Turbehتربة

An atlas of Islamic mausoleums

One hundred and three mausoleums,
from Marrakesh to Dhaka

More than a thousand years of tombs, from a tenth-century brick cube in Bukhara to the twentieth-century mausoleums of Rabat and Karachi.

Turn a building in 3D or look around it in a 360° photograph, and step inside wherever the interior has been scanned or photographed. Every fact on these pages is cited.

103 places24 countries892–1970 CE37 you can enter

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Drag to turn the globe. Point at a dot to see which mausoleum it marks; click to open it.Tap a dot to see its name, then tap the name to open it.Land and lakes: Natural Earth (public domain). Orthographic projection.

The plates

In order of construction

  1. 3DA compact 10th-century tomb of patterned baked brick built for the Samanid dynasty, one of the earliest surviving Islamic mausoleums and a highlight of historic Bukhara. ISamanid Mausoleum الضريح الساماني Bukhara, Uzbekistan
    c. 892–943 · 278–332 AH · Inside view
  2. 360°The southern, best-preserved part of Aswan’s early Islamic necropolis: mud-brick tombs and domed mausolea, mostly Fatimid, listed by UNESCO in 1979 as the “Islamic Cemetery”. IIFatimid Cemetery of Aswan المقابر الفاطمية بأسوان Aswan, Egypt
    c. 969–1171 · 358–567 AH
  3. 3DA small square tomb near Taraz, faced with carved terracotta tiles in more than 60 designs; legend links it to Aisha Bibi, but who is buried here is unknown. IIIAisha Bibi Mausoleum ضريح عائشة بيبي Taraz, Kazakhstan
    11th–12th century CE · 5th–6th century AH · Inside view
  4. 360°A 53 m tomb tower of unglazed brick on a ten-pointed star plan, ordered in 1006-1007 by the Ziyarid emir Qabus ibn Voshmgir near his capital, Jorjan. IVGonbad-e Qabus برج قابوس Gonbad-e Kavus, Iran
    1006–1007 · 396–398 AH · Inside view
  5. 3DThree Karakhanid tombs of fired brick standing side by side in Uzgen, dated from the 11th century to 1186-87 and decorated with carved brick, terracotta and carved plaster. VKarakhanid Mausoleums of Uzgen أضرحة القراخانيين في أوزكند Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan
    c. 1012–1187 · 402–583 AH
  6. A brick tomb tower in Damghan, built in 1026-27 by the Ziyarid governor Abu Harb Bakhtiyar for his father, with bands of Kufic script and patterned brickwork below its dome. VIPir-e Alamdar Tower ضريح بير علمدار Damghan, Iran
    1026–1027 · 416–418 AH
  7. An octagonal tomb tower of rubble stone on a rocky spur outside Abarkuh, built in the 1050s and crowned by a tall muqarnas cornice. VIIGonbad-e Ali قبة عالي Abarkuh, Iran
    1056–1057 · 447–449 AH
  8. 360°Two octagonal brick tomb towers of 1067-68 and 1093-94 at Kharraqan in Qazvin province, faced with varied geometric brickwork and badly damaged by the 2002 earthquake. VIIIKharraqan Towers برجا خراقان Hesar-e Valiasr, Iran
    1067–1093 · 459–486 AH
  9. 360°A medieval Muslim cemetery on the shore of Lake Van, with carved gravestones up to 3.50 m high and stone tomb towers of the 13th to 15th centuries. IXAhlat Seljuk Cemetery and Kümbets مقبرة أخلاط السلجوقية وقبابها Ahlat, Türkiye
    c. 1100–1500 · 493–906 AH
  10. A twelve-sided red sandstone tomb tower on a cut-stone base in Julfa district, dated to the 12th or early 13th century and carved with patterns shared with Ajami’s tombs. XGulustan Mausoleum ضريح غولستان Gulustan, Azerbaijan
    c. 1101–1230 · 494–628 AH
  11. 360°Four medieval tomb towers in Maragheh, dated from 1148 to the early 14th century, among them the decagonal brick Gonbad-e Kabud (1196-97) with its interlaced-pentagon patterns. XITomb towers of Maragheh الأبراج الضريحية في مراغة Maragheh, Iran
    c. 1148–1328 · 542–729 AH
  12. 360°A cube-like brick mausoleum crowned by a dome and an arcaded gallery, built in the mid-12th century for the Seljuk sultan Sanjar at the centre of Merv. XIIMausoleum of Sultan Sanjar ضريح أحمد سنجر Merv, Turkmenistan
    c. 1150–1157 · 544–552 AH · Inside view
  13. Two brick tombs with tiled conical roofs in ruined Gurganj, traditionally those of the Khwarazmshahs Il-Arslan and his son Tekesh; ICOMOS dates them to about 1150 and 1195. XIIIMausoleums of Il-Arslan and Tekesh ضريحا إل أرسلان وتكش Kunya-Urgench, Turkmenistan
    c. 1150–1195 · 544–592 AH
  14. 360°An octagonal stone tomb in Erzurum, the largest of the Üç Kümbetler, traditionally linked to the Saltukid dynasty and carved with animals in the niches of its drum. XIVEmir Saltuk Kümbeti (Üç Kümbetler) ضريح الأمير سلتوق (القباب الثلاث) Erzurum, Türkiye
    c. 1150–1200 · 544–597 AH
  15. 360°A square brick tomb in Hamadan, known as the ’Alawiyan family’s mausoleum, decorated inside and out with high-relief stucco; scholars date it between the 12th and early 14th centuries. XVGonbad-e Alavian قبة علويان Hamadan, Iran
    c. 1150–1315 · 544–715 AH · Inside view
  16. An octagonal brick tomb tower in Nakhchivan, dated 1162 and signed by Ajami ibn Abi Bakr, which keeps its original pyramidal roof. XVIYusif ibn Kuseyir Mausoleum ضريح يوسف بن كوسير Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan
    1162 · 557–558 AH
  17. 360°A ten-sided brick tomb tower over a crypt, finished in 1186 for Momine Khatun, wife of the atabeg Eldiguz, by the Nakhchivan builder Ajami ibn Abi Bakr. XVIIMomine Khatun Mausoleum ضريح مؤمنة خاتون Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan
    1186 · 581–582 AH
  18. A fluted tomb tower inside a round, niched wall at Tercan, signed by a builder from Ahlat and traditionally the tomb of the Saltukid ruler Mama Hatun. XVIIIMama Hatun Kümbeti ضريح ماما خاتون Tercan, Türkiye
    c. 1191–1230 · 586–628 AH
  19. A late Abbasid brick tomb under a conical muqarnas dome, in a cemetery on Baghdad’s west bank, identified since 1947 as that of Zumurrud Khatun, mother of Caliph al-Nasir. XIXTomb of Zumurrud Khatun ضريح زمرد خاتون Baghdad, Iraq
    c. 1192–1193 · 587–590 AH
  20. 360°Saladin’s tomb in Damascus: a domed square chamber beside the Umayyad Mosque, built by his son al-Afdal in 1193-1196, that still holds his carved Ayyubid wooden cenotaph. XXMausoleum of Saladin ضريح صلاح الدين الأيوبي Damascus, Syria
    1193–1196 · 588–593 AH · Inside view
  21. 360°A fluted brick tomb tower with a conical roof on the old Radkan meadow north of Mashhad, built in the 13th century; its damaged inscription leaves date and owner uncertain. XXIRadkan Tower برج رادكان Radkan, Iran
    c. 1205–1300 · 601–700 AH
  22. 360°Dated 1235, Sultan Iltutmish’s roofless square tomb in Delhi’s Qutb complex has an interior carved with Quranic inscriptions; UNESCO says it began India’s tradition of royal tombs. XXIITomb of Iltutmish ضريح إلتتمش Delhi, India
    c. 1235 · 632–633 AH · Inside view
  23. 360°Tomb of the Ayyubid sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, built by his widow Shajar al-Durr in 1249-1250 against the madrasa he had founded on al-Mu'izz Street. XXIIIMausoleum of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub ضريح السلطان الصالح نجم الدين أيوب Cairo, Egypt
    1249–1250 · 646–648 AH · Inside view
  24. 3DDomed tomb that Shajar al-Durr, Egypt’s sultan for less than three months in 1250, built for herself on al-Khalifa Street, its glass-mosaic mihrab showing a tree of pearls. XXIVMausoleum of Shajar al-Durr قبة شجر الدر Cairo, Egypt
    c. 1250 · 647–648 AH
  25. 3DA twelve-sided stone tomb tower of the Anatolian Seljuk period in Kayseri, built for a woman named Şah Cihan Hatun and richly carved with eagles, lions and trees. XXVDöner Kümbet دونر كومبت Kayseri, Türkiye
    c. 1260–1300 · 658–700 AH
  26. 360°The Mamluk sultan Baybars’s domed tomb in Damascus, begun by his son in 1277 and decorated under Qalawun in 1281 with marble panelling and glass mosaic. XXVIMausoleum of Sultan Baybars (al-Madrasa al-Zahiriyya) ضريح السلطان الظاهر بيبرس (المدرسة الظاهرية) Damascus, Syria
    1277–1281 · 675–680 AH
  27. 3DRoyal necropolis of the Marinid sultans on the ruins of Roman Sala in Rabat; its walls were completed in 1339 and it holds Abu al-Hasan’s tomb chamber. XXVIIChellah Necropolis مقبرة شالة Rabat, Morocco
    c. 1280–1351 · 678–752 AH
  28. 360°Domed tomb of the Mamluk sultan Qalawun, built in 1284-1285 with a madrasa and hospital on Cairo’s al-Mu'izz Street; an octagon of columns and piers carries the dome. XXVIIIMausoleum of Sultan Qalawun ضريح السلطان المنصور قلاوون Cairo, Egypt
    1284–1285 · 682–684 AH · Inside view
  29. 3DOne of the few buildings standing in the ruined port of Qalhat: a mausoleum of about 1300, commissioned by Bibi Maryam, who ruled the city with her husband Ayaz. XXIXBibi Maryam Mausoleum ضريح بيبي مريم Qalhat, Oman
    c. 1300–1320 · 699–720 AH
  30. 3DFourteenth-century stone tombs of Bolgar, the Golden Horde city on the Volga: the Eastern and Northern Mausoleums beside the ruined Cathedral Mosque, and the domed Khan’s Shrine. XXXMausoleums of Bolgar أضرحة بلغار Bolgar, Russia
    c. 1300–1340 · 699–741 AH
  31. 3DA brick tomb with a blue-tiled double dome in Ulytau, central Kazakhstan, long called the grave of Genghis Khan’s eldest son Jochi, though radiocarbon dates point to a 14th-century building. XXXIMausoleum of Jochi Khan ضريح جوجي خان Ulytau District, Kazakhstan
    c. 1300–1400 · 699–803 AH
  32. 3DThe mausoleum of the Ilkhanid ruler Öljeitü at his short-lived capital of Soltaniyeh, crowned by a turquoise dome about 50 metres high and ringed by eight minarets. XXXIIDome of Soltaniyeh قبة السلطانية Soltaniyeh, Iran
    1302–1312 · 701–712 AH · Inside view
  33. An octagonal stone tomb in Niğde, dated by its portal inscription to 1312-1313, commissioned by the Seljuk princess Hüdavend Hatun and carved with sirens, lions and a double-headed eagle. XXXIIIHüdavend Hatun Kümbeti ضريح خداوند خاتون Niğde, Türkiye
    1312–1313 · 711–713 AH
  34. 3DThe Nasrid sultans' cemetery behind the Alhambra's Palace of the Lions was used from the early 14th century; today it is a consolidated ruin with empty royal graves. XXXIVRauda of the Alhambra الروضة، المقبرة الملكية في الحمراء Granada, Spain
    c. 1314–1325 · 713–726 AH
  35. 360°The fortified tomb of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, founder of the Tughluq dynasty: a red sandstone cube with steeply sloping walls and a white marble dome, built about 1325. XXXVTomb of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq ضريح غياث الدين تغلق Delhi, India
    c. 1320–1325 · 719–726 AH · Inside view
  36. A cylindrical brick tomb tower of 1322 by Ahmad ibn Ayyub al-Hafiz of Nakhchivan, patterned with the word Allah in turquoise tile and red brick, restored in 2012-2018. XXXVIBarda Mausoleum ضريح بردعة Barda, Azerbaijan
    1322 · 721–722 AH
  37. A brick tomb of about 1334 with a carved terracotta portal in the Talas valley; its inscription names Kenizek-Khatun, though legend calls it the grave of the epic hero Manas. XXXVIIManas Gumbez (Kenkol mausoleum) قبة ماناس (ضريح كينكول) Near Talas, Kyrgyzstan
    c. 1334 · 734–735 AH
  38. A twelve-sided stone tomb of the 14th century in the old cemetery of Gevaş, built for Halime Hatun by a master from Ahlat and wrapped in carved ornament. XXXVIIIHalime Hatun Kümbeti ضريح حليمة خاتون Gevaş, Türkiye
    c. 1335–1358 · 735–760 AH
  39. A domed tomb of about 1358-1359 at Fathabad, on the outskirts of Bukhara, raised over the grave of the Chaghatayid khan Buyan Quli and faced with carved, glazed tiles. XXXIXMausoleum of Buyan Quli Khan ضريح بيان قلي خان Bukhara, Uzbekistan
    c. 1358–1359 · 759–761 AH
  40. 360°A brick tomb at Kunya-Urgench, twelve-sided outside, with a tall portal and a tile-mosaic dome, named after Turabek Khanum by tradition; its date, 1330s to about 1405, is disputed. XLTurabek Khanum Mausoleum ضريح تورابك خانم Kunya-Urgench, Turkmenistan
    c. 1360–1380 · 761–782 AH · Inside view
  41. 360°Ruined royal tombs of the Marinid dynasty on the hill of al-Qulla above Fez el-Bali, where Abu al-Hasan’s successors were buried between 1361 and 1398. XLIMarinid Tombs قبور المرينيين Fez, Morocco
    c. 1361–1398 · 762–801 AH
  42. 3DTimur’s family burial complex in his home region of Shahrisabz (Kesh): the conical-domed tomb of his son Jahangir and a white-marble tomb Timur prepared for himself. XLIIDorus Saodat دار السيادة Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan
    c. 1376–1404 · 777–807 AH · Inside view
  43. 360°The octagonal tomb facing Timur’s congregational mosque in Samarkand, last remnant of his chief wife Saray Mulk Khanum’s madrasa; it received a new dome and facades in 2005-6. XLIIIBibi Khanym Mausoleum ضريح بيبي خانم Samarkand, Uzbekistan
    c. 1400–1410 · 802–813 AH
  44. 360°Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq’s Mamluk funerary complex in Cairo’s Northern Cemetery (1400-1411), where twin chevron-carved stone domes cover the tombs of his father Barquq and the family’s women. XLIVKhanqah and Mausoleums of Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq خانقاه وضريحا السلطان فرج بن برقوق Cairo, Egypt
    c. 1400–1411 · 802–814 AH
  45. 3DTimur’s tomb in Samarkand: an octagonal mausoleum under a ribbed turquoise dome, commissioned in 1404 for his grandson Muhammad Sultan and later the Timurid dynasty’s burial place. XLVGur-e-Amir ضريح كور أمير Samarkand, Uzbekistan
    c. 1404 · 806–807 AH · Inside view
  46. 360°The tomb of Gazi Evrenos (d. 1417), the Ottoman commander who founded Giannitsa: a 15th-century türbe rebuilt in 1885-1886 and 1908-1910, now a museum. XLVIMausoleum of Gazi Evrenos ضريح الغازي إيفرينوس Giannitsa, Greece
    c. 1417 · 819–820 AH
  47. Timurid mausoleum completed in 1432 for Gawhar Shad's family in her Herat madrasa: a ribbed, tile-covered dome over a painted squinch-net vault. XLVIIGawhar Shad Mausoleum ضريح كوهرشاد Herat, Afghanistan
    c. 1417–1432 · 819–836 AH
  48. 3DSultan Mehmed I's octagonal tomb in Bursa, dated 1421, faced with turquoise tiles outside and known for its tile mihrab and the sultan's tiled cenotaph. XLVIIIYeşil Türbe (Green Tomb) الضريح الأخضر Bursa, Türkiye
    c. 1421 · 823–825 AH · Inside view
  49. 360°A square domed tomb built wholly of white marble behind the Jami Masjid of Mandu, begun for Hoshang Shah of Malwa and finished by Mahmud Khalji. XLIXTomb of Hoshang Shah ضريح هوشنك شاه Mandu, India
    c. 1435–1440 · 838–844 AH
  50. 360°A garden of a dozen tombs beside Murad II's mosque in Bursa, around the sultan's own tomb of 1451, which was left open to the sky at his request. LTombs of the Muradiye Complex أضرحة مجمع المرادية Bursa, Türkiye
    1449–1573 · 852–981 AH
  51. A Timurid tomb in Samarkand, built about 1464 by Habiba Sultan Begim for her young daughter and later used for royal women; its domes fell in 1902-1903. LIIshratkhana Mausoleum ضريح عشرت خانه Samarkand, Uzbekistan
    c. 1460–1464 · 864–869 AH
  52. 360°A small Timurid family tomb of about 1470 near the Gur-e-Amir in Samarkand, plain outside, with kundal painting in gold (restored in 2007) and a marble-lined crypt. LIIAksaray Mausoleum ضريح آق سراي Samarkand, Uzbekistan
    c. 1465–1475 · 869–880 AH · Inside view
  53. 360°Tomb chamber of the Mamluk sultan Qaytbay in Cairo’s Northern Cemetery, finished in 1474 under a stone dome carved with a star pattern laid over arabesques. LIIIMausoleum of Sultan Qaytbay ضريح السلطان الأشرف قايتباي Cairo, Egypt
    c. 1472–1474 · 876–879 AH · Inside view
  54. 3DThe tomb of the Sufi poet Farid al-Din Attar in Nishapur: an octagonal domed chamber over a Timurid tombstone of 1486, given its present form in 1959-1968. LIVTomb of Attar ضريح فريد الدين العطار Nishapur, Iran
    c. 1486 · 890–892 AH
  55. The late 15th-century mausoleum and khanaqah of Yunus Khan, khan of Moghulistan and Babur’s grandfather, in Tashkent’s Sheikhantaur ensemble, with a pointed portal and a double dome. LVMausoleum of Yunus Khan ضريح يونس خان Tashkent, Uzbekistan
    c. 1487–1502 · 892–908 AH
  56. 360°Thatta's vast necropolis on Makli Hill (14th-18th centuries), with the carved stone tombs of Samma ruler Jam Nizamuddin II and Mughal governor Isa Khan Tarkhan II. LVIMakli Necropolis مقابر مكلي Thatta, Pakistan
    c. 1509–1644 · 914–1054 AH · Inside view
  57. 360°Sher Shah’s tomb at Sasaram: an octagonal domed mausoleum on a stepped terrace in an artificial lake, completed by his son Islam Shah in August 1545. LVIITomb of Sher Shah Suri ضريح شير شاه سوري Sasaram, India
    c. 1540–1545 · 946–952 AH · Inside view
  58. 360°Octagonal cut-stone tomb with a lead-covered dome in the courtyard of Sarajevo's Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, where the Ottoman governor of Bosnia was buried in 1541. LVIIITomb of Gazi Husrev-beg ضريح غازي خسرو بك Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
    c. 1541 · 947–948 AH
  59. Octagonal stone tomb built by Sinan in 1541-42 for the Ottoman grand admiral Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha (d. 1546), on Barbaros Square in Beşiktaş beside the Naval Museum. LIXTomb of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha ضريح خير الدين بربروس Istanbul, Türkiye
    1541–1542 · 947–949 AH
  60. Octagonal tomb of Süleyman I's son Şehzade Mehmed (d. 1543), the first finished part of Sinan's Şehzade complex, with a fluted dome, polychrome stone facades and a tiled interior. LXTomb of Şehzade Mehmed ضريح الشهزاده محمد Istanbul, Türkiye
    c. 1543–1544 · 949–951 AH
  61. 3DThe royal necropolis of the Qutb Shahi sultans of Golconda in Hyderabad, with tombs dated 1543-1672; Bilgrami judged Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah's domed tomb second to none among them. LXIQutb Shahi Tombs (Qutb Shahi Heritage Park) أضرحة قطب شاهي (منتزه قطب شاهي التراثي) Hyderabad, India
    c. 1543–1672 · 949–1083 AH
  62. Open-air grave of Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty, inside a marble screen high in his terraced garden in Kabul, restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. LXIITomb of Babur ضريح بابر Kabul, Afghanistan
    c. 1544–1638 · 950–1048 AH
  63. 360°The octagonal garden tomb of Isa Khan Niyazi, a noble of the Sur sultans, dated 1547-48 by its inscription and now part of the Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage property. LXIIITomb of Isa Khan Niyazi ضريح عيسى خان نيازي Delhi, India
    1547–1548 · 953–955 AH
  64. 360°The white-stone tomb that Shah Ali, khan of Kasimov and three times khan of Kazan, built for himself in 1555: two rooms over a burial crypt. LXIVTekie of Shah Ali Khan ضريح شاه علي خان Kasimov, Russia
    1555 · 962–963 AH
  65. 360°Royal necropolis of Morocco’s Saadian sultans in the Marrakesh kasbah, begun in 1557 and enlarged by Ahmad al-Mansur, whose Hall of Twelve Columns holds his tomb. LXVSaadian Tombs ضريح السعديين Marrakesh, Morocco
    c. 1557–1603 · 964–1012 AH · Inside view
  66. 3DEmperor Humayun’s garden-tomb in Delhi, built in the 1560s–1570s; UNESCO calls it the first of the grand Mughal dynastic mausoleums, a line that culminated in the Taj Mahal. LXVIHumayun’s Tomb ضريح همايون Delhi, India
    c. 1562–1572 · 969–980 AH · Inside view
  67. 360°Octagonal tomb of Sultan Süleyman I, built by Sinan in 1566-1568 behind the Süleymaniye Mosque and ringed by a columned portico with Iznik tile panels. LXVIITomb of Sultan Süleyman I ضريح السلطان سليمان القانوني Istanbul, Türkiye
    c. 1566–1568 · 973–976 AH · Inside view
  68. Octagonal, lead-domed tomb of Osman Shah Bey, nephew of Sultan Süleyman I, built about 1566-1571 beside his mosque in Trikala, Greece. LXVIIITomb of Osman Shah ضريح عثمان شاه Trikala, Greece
    c. 1566–1571 · 973–979 AH
  69. 3DSinan's tomb for Sultan Selim II beside Hagia Sophia, begun in 1573-74 and finished in 1576-77: a marble-clad, double-domed building lined with Iznik tiles inside and on its porch. LXIXTomb of Sultan Selim II ضريح السلطان سليم الثاني Istanbul, Türkiye
    c. 1573–1577 · 980–985 AH · Inside view
  70. 360°The domed tomb of Ali Barid Shah in Bidar, completed in 1576-77: open on all four sides through tall arches, it stands in a walled garden court. LXXTomb of Ali Barid Shah (Barid Shahi Tombs) ضريح علي بريد شاه (الأضرحة البريدشاهية) Bidar, India
    c. 1576–1577 · 983–985 AH
  71. 360°Open tomb of the Ottoman architect Sinan (d. 1588), behind a domed fountain at a corner of his Süleymaniye complex, with an epitaph by his friend Sâî Mustafa Çelebi. LXXITomb of Mimar Sinan ضريح معمار سنان Istanbul, Türkiye
    c. 1588 · 996–997 AH
  72. 360°An octagonal Ottoman tomb built around 1600 in Pécs over the dervish Idris Baba's grave; surveys name it one of two Ottoman mausoleums left in good condition in Hungary. LXXIITürbe of Idris Baba ضريح إدريس بابا Pécs, Hungary
    c. 1592–1640 · 1000–1050 AH · Inside view
  73. 360°Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, Akbar’s commander and a celebrated poet, built this domed tomb in 1598 for his wife Mah Banu and was buried in it in 1627. LXXIIITomb of Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan ضريح عبد الرحيم خان خانان Delhi, India
    c. 1598 · 1006–1007 AH · Inside view
  74. 360°Graveyard on a ridge east of Karachi with stepped sandstone graves carved with horsemen, weapons and jewellery, dated by Pakistan's heritage bodies to the 17th and 18th centuries. LXXIVChaukhandi Tombs مقابر جوكندي Karachi, Pakistan
    c. 1600–1800 · 1008–1215 AH
  75. 360°Akbar's tomb at Sikandra, Agra: a five-storey mausoleum of red sandstone with a white marble top storey, finished by his son Jahangir around 1613 in a walled garden. LXXVAkbar's Tomb ضريح أكبر Agra, India
    c. 1605–1613 · 1013–1022 AH
  76. 360°Square domed tomb of Sultan Ahmed I beside his mosque in Istanbul, completed by Osman II in 1619, with Iznik tiles inside and 36 cenotaphs of the dynasty. LXXVITürbe of Sultan Ahmed I ضريح السلطان أحمد الأول Istanbul, Türkiye
    c. 1617–1619 · 1025–1029 AH · Inside view
  77. 360°Nur Jahan's tomb for her parents on the Yamuna at Agra (1622-1628), which Archnet calls the first Mughal structure completely encased in marble. LXXVIITomb of I'timad-ud-Daulah ضريح اعتماد الدولة Agra, India
    1622–1628 · 1031–1038 AH · Inside view
  78. 360°The tomb of Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II (d. 1627) and Queen Taj Sultana in Vijayapura: a carved stone mausoleum facing its mosque on one terrace, dated 1626. LXXVIIIIbrahim Rauza روضة إبراهيم Vijayapura, India
    c. 1626 · 1035–1036 AH · Inside view
  79. 360°The tomb of Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah (d. 1656) in Vijayapura: a square hall 41 m across, with no internal supports, under a dome 37.9 m wide inside. LXXIXGol Gumbaz كول كنبد Vijayapura, India
    c. 1626–1656 · 1035–1067 AH · Inside view
  80. 360°The Mughal emperor Jahangir's tomb at Shahdara, across the Ravi from Lahore: a red sandstone platform tomb with four marble-banded minarets, completed in 1637. LXXXTomb of Jahangir ضريح جهانكير Lahore, Pakistan
    c. 1627–1637 · 1036–1047 AH · Inside view
  81. 3DShah Jahan’s white-marble mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, on the Yamuna at Agra, which UNESCO calls the jewel of Muslim art in India. LXXXITaj Mahal تاج محل Agra, India
    1632–1648 · 1041–1058 AH
  82. 360°The riverside tomb at Agra traditionally ascribed to Afzal Khan Shirazi, Shah Jahan’s prime minister (d. 1639), once faced entirely in glazed tile mosaic. LXXXIIChini ka Rauza ضريح تشيني كا روضة Agra, India
    c. 1635–1639 · 1044–1049 AH
  83. 360°Octagonal Mughal tomb with a high bulbous dome, built by Shah Jahan in the 1640s for his father-in-law Asif Khan at Shahdara, beside the tomb of Jahangir. LXXXIIITomb of Asif Khan ضريح آصف خان Lahore, Pakistan
    c. 1641–1645 · 1050–1055 AH
  84. 360°The tomb of Aurangzeb’s wife Dilras Banu Begum in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), modelled on the Taj Mahal and dated by its door inscription to 1660-61. LXXXIVBibi Ka Maqbara بيبي كا مقبرة Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, India
    c. 1660–1661 · 1070–1072 AH
  85. 3DThe tomb that Shaista Khan, Mughal governor of Bengal, built for his daughter Pari Bibi (d. 1684) at the centre of Dhaka’s unfinished Lalbagh Fort. LXXXVTomb of Pari Bibi ضريح بري بيبي Dhaka, Bangladesh
    c. 1684–1688 · 1095–1100 AH
  86. 360°Funerary complex of Sultan Moulay Ismail in Meknes, built as a mosque in 1703 and remodelled for his tomb, with zellij courtyards and reused Saadian marble capitals. LXXXVIMausoleum of Moulay Ismail ضريح المولى إسماعيل Meknes, Morocco
    c. 1703–1727 · 1114–1140 AH · Inside view
  87. 3DBuilt about 1754 by Shuja-ud-Daula for his father Safdar Jang, this Delhi garden tomb is, in the ASI’s words, the last example of the pattern begun at Humayun’s tomb. LXXXVIISafdarjung’s Tomb ضريح صفدر جنك Delhi, India
    c. 1754 · 1167–1168 AH · Inside view
  88. 360°Royal necropolis of Tunisia’s Husaynid beys in the Medina of Tunis, begun by Ali Bey II about 1770, with a domed hall of reigning beys on an Ottoman mosque plan. LXXXVIIITourbet el Bey تربة الباي Tunis, Tunisia
    c. 1770–1777 · 1183–1191 AH · Inside view
  89. 360°Hexagonal Ottoman türbe in Belgrade Fortress's Upper Town, built in 1784 over İzzet Mehmed Pasha's grave and dedicated to Damad Ali Pasha in 1818-1819, according to the fortress administration. LXXXIXTürbe of Damad Ali Pasha ضريح داماد علي باشا Belgrade, Serbia
    c. 1784 · 1198–1199 AH
  90. The family necropolis of the Paigah nobles of Hyderabad, begun around the grave of their founder (d. 1790), with marble graves under pierced marble screens. XCPaigah Tombs أضرحة بايغاه Hyderabad, India
    c. 1790–1900 · 1204–1318 AH
  91. 360°Burial court of Muhammad Ali’s family beside Imam al-Shafi'i’s mausoleum in Cairo, built up chamber by chamber from about 1808, with marble cenotaphs topped by carved turbans and headdresses. XCIHosh al-Basha حوش الباشا Cairo, Egypt
    c. 1808–1854 · 1222–1271 AH
  92. 360°An open octagonal türbe of carved stone in central Tirana, built in the early 19th century for Kapllan Pasha Toptani; protected since 1948, it is now a first-category monument. XCIIKapllan Pasha Tomb ضريح قبلان باشا Tirana, Albania
    c. 1820–1830 · 1235–1246 AH
  93. 360°Octagonal marble tomb in the Empire style, built on Divanyolu in 1839-1840 for Sultan Mahmud II and later the burial place of the sultans Abdülaziz and Abdülhamid II. XCIIITürbe of Sultan Mahmud II تربة السلطان محمود الثاني Istanbul, Türkiye
    1839–1840 · 1254–1256 AH · Inside view
  94. 3DThe tomb of Nawab Mahabat Khanji II of Junagadh, finished in 1892 in a mix of Indo-Islamic, Gothic and European styles, beside his vizier Bahauddin’s tomb of 1891-1896. XCIVMahabat Maqbara ضريح مهابت خان Junagadh, India
    1878–1892 · 1294–1310 AH
  95. 3DFerdowsi’s tomb at Tus, near Mashhad: a marble monument modelled on Cyrus the Great’s tomb, built 1928-1934 and re-erected over a new underground hall by Houshang Seyhoun in 1964-1968. XCVTomb of Ferdowsi ضريح الفردوسي Tus, Iran
    1928–1934 · 1346–1353 AH · Inside view
  96. 3DAn open domed pavilion over the grave of the Persian poet Hafez, in a garden on the northern edge of Shiraz, designed by André Godard and built 1938–1940. XCVITomb of Hafez ضريح حافظ الشيرازي Shiraz, Iran
    1938–1940 · 1356–1359 AH
  97. 360°Saadi’s tomb in Shiraz: a domed chamber behind a portico of eight columns, designed by Mohsen Foroughi and opened in 1952 on the site of the poet’s khanqah. XCVIITomb of Saadi ضريح سعدي الشيرازي Shiraz, Iran
    1948–1952 · 1367–1372 AH
  98. 3DAvicenna’s tomb in Hamadan, a 1950s building by Houshang Seyhoun whose open tower of twelve piers adapts the ten-flanged Gonbad-e Qabus, with a museum and library. XCVIIIAvicenna Mausoleum ضريح ابن سينا Hamadan, Iran
    c. 1951–1952 · 1370–1372 AH
  99. 360°Nader Shah’s tomb in Mashhad: a granite monument by Houshang Seyhoun, with a tower carrying Abolhassan Sadighi’s bronze equestrian group, built 1956-1963 with a museum of arms. XCIXTomb of Nader Shah ضريح نادر شاه Mashhad, Iran
    1956–1963 · 1375–1383 AH
  100. 3DOmar Khayyam’s tomb in Nishapur: ten curved piers whose ribs frame tile panels and meet in a star-shaped opening, designed by Houshang Seyhoun and inaugurated in 1963. CTomb of Omar Khayyam ضريح عمر الخيام Nishapur, Iran
    c. 1959–1963 · 1378–1383 AH
  101. 3DThe mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, in Karachi: a square, domed building in white marble by Yahya Merchant, built 1960-1970 and opened in 1971. CIMazar-e-Quaid مزار قائد Karachi, Pakistan
    1960–1970 · 1379–1390 AH · Inside view
  102. 3DThe royal mausoleum of King Mohammed V and his sons, built in 1961-1969 inside the walls of Rabat’s unfinished Almohad Hassan Mosque, facing the Hassan Tower. CIIMausoleum of Mohammed V ضريح محمد الخامس Rabat, Morocco
    1961–1969 · 1380–1389 AH · Inside view
  103. 360°Hamadan’s monument to the dervish poet Baba Taher: a hilltop tower of granite and white stone on an octagonal base, designed by Mohsen Foroughi and completed in 1970. CIIITomb of Baba Taher ضريح بابا طاهر Hamadan, Iran
    c. 1967–1970 · 1386–1390 AH

A thousand years, in two calendars

Years of construction · Common Era on the upper scale, Hijri on the lower

ConstructionDate uncertain (range)Can be entered

The word

In Arabic, turba (تُربة) carries two related senses: Lane’s Arabic–English Lexicon glosses it as ‘a portion of dust or earth’, and also as a man’s grave or ‘a cemetery, burial-place’1. The Encyclopaedia of Islam notes that this word for earth came to mean a tomb or mausoleum in Islamic funerary architecture, and that when it stands alone in a funerary inscription it suggests a mausoleum2,3.

After qubba (‘dome’) had largely displaced it, the word was popularised again by the Turks in the form türbe3. Other names for such buildings, among them kümbet, maqam, mashhad, buq‘a, darih, qubba and rawda, were often used interchangeably with it5. English borrowed the word from Turkish as turbeh, the name of this site, which Merriam-Webster defines as a Muslim tomb or mausoleum, from Turkish türbe and ultimately Arabic turbah4.

  1. Lane’s Lexicon online (laneslexicon.com): E. W. Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon (1863–93), root ت ر ب, entry تُرْبَةٌ
  2. Brill, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition: T. Leisten, ‘Turba’, doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1259
  3. Brill, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms: ‘turba’ (T. türbe)
  4. Merriam-Webster: ‘turbeh’ (noun; from Turkish türbe, from Arabic turbah)
  5. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı): ‘TÜRBE’
  6. Brill, Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition (1913–1936): ‘Ḳubba’
  7. Archnet (MIT / Aga Khan Trust for Culture): ‘Qubbat al-Sulaybiyya’, Samarra, site record
  8. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Historic Centre of Bukhara (property 602): description and Statement of Outstanding Universal Value
  9. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı): ‘DEFİN’ (burial; jurists’ views on building over graves)
  10. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı): ‘KABİR’ (grave; differing juristic views on domes and türbes over graves)