Shakhrisabz, better known by its ancient name - Kesh, was founded during archaeological excavations before the Muslim Middle Ages, and then rose and fell several times. This city belonged to the family of Amir Temur. No wonder this place is called Shakhrisabz: the city is really located on a green, juicy, heavenly land. Previously, his name was Kesh (Kash). During the Islamic period, it was known as a center of science with the honorary status of "Kubbatul-ilm wa-l-adab", i.e. "Dome of Science and Culture". The Spanish ambassadors who arrived at the place where the umbilical blood of Master Amir Temur was shed (August 1404) describe it as a "Big City". The fortress walls and gates were built by order of Amir Temur and under his personal leadership. The length of the wall was about 5 kilometers, and the tardy was a rectangular fortress measuring 770 x 1730 meters. The Spanish ambassadors carefully examined the buildings associated with the creative activity of Amir Temur. The buildings of that time have partially lost their original appearance and have come down to us in ruins, some of them were completely destroyed. That is why the real information of Clavijo, who saw it with his own eyes, is of particular value for the history and practice of modern architecture.

    Among the architectural monuments built in Shakhrisabz, Aksaroi is of particular importance. Specific information about the construction of Oxaroy can be found in historical sources. According to the information given by Hofizi Abru in "Geography", the construction of the fortress wall began in 780 AH (1378 AD) and was completed in one year. The rectangular wall had gates on all four sides. Hafiz Abru writes in his work:

    “It is called Shakhrisabz, its land is blue (lawn) most of the year, especially in spring, its yard, roof and streets are green. There was an ancient city in Kesh, but it was destroyed. Hazrat Amir Sahibkiran, may the Lord shine with his glory, restored his shakhrband in the seven hundred and eightieth year (1378-1379) and completed it in the same year. Three years later, when he conquered the city of Herat, he destroyed the city wall of Herat and sent on it the iron gates to Movarounnahr, where they were put in place of the gates of the city of Kesh. The state of Sahibkiran (Amir Temur) became very prosperous in Ayumi (city of Kesh) where they built stone buildings. Including Dor-us-Saodat, a magnificent building; He endowed him with rich lands, villages and administrative estates. For His Majesty himself they built a high palace, and it is called Aksara, this building was built of stone; its porch is visible from several farsangs (distance). In addition to them, in the city and its environs, belonging to the city of Kesh, madrasahs, houses, works, pools were built.

    According to other information, when Amir Temur took Herat, the iron gates of the city were installed with reference to Shakhrisabz. The two main roads starting from the gate intersected in the center. Roadside shops were growing towards the center, and the main market was in the center. In the middle of the market, probably, there was Chorsu with a dome, and Chorsu, which has survived to this day, was built much later and is located on the outskirts of the center. Aksaray, the government palace of Amir Temur, was built in the southwest of Hisar, and opposite it are the quarters of the nobility and priests. The southwestern part of the city consisted of quarters of artisans and townspeople. And the works around Hisar are gardens along the canals, adjacent to vineyards, and this pleasing greenery shows that the second name of Kesh - Shakhrisabz - was not given in vain. In "Zafarnom" Nizamiddin Shami there is information about the construction of "Aksaroy":

    “Mr. Saray Mulk, nobles, and Amirzad Shahrukh (youngest son of Amir Sahibkiran) had the honor to kiss each other and were happy to see each other's kinship. (His Highness) stayed in Aksaroy of the Kesh region for several days, celebrated weddings, spent the day in joy and happiness. A picturesque plot is extremely rare in tile coatings. On the pediments of Temur's palace in Shakhrisabz, Aksaroy, there are two images of a lion and a groom, which is a purely symbolic theme. In addition to tiles, stone carving, usually marble, was also used in the decoration of Peshtok.

    Sharafuddin Ali Yazdi writes in his Zafarname:

    "It was early spring. At the same time, the one who makes (nature) bloom with his strength, the architect and gardener, who began to decorate the city, made palaces from rose bushes, lifted the tips of lavender branches and decorated them with turquoise leaves. ... Sohibkiran installed here his throne with the determination to rest in the pleasant and relaxing land of Kesh, whose flowers are full of musk and whose water tastes like roses.Then he ordered the construction of the fortress of Shakhrisabz and divided (the work) between the emirs and the people of Lashkar....They laid the foundation of the fortress at an auspicious hour A palace was built in the city by decree, which was strictly observed.In the year of Sichen (monkey in the ancient Turkic language), in the year 781 (March 1380 AD), he built a fortress in the city and in a hurry completed her. And I was in the city of Andak, and Engineer Gardun traveled the world at such a young age, and never saw such a beautiful city and dream anywhere."

    The building was so tall and extraordinarily attractive that even Gardun, the old engineer, had never seen such a beautiful building, despite having traveled the world for so many years. The name of the palace that rose from the earth to the sky was called Aksara. The construction of the magnificent Aksaroy complex, considered an architectural marvel, began in 1380, and in the fall of 1404, finishing work continued in this legendary and incomparable palace. The buildings of Aksaroy, the description of which is an epic in languages, were destroyed over time. Therefore, the impressions, carefully recorded by the Spanish ambassador Ruy González de Clavijo, remain a document of particular importance for the history of architecture:

    “The entrance to the palace is very long and the arch is very high. Here, to the right and left of the entrance, there are brick arches trimmed with tiles. Inside these arcades there are small rooms without doors and tiled areas. Passing through the gate, another is visible, and behind it is a large courtyard paved with white slabs, surrounded by sumptuously decorated porches, and in the middle of the courtyard there is a large pool. The width of the yard is about three hundred paces.

    Behind Peshtok, at the head end of a wide rectangular courtyard, there was a porch with two odd arches. Meetings of the servants of the gallery and the cabinet took place in large rooms with domes. Between the verandas there were a number of small double rooms. The observation room occupied the main place in the owner's palace and was distinguished by luxury and luxury. At the top of a beautiful, majestic pediment is a statue of Amir Temur, consisting of three kingdoms, in the form of a Lion and the Sun.

    The ambassador writes with admiration of the richly decorated interiors of the palace: “Through this door we enter the gallery: the walls are decorated with gold and blue tiles, the ceiling is completely gilded. From here, the ambassadors were taken to the upper floor. Since all sides of the Khonaka are gilded, it is enough to tell about one of them in detail.

    The ruins of two columns of the main façade have been preserved as evidence of the incomparable glory of Aksaray in the past. It attracts attention with a pediment arch 22 meters wide, tower-like towers on both sides and its dahana. The upper part of Peshtok has not been preserved. Tiled decorations depicting three circles - the Sun and the Lion - were extremely important there.

    Zahiriddin Babur, who fell in love with Peshtok, said: “There is little reverence in this world. He said, "This is more than Kisro's death." Indeed, there has never been such a majestic building in the architecture of Central Asia. Oksaroy remains a model of inexhaustible talent and architectural search as the highest pinnacle of creativity of national architects in the architecture of Central Asia.

    The images of residential architecture show that the houses of wealthy households are divided into male and female parts. The image of the palaces is distinguished by the scale of construction and the luxury of decoration. Palaces were not only the place where members of the ruling family or the nobility lived, but also the venue for ceremonial receptions. With his luxury, he reflected the position of the ruler. All this presented architects with completely different tasks, even for the houses of the rich, compared to the construction of ordinary houses.

    Palaces were also of two types. The first is mainly intended for administrative and political tasks and is built inside a fortress or wall. The second were residences outside the city, surrounded by gardens. Solemn receptions were also held here, but often simple parties were also held, where the ruler enjoyed the joys of life in his spare time.

    Temur built the first palace in Shakhrisabz and became famous as Aksaroy. Briefly describing his official appointment in historical sources, Temurbek built a magnificent building in Kesh, a huge porch for meetings of his office, a place for the meeting of the cabinet of beks with the cabinet of Tajibeks. He writes that he built two small porches on the left side, and on one side of the building he left smaller shelves for entrants. There are legends about the history of construction of Aksaroy among the people. One of them tells the story of the architect who built the Peshtog Dome. Despite the fact that Timur hurried him, the owner disappeared one day, hanging a long chain on the porch. Temur got angry, but after searching he could not find the master, and other masters did not dare to take on this difficult task. Two years later, the master himself suddenly appeared before Temur, angry, and said: “Look, Olampanokh: when I left, the end of the chain touched my head, and now it has fallen below my shoulders. The foundation of Peshtak is kkan, and now I can restore the dome, otherwise it would have cracked and then collapsed.” Temur changed his anger to grace, reached the end of construction, and the master was rewarded. It should be noted that this is a legend and there is no historical basis under it, that is, information about this event is not found in any work of that period.

    Over time, other parts of the palace were destroyed, except for the foundation of the roof. In some works, facts are given that in the 16th century the ruler of Bukhara, Abdulla Khan II, ordered the palace to be demolished in order to erase Temur's deeds from the memory of the people. In our opinion, there is some uncertainty in these views. In our opinion, Abdullah Khan II did this not in order to erase the deeds of Amir Temur from the memory of the people, but because he did not want anyone else to fall into the same position. Because Aksaray is very beautiful, and Abdulla Khan, who is familiar with beauty, will be captured by the enemy. However, the fact is that the part connecting the two parts of Aksaroy is broken. Later, excavations carried out at the rear of the fort revealed the remains of wall decoration, part of the courtyard with brickwork and an octagonal pit for goldfish.

    In conclusion, we can say that the city of Shakhrisabz (Kesh) is an ancient and modern city that occupies a special place not only in Central Asia, but also in human civilization. The period of Amir Temur and the Timurids occupies a special place in the historical development of this city.

Khazratkul Abruev,

Doctoral student of Samarkand State University.