Ribat-i Malik
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Name
144767_sv.jpg
Size
773.61 KB
Format
JPEG
Checksum (MD5)
78018345b8d23636f544c4420e7fb01a
Creator(s)
Uzbek, Islamic
Time period
creation date: 1078-1079
Location
Site: near Karmana (Uzbekistan)
Cultural context
Uzbek
Islamic
Description
The Ribat-i Malik caravanserai is an inn house, built by Qaghan ruler Abu'l Hasan Shams al-Mulk Nasr (1068 - 80) towards the end of the eleventh century, between the trade centres of Samarkand and Bukhara. Like the typical Seljuk caravanserai built every 30 kilometres along the Silk Road, the Ribat-i Malik consists of lodging rooms, storerooms, stables, and guard quarters arranged around internal courtyards. However, this caravanserai's fortified walls, defensive towers, monumental interior halls and elaborate portals resemble early Abbasid palaces rather than the common highway stopover. This military-palatial architecture justifies the name ribat or rabat, (Arabic "castle" or "fortress"). The Ribat-i Malik's ruins today stand near the village of Kermine or Nawoiy in Uzbekistan's Navoi province.
The Ribat-i Malik is a square, walled enclosure consisting of four court quadrants. These are symmetrically aligned along a primary axis, defined by the single southern entranceway to the complex. A domed space precedes the imposing entrance portal, which then leads to an entrance forecourt. Enclosed courtyards that housed stables and guardrooms flank either side of this forecourt. Further along the axis, a relatively modest portal leads to a multiple domed space, forming the complex's northern end. Smaller, rectangular courts housing ancillary functions and an elaborate set of apartments flank this domed hall. This complex arrangement of private residential functions in a highway inn suggests functions beyond the essential needs of tradesmen.
Source: Archnet
The Ribat-i Malik is a square, walled enclosure consisting of four court quadrants. These are symmetrically aligned along a primary axis, defined by the single southern entranceway to the complex. A domed space precedes the imposing entrance portal, which then leads to an entrance forecourt. Enclosed courtyards that housed stables and guardrooms flank either side of this forecourt. Further along the axis, a relatively modest portal leads to a multiple domed space, forming the complex's northern end. Smaller, rectangular courts housing ancillary functions and an elaborate set of apartments flank this domed hall. This complex arrangement of private residential functions in a highway inn suggests functions beyond the essential needs of tradesmen.
Source: Archnet
exterior, portal and right portion of wall, 2009
Work type
Fort
Caravanserai
Khan
Medium
brick
Type
Image
Rights
(c) Igor Demchenko 2009
Access rights
All rights reserved
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