Timur Shah Mausoleum Restoration
Kabul, Afghanistan
One of the largest surviving Islamic monuments in central Kabul, the Mausoleum of Timur Shah marks the grave of the son of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who effectively united Afghanistan in the late eighteenth century. Born in 1746, Timur Shah served as governor of Herat before facing down a military challenge to the throne from his elder brother, and then moved his capital from Qandahar northeast to Kabul. His son Zaman Shah laid him to rest in 1793 in a garden on the banks of the Kabul River, but it was not until 1817 that the actual construction of the Mausoleum began.
Timur Shah's Mausoleum comprises an octagonal structure with two intersecting cross-axes organized on six levels. Above a crypt in which the grave stands is a square central space surrounded by an octagonal structure, with four double-height iwans on the main elevations. There are sixteen brick-vaulted spaces of varying size on the first floor, encircling the central space, with a flat roof above, surrounding the sixteen sided drum under the domes. Following the central Asian tradition, the Mausoleum has an outer dome constructed on a high drum above a ribbed inner dome.
During the course of conservation work, negotiations took place for the relocation of the two hundred or more informal traders who had encroached on what had been the garden around the Mausoleum. A range of options was explored aimed at incorporating the traders into a new development on or adjoining the garden of the Mausoleum, but these were not approved by the Municipality, and the traders were removed in 2005. Since then, a perimeter wall has been constructed to protect the site, which has been planted with an orchard of mulberry trees – matching those seen in historic photographs – and laid out with paths for pedestrian access through the garden.
Since its restoration, the central space of the Mausoleum has been the setting for lectures, seminars and exhibitions, and discussions are under way with the relevant authorities for the space and reclaimed garden to be used for cultural events on a regular basis. Despite the challenging physical and institutional context in which the project was realized, it stands as an example of how an important historic monument can help to encourage a wider process of regeneration in a fast-changing urban setting.
Maqbara-i-Timur Shah (Variant)
Maqbara-i Timurshah (Variant)
Timur Shah Tomb (Variant)
1793, restored 2002-2008
Abdali
Association for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Afghanistan (APHCHA or A.P.H.C.H.A.) (architect)
Kabul (place)
Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme (architect)
Timur Shah Mausoleum
Restoration Projects in Afghanistan
"Culture as a Tool for Urban Development." Geneva: Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme, 2014.
In 2002, under an agreement with the Government of Afghanistan, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) began to restore and rehabilitate a number of significant historic buildings and public open spaces in the city of Kabul. In concert with a broad range of development initiatives ranging from agricultural productivity to telecommunications undertaken by the other agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), AKTC undertook a range of conservation and urban regeneration efforts, living condition improvements, community development programmes and planning initiatives in war-damaged neighbourhoods of the Old City of Kabul. A similar initiative commenced in the Old City of Herat in 2005.
Asheqan wa Arefan Neighborhood Conservation
Citadel of Herat Restoration
Abdullah Ansari Shrine Complex Restoration
Bagh-e Babur Restoration
Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Publications, Briefs and Exhibitions
area conservation, restoration and conservation, urban development, urban regeneration
File type / Size
Restoration of Timur Shah Mausoleum: Kabul Old City interventions
Strategies for Urban Regeneration: Case Studies: Afghanistan
Strategies for Urban Regeneration: Case Studies: Timur Shah Mausoleum and Park
Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Urban Conservation and Area Development in Afghanistan
Habib Noori and Anna Soave
The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme
Aga Khan Trust for Culture Retrospective Exhibition: Kabul
Afghanistan: Preserving Historic Heritage
Afghanistan: Preserving Historic Heritage (Kabul)