The Baba Hatem Ziyarat, also known as the Mausoleum of Baba Hatim, the Baba Hatim Tomb, the Baba Hatom Ziarat, and the Tomb of Salar Khalil (Salar Kalil, Salar Chalil Sayyid), is an Islamicmausoleum or ziyarat, located outside Imam Sahib, in the Kunduz Province of Afghanistan, a town bordering Tajikistan. The mausoleum complex was completed during the 11th and 12th centuries.[1][2][3]
The mausoleum was restored between 1978 and 1979 by the Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan and l'Institut Afghan d'Archéologie. Prior to the restorations, the tomb was structurally unstable, with layers of bricks missing from the exterior's upper walls. Excavating the walls to reveal their original height, the restoration team replaced the missing bricks, restoring the exterior's original cubical shape and the four octagonal colonettes embedded at its corners. The dome was reassembled with new mortar, and refinished on the exterior with plaster and pairs of bricks protruding in four concentric rings. The dome's circular and octagonal drums were also reconstructed, and a metal finial placed atop it.
Architecture
The Ziyārat of Bābā Ḥātem is a square-shaped mausoleum topped with a dome, constructed from baked brick and dating back to the late 11th or early 12th century CE. Its architectural layout features a central domed chamber flanked by four projecting niches, forming a symmetrical, cubic structure that reflects the stylistic norms of early Islamic funerary architecture in Central Asia.[3]
The structure’s walls are composed of meticulously arranged fired bricks, serving both as the building’s framework and its decorative surface. According to Archnet, the exterior showcases patterned brickwork that creates geometric designs and subtle reliefs—hallmarks of Seljuk-era aesthetics in the region.[1] This understated ornamentation, combined with the building’s compact proportions, exemplifies the clarity and simplicity typical of early Seljuk funerary architecture.[3]
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