Astana-Baba
# Astana-Baba

Astana-Baba (Russian: Астана-Баба) is a village in the Kerki District of the Lebap Province of Turkmenistan. It is about 12 km northwest of Kerki.

## Etymology

Astana, in Farsi, means mausoleum.

## History

The site was first studied by Russian orientalist Boris Litvinov in the fall of 1899. It was further studied by Galina Pugachenkova and Mikhail Masson.

## Sites

### Alamberdar Mausoleum

Some historians believe the structure to have been commissioned by Mahmud of Ghazni in memory of his ally (and Samanid ruler) Isma'il Muntasir; others attribute Muntasir himself. A square structure, three of its walls have blind niches; the brickwork is intensely decorative — Paul Brummell noted it to be among the finest examples of 11th c. Turkmen architecture. That the mausoleum did not become a shrine indicates that no saint was buried; it might have been a person from the secular spheres or none at all. In Turkmen tradition, an eponymous commander of Ali was buried at the site.

### Astana Baba Mausoleum

The complex — primarily, a set of four domed rooms — has been progressively expanded over the centuries. The entrance portal leads into a hall, before two successive pairs of domed rooms: the first pair is believed to be the oldest constructions, and contain a tomb and mosque. Beyond, comes the second pair constructed c. 19th century, containing two tombs each and known as the Kizlyar-Bibi Mausoleum. Identities of all the buried people remain unknown; local tradition asserts Ibn Ali Nur, a local ruler of Balkh, to have constructed the mausoleum for his daughter.

