About this atlas
Monumental tombs came relatively late to Islamic architecture: Archnet records that when the mother of the Abbasid caliph al-Muntasir built the Qubbat al-Sulaybiyya at Samarra for him in 862, such a building tradition was previously unknown in Islam7. The form then spread, and qubba, ‘dome’, became the common name across the Muslim world for a domed tomb, from small local tombs to great mausoleums6. UNESCO calls the tenth-century tomb of Ismail Samani in Bukhara the best surviving example of tenth-century architecture in the whole Muslim world8.
Building over graves has long been debated by Muslim jurists: many held that structures, domes or tomb buildings over a grave were disliked (makruh) or forbidden (haram), citing hadith, while some reported that earlier scholars allowed domes over the graves of eminent scholars and shaykhs9,10. Mindful of this debate, the site presents these buildings purely as architecture and history, through the dynasties, patrons and craftsmen who made them, and not as places of devotion.
What it is
Turbeh is a small, independent guide to the architecture of Islamic mausoleums. Each place is presented as a catalogue entry: a short, sourced history, the building in 3D and, where possible, its interior.
How the facts are checked
Every factual sentence carries a numbered citation. We prefer, in this order: UNESCO World Heritage documentation; national heritage authorities; scholarly references such as Encyclopaedia Iranica, Archnet, Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Encyclopaedia of Islam. Wikipedia is used only to find those sources.
Hijri (AH) years are calculated from the Common Era years with the tabular Islamic calendar, so a year range can differ by one at the turn of a year.
How to use the atlas
The globe on the home page turns when you drag it, and when left alone it visits the places in order of construction; the button under it pauses that tour. Point at a dot (or tap it) to see its name, and click to open the place.
Above the plates you can show one region, only the places you can go inside, or search by name in English or Arabic; press / to jump to the search box. On a place page, open a 3D model or a 360° photograph in the viewing room, point at a footnote number to see its source, and use the ← and → keys to move between plates. The round button in the header switches between the light and dark themes.
The 3D models and photographs
We do not make the 3D models or 360° photographs. The models come from heritage-scanning teams and independent artists on Sketchfab and are shown in Sketchfab’s own viewer. The 360° photographs come from Google Maps contributors and from Google Street View (shown with Google’s own embed, which names the photographer), or from Wikimedia Commons. Every page credits the creator and licence.
Sources
- Lane’s Lexicon online (laneslexicon.com): E. W. Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon (1863–93), root ت ر ب, entry تُرْبَةٌ
- Brill, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition: T. Leisten, ‘Turba’, doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1259
- Brill, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms: ‘turba’ (T. türbe)
- Merriam-Webster: ‘turbeh’ (noun; from Turkish türbe, from Arabic turbah)
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı): ‘TÜRBE’
- Brill, Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition (1913–1936): ‘Ḳubba’
- Archnet (MIT / Aga Khan Trust for Culture): ‘Qubbat al-Sulaybiyya’, Samarra, site record
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Historic Centre of Bukhara (property 602): description and Statement of Outstanding Universal Value
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı): ‘DEFİN’ (burial; jurists’ views on building over graves)
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı): ‘KABİR’ (grave; differing juristic views on domes and türbes over graves)