Astanababa

Some historians believe the structure to have been commissioned by Mahmud of Ghazni in memory of his ally (and Samanid ruler) Isma'il Muntasir; others attribute Muntasir himself.[1][3][4][lower-alpha 1] A square structure, three of its walls have blind niches; the brickwork is intensely decorative — Paul Brummell noted it to be among the finest examples of 11th c. Turkmen architecture.[1] That the mausoleum did not become a shrine indicates that no saint was buried; it might have been a person from the secular spheres or none at all.[1][3] In Turkmen tradition, an eponymous commander of Ali was buried at the site.[3][lower-alpha 2]

The complex — primarily, a set of four domed rooms — has been progressively expanded over the centuries.[1] The entrance portal leads into a hall, before two successive pairs of domed rooms: the first pair is believed to be the oldest constructions, and contain a tomb and mosque.[1] Beyond, comes the second pair constructed c. 19th century, containing two tombs each and known as the Kizlyar-Bibi Mausoleum.[1] Identities of all the buried people remain unknown; local tradition asserts Ibn Ali Nur, a local ruler of Balkh, to have constructed the mausoleum for his daughter.[1]