further studied by Galina Pugachenkova and Mikhail Masson.

Sites

Alamberdar Mausoleum

Some historians believe the structure to have been commissioned by

Mahmud of Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

in memory of his ally (and Samanid ruler) Isma'il Muntasir; others attribute Muntasir himself. A square structure, three of its walls have

blind niche In architecture, a niche (CanE, or ) is a recess or cavity constructed in the thickness of a wall for the reception of decorative objects such as statues, busts, urns, and vases. In Classical architecture examples are an exedra or an apse that ...

s; the brickwork is intensely decorative —

Paul Brummell Paul Brummell (born 28 August 1965) is a British diplomat and travel writer. Early life Brummell was educated at St Albans School before reading geography at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ...

noted it to be among the finest examples of 11th c. Turkmen architecture. That the mausoleum did not become a shrine indicates that no saint was buried; it might have been a person from the secular spheres or none at all. In Turkmen tradition, an eponymous commander of

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

was buried at the site.

Astana Baba Mausoleum

The complex — primarily, a set of four domed rooms — has been progressively expanded over the centuries. The entrance portal leads into a hall, before two successive pairs of domed rooms: the first pair is believed to be the oldest constructions, and contain a tomb and mosque. Beyond, comes the second pair constructed c. 19th century, containing two tombs each and known as the Kizlyar-Bibi Mausoleum. Identities of all the buried people remain unknown; local tradition asserts Ibn Ali Nur, a local ruler of Balkh, to have constructed the mausoleum for his daughter..

Notes

References

Populated places in Lebap Region {{Turkmenistan-geo-stub Burial sites of the Samanid dynasty