The Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located in

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. It is one of the most important historical monuments in Kandahar.

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

, who is fondly known as

Ahmad Shah Baba Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

, ruled the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

from Kandahar between 1747 and 1772. The graceful octagonal monument stands on a basaltic platform, the plain beige brick exterior decorated with numerous niches of contrasting heights and depths, delicately outlined with yellow and green, green and blue, tile. Tall minarets connected by a floral balustrade top the main body of the monument and behind them yet another set of short minarets atop a series of shallow niches outlined in blue, surround a drum crowned with a dome of glistening blue tile. The soffits of the main arches are cleverly decorated in a honeycomb pattern composed of half circles centered with

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. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...

and gold to resemble flowers.

Nancy Hatch Dupree Nancy Hatch Dupree (; October 3, 1927 – September 10, 2017) was an American historian whose work primarily focused on the history of modern Afghanistan. She was the director of the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University and author of five books ...

– An Historical Guide To Afghanistan – ''The South (Chapter 16)'' The exterior decoration seems very spartan once one enters. Here, the eyes are delighted with a sumptuous richness of color and design from the gorgeous Afghan carpets on the marble floor to the brilliantly painted and gilded floral decoration of the dome. The blue-green tile with touches of yellow and brown around the base of the walls is made in Kandahar and is quite distinctive from the tile-work of

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

– An Historical Guide To Afghanistan – ''The South (Chapter 16)'' On the eight cornices under the corner niches a large inscription in white on lapis blue tile extolls the virtues of Emperor Ahmad Shah Durrani: The sarcophagus is made of Afghan marble and covered with a gold-embroidered cloth of deep wine velvet. Beside this there is a table holding fine copies of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and a glass cabinet containing a gold-inlaid helmet and gauntlets together with a sceptre inlaid in silver and embellished with a two-headed bird. It is with these that Ahmad Shah Durrani went forth to battle.

– An Historical Guide To Afghanistan – ''The South (Chapter 16)'' Within the compound is also the Friday Mosque with the

Shrine of the Cloak Kirka Sharif (; meaning ''Sacred Cloak'') is an Islamic shrine located in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The shrine became notable in English literature during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, when neighboring British Raj, British India was trying to establ ...

, which is believed to be worn by the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. It has switched hands until finally resting here.

Gallery

File:Photograph of the entrance to the tomb of Ahmad Shah Abdali in Kandahar, Afghanistan, by Benjamin Simpson, ca.1880.jpg, Photograph of the entrance to the tomb of Ahmad Shah Abdali in Kandahar, Afghanistan, by Benjamin Simpson, ca.1880 File:Afghanistan (1910) (14763235144).jpg, Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1910

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External links

Old images of the tomb
category:Buildings and structures in Kandahar Burial sites of the Durrani dynasty {{afghanistan-stub

Gallery

See also

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External links