Uzbekistan (Bukhara)

The Terracotta Brickwork and Arcade Frienza of the Samanid Mausoleum (Late 9th to Early 10th Century)

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Built during the Samanid Period (Islamic Golden Age of Central Asia), specifically constructed between circa 892 and 943 AD (commissioned by Isma'il Samani for his father, Ahmed, and later serving as the dynastic mausoleum).

Architecturally, it serves as a funerary monument and dynastic shrine designed to symbolize eternity, cosmic order, and celestial transit, utilizing shadow-play instead of colored tiles to ornament the sacred enclosure.