Musalla complex

Musalla complex

مصلی مجتمع
Remains of Musalla Complex seen in 2005
Herat Location in Afghanistan
Alternative name	Musallah complex, Gauhar Shad Musallah
Location	Herat, Afghanistan
Region	Herat Province
Coordinates	34°21′33″N 62°11′10″E / 34.35917°N 62.18611°E / 34.35917; 62.18611
Type	Islamic religious complex
Height	55 m (180 ft) minarets
History
Builder	Queen Goharshad of Timurid Empire of Herāt
Founded	1417
Abandoned	1885
Cultures	Islamic
Events	Ruins, razed in 1885
Site notes
Condition	Ruined
Public access	Yes
Architecture
Architectural styles	Timurid
Architectural details	Timurid Mosque, Shah Rukh madressa, mausoleums, 20 minarets

The Musalla complex (Pashto: مصلی مجتمع, romanized: Musalay Mojtame'), also known as the Musallah Complex or the Musalla of Gawhar Shah, is a former Islamic religious complex located in Herat, Afghanistan, containing examples of Timurid architecture. Much of the 15th-century complex is in ruins today, and the buildings that still stand are in need of restoration. The complex ruins consist of the five Musallah Minarets of Herat, the Mir Ali Sher Navai mausoleum, the Gawhar Shad Mausoleum, and the ruins of a large mosque and a madrasa complex.

Construction on the complex began in 1417 under Queen Gawharshad, the wife of Timurid ruler Shah Rukh, and ended in the late 1400s with the building of a madrassa by Sultan Husayn Bayqara. It was seriously damaged in 1885 during the Panjdeh incident, when the British and ruling Emir of Afghanistan demolished most of the complex buildings. Due to earthquakes and war, four fell during the course of the 20th century.