Samanids Mausoleum
Ismail Samanid Tomb
The Samanid mausoleum is one of the architectural masterpieces of Bukhara and is located in western part of the historical center of of Bukhara, in the Samanid park that was established during the Soviet time and is laid out on the site of an ancient cemetery. It is the best-preserved original building of Bukhara the year 905, making it one of the architectural highlights of the city, even though it is not the grandest of them. The tomb received its name in honor of the founder of a dynasty.
According to a legend, the founder of the Samanids dynasty, Ismail Samanid, built this mausoleum for his father. Later this mausoleum became the family burial-vault of all Samanids. Probably, Ismail himself, who died in 907, and his grandson Nasr II ibn Ahmad, who died in 943 and whose name was found on the wood plate above the entrance, were also buried here.
The mausoleum’s strong walls have withstood already more than 10 centuries due to the strong geometric shape of the building. In this building, for the first time (or as far as we have evidence of), such building materials as a baked brick of standard format were used together with precise science based, mathematical calculations that were developed here in Central Asia’s golden era.
As Bukhara at the time was a world center for science, the most precise mathematical calculations were applied. The level of accuracy and the intricacy of the structure and layout is simply stunning. If you visit more than once you can still get new different perception of these walls and cupola as depending on the time of day, the angle of the light and the shadows play on structured surface of the bricks making it appear something like a painting. Laid horizontally and vertically, at different angles, the bricks take on various appearances, at once resembling wooden carvings, a wicker basket or a lace pattern. The mausoleum is absent of the colored decor which later became an obligatory feature of Central Asian buildings, however, because of the carvings covering the two-meter-thick walls, it still looks very picturesque.
The nearly perfect brick cube was built at the beginning of the tenth century and belongs to the great cultural resurgence of the Samanid dynasty (875-999). The cubic shape harks back to the Kaaba in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the dome above it represents the heavens. The complex patterns in the brickwork add texture to the four equal facades entice visitors to run their hands across the grainy surface.
Other Sights near Samanid Mausoleum
Page updated 6.1.2026