The Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi () is a mausoleum in the city of Turkestan, in southern Kazakhstan. The structure was commissioned in 1389 by Timur, who ruled the area as part of the expansive Timurid Empire, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (1093–1166). However, construction was halted with the death of Timur in 1405. an ancient centre of caravan trade known earlier as Khazret and later as Yasi, in the southern part of Kazakhstan. The structure is within the vicinity of a historic citadel, which is now an archaeological site. which sustained the diffusion of Islam in the area despite the contemporary onslaught of the Mongol invasion.

New mausoleum

thumb|262px|A view of the mausoleum, ca. 1879.

The town of Yasi was largely spared during the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia in the 13th century. In Yasi, he put his attention to the construction of a larger mausoleum to house Yasawi's remains, with the intention of glorifying Islam, promoting its further dissemination, and improving the governance of the immediate areas. Tradition holds that Timur himself participated in the design of the structure, The khans (Turkic for "ruler") sought to strengthen the political and religious importance of Turkestan to unify the nomadic tribes within the young state. Political struggles and the shift in overland trade in favor of maritime routes soon led to the town's decline, before it finally passed on to the Russian Empire in 1864. Beginning in 1922, several commissions took part in the technical investigation of the building. The section is covered by the largest extant brick dome in Central Asia, also measuring 18.2 m (59.7 ft) in diameter. The dome is created by employing a squinch, or corner bracketing, that allows for the transition from a square, octagonal or 16-sided base to a dome top.

  • Banna’i technique: the "builder's technique," consists of revetment of glazed bricks set within unglazed ones to form geometric patterns
  • Haftrangi: a technique that permits the creation of multi-colored patterns on the same tile before firing without letting the colors mix
  • Faience: a patterned arrangement of closely fitted small pieces of tiles which have surface glaze of different colors

The employment of tiles and muqarnas bear strong influence from Iran, where many of Timur's architects were from.

thumb|180px|The interior view of the Mausoleum of [[Ahmad Yasavi.]]

The landmark architectural and artistic solutions realized in the erection of the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi were immediately utilized in other building endeavors, such as contemporary works in Samarkand, Herat, Meshed, Khargird, Tayabad, Baku and Tabriz. it displays Timur's concern for monumental effect and theatrical arrangement

  • Gur-i-Amir Mausoleum: the burial place of Timur; it contains a double shell dome for the achievement of a vertical effect
  • Shah-i Zinda Complex: a funerary complex presenting the pinnacle of every tile technique known to the Timurids
  • Registan: considered the pinnacle of Timurid architecture; which culminated in the monuments of Samarkand, following the same international recognition for the sites of Samarkand, Humayun's Tomb and Taj Mahal.

Religious and cultural importance

The larger mausoleum which Timurid ordered further enhanced the shrine's religious importance. During the Kazakh Khanate, prominent personalities chose to be buried within the immediate vicinity of the monument.

thumb|180px|The Mausoleum depicted on a [[List of commemorative coins of Russia (1992)|1992 Russian 5 ruble coin.]]

Despite the public closure of the monument during the Soviet era, the mausoleum has continued to draw pilgrims once the order was lifted. Up to contemporary times, the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi has remained an object of pilgrimage for Kazakh Muslims. Hence, the town of Turkestan became the second Mecca for the Muslims of Central Asia.