Ideology in brick and tile: Timurid architecture of the 21st century

Paskaleva, E.G. (2015)

Article / Letter to editor

This study analyses the impact of politics on urban development and, in particular, on Timurid heritage in present-day Uzbekistan. It outlines the problem of landscape manipulation for the advancement of a political ideology. After presenting a brief overview of Tsarist and Soviet restoration practices, the article focuses on the post-Soviet nation-building schemes through public iconography, urban renewal measures and heritage construction. Architectural and epigraphic restorations of Timurid monuments in Samarqand and new constructions in Tashkent provide a valuable illustrative framework. As world heritage sites, the Samarqand monuments are examined both in their historical and current socio-political contexts; the role of UNESCO is also analysed. The study benefits from and contributes to critical heritage studies and urban development as a narrative of power-making and relational space.

• Uzbekistan
• cultural heritage
• Samarqand
• Tashkent
• restoration
• Amir Timur (Tamerlane)

• All authors: Paskaleva, E.G.
• Date: 2015-12-15
• Volume: 34
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 418 - 439
• Annotation number: Special Issue: Reflections on Post-Soviet Development in Central Asia: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective
• DOI: doi:10.1080/02634937.2015.1118207