, native_name_lang = fa , image = 15c green mosque.jpg , image_size = 250px , caption = , map_type = , map_size = , map_caption = , location =

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, geo = , latitude = , longitude = , religious_affiliation =

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, status = , functional_status = , heritage_designation = , leadership = Shah Rukh , website = , architecture = yes , architect = , architecture_type =

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, architecture_style = Timurid Architecture , capacity = , length = , width = , dome_quantity = , dome_height_outer = , general_contractor = , facade_direction = , covered_area = , groundbreaking = 1419 , year_completed = 1421 , minaret_quantity = 2 , minaret_height = , spire_quantity = , spire_height = , materials =

Lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mine ...

, brick, stone The Green Mosque (

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

: شنه جومات ; prs, , Masjid Sabz) is a

in the city of

, northern

. It is believed to have been commissioned by the then ruler of the Eastern Timurid Empire,

Shah Rukh Shah Rukh or Shahrukh ( fa, شاهرخ, ''Šāhrokh'') (20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447. He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynas ...

, or by his wife Goharshad.

History

After

Tamerlane Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

's death in 1405, his empire fell apart with various tribes and warlords competing for dominance. The

Black Sheep Turkmen The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...

destroyed the western empire in 1410 when they captured Baghdad, but in Persia and

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

, Shahrukh was able to secure effective control from about 1409. His empire controlled the main trade routes between East and West, including the legendary

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

, and became immensely wealthy as a region to have had made adjustments to many of the local mosques and borrowing ideas for his own buildings that he built throughout his reign, also aspects of this building are a precursor to the famous

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...

, as the similarities can be seen.

Architecture

The main building displays a typical Timurid architectural style. However, today much of the building itself has suffered heavy from neglect and damage by warring factions during the Soviet and Afghan civil wars. The main courtyard has been well preserved allowing people to pray in the open spaces. To the back of the building however little care has been given to the paving and gardens. The minaret has either collapsed due to the age of the building or could have been the act of aggression during wartime by the communists. Much of the tile work has disappeared and the wooden doors are in dire need of repair. Balkh mosque entrance arch.jpg, Arches at the entrance Balkh mosque entrance.jpg, Entrance Balkh mosque entrance 2.jpg, Entrance

References

{{coord missing, Afghanistan Religious buildings and structures completed in 1421 15th-century mosques Mosques in Afghanistan Buildings and structures in Balkh Province Balkh

History

Architecture

See also

References