Tamerlane's green birthplace city — the colossal ruined portal of his Ak-Saray palace and the garden-tomb where he was interred before Samarkand
Shahrisabz ('Green City' in Persian) is an ancient city 80km south of Samarkand in the Kashkadarya region of southern Uzbekistan, notable primarily as the birthplace of Timur (Tamerlane, 1336–1405) and the site of his first and greatest palatial construction: the Ak-Saray (White Palace), begun in 1380, of which two massive entrance portal towers — each 38m high and covered in the finest 14th-century tilework — survive from what was reportedly the most extravagant palace in Central Asian history. UNESCO designated the historic centre of Shahrisabz a World Heritage Site in 2000 (and expressed c…
Shahrisabz (ancient Kesh) is one of the oldest cities in Uzbekistan, mentioned in Zoroastrian texts and identified as the site of a major Zoroastrian fire temple. Under the Achaemenid Empire it was an important settlement; Alexander the Great married Roxana at Kesh/Maracanda (this is debated between Samarkand and Shahrisabz). The city was destroyed by the Mongols in 1220. Timur was born here in 1336 and spent his life compensating — the Ak-Saray palace construction, which took 24 years, was intended to be the greatest building in the world. An inscription above the entrance reportedly read: '…