EnsemblesUnder 1 km awayUNESCO World Heritage
Registan
The central square of old Samarkand, framed on three sides by the Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor and Tilla-Kari madrasas.
Ulugh Beg Madrasa
The oldest building on the Registan, raised in 1417–1421 by Timur's grandson Ulugh Beg as a leading school of religious and secular learning.
EnsemblesUNESCO World Heritage1417–1421About 40 minutes to see
About the place
Ulugh Beg, then governor of Samarkand and an astronomer of note, began rebuilding the Registan with this madrasa; an inscription at the entrance gives the year 820 AH, 1417. It became one of the main teaching centres of the Timurid world, where some of the best scholars of the day taught both religious and secular subjects.
It stands on the west side of the square and is the only 15th-century building there, the sole survivor of a larger ensemble of mosques, caravanserais, a bazaar and a Sufi lodge; the Sher-Dor madrasa opposite was built on the site of that lodge. It is part of the Samarkand World Heritage site.
Why go
- Oldest building on the Registan
- Founded by the astronomer-ruler Ulugh Beg
- Dated inscription of 1417 at the entrance
Sources (5)
Nearby
- Ensembles
EnsemblesUnder 1 km away
Tilla-Kari Madrasa
The north side of the Registan in Samarkand: a madrasa and Friday mosque of 1646–1660 whose prayer hall glitters with gilded decoration.
EnsemblesUnder 1 km awayUNESCO World Heritage
Sher-Dor Madrasa
The 17th-century madrasa on the east side of the Registan in Samarkand, named for the tiger-like lions chasing gazelles on its portal.
EnsemblesUnder 1 km away
Shaybanid Dakhma
A raised marble platform on the Registan in Samarkand with 36 gravestones of the Shaybanid dynasty, including Muhammad Shaybani Khan, from the 16th century.