Mausoleums of the Eastern Regions of the Golden Horde

Abstract

The purpose of the study: To consider the composition of architecture in the eastern regions of the Golden Horde, using the example of monuments of memorial architecture. As well, to trace regional differences and the influence of various architectural schools and building traditions on the emergence and development of mausoleum forms. Research materials: Mausoleums which are the most numerous type of monumental architecture explored throughout the territory of the Golden Horde. The paper considers both archaeological sites and various images of mausoleums: drawings of the 18th–19th centuries and photographs of the early 20th century. Results and scientific novelty: The work collects and examines all the mausoleums of the eastern regions of the Golden Horde. The review shows that among all the buildings, based on construction technology, two directions of architecture can be distinguished – construction from stone and construction from brick (burnt and adobe). An analysis of the types of planning, construction techniques, and architectural details of mausoleums and construction equipment leads to the conclusion that several directions can be traced in the composition of memorial architecture. In their architectonics, the stone mausoleums of the Urals are closely related to the architecture of Volga Bulgaria which, in turn, arose under the strong influence of Seljuk Asia Minor and to some extent Transcaucasia. Most of the mausoleums are built of baked and mud bricks. Among them, a group of cubic mausoleums with a hipped dome on a drum and a massive portal stands out. These buildings find direct analogies among the monuments of Central Asia, primarily Khorezm. A group of tower or pyramidal mausoleums are buildings of an archaic appearance that replicate the memorial monuments of the Turks. Also in the eastern regions, two-chamber mausoleums were built, consisting of a room for rituals (ziyarat-khane) and a tomb (gur-khane). Mausoleums of this type have no direct analogues outside the Golden Horde and are a creative reworking of already known schemes.

Keywords

• golden horde
• urals
• western kazakhstan
• central kazakhstan
• mausoleums
• classification
• architectonics
• construction equipment
• central asia
• asia minor
• turks