Building Pairing Features on Herat Street Axis (Comparative Study of Pairing Samples on Herat Street and Transoxiana Architecture Collections in Timurid Era)

The paired form of the two buildings against each other and the importance of decorating the entrances was a prominent feature of Timurid architecture. This importance to decorated entrances and pairing them in the architectural complexes of the Transoxiana area has been repeated over and over, especially in two cities of “Samarkand” and “Sabz”. By contrast, in the city of Herat, the third capital of the Timurids, due to numerous demolitions, there is little physical documents of architectural works. Although historical documents cited examples of construction on paired form on this axis, it is difficult to draw a clear outline of its features on the Khyaban-e Herat axis. In this paper, while examining the pairing characteristics in important examples of Timurid architecture in the Transoxiana region, and then, by analyzing historical sources and documents, the pairing characteristics of the Khyaban-e Herat buildings are identified and compared with similar ones in Transoxiana. The information of this article has been collected by library methods, visual observation and comparison of the findings and the research have been done by the comparative-analytical method. The results of this study show that Khyaban-e Herat falls into the category of burial axis in the Timurid architecture collection, but in compared with the features of the pre-existing burial axial set in this period, it has unique characteristics. The results of this study show that Khyaban-e Herat falls into the category of burial axis in the Timurid architecture collection, but in compared with the features of the pre-existing burial axial set in this period, it has unique characteristics. Except for the tomb, there was various other function in Khyaban-Herat, besides, several city complexes had been operating along the Khyaban axis. Pairing buildings along this axis was mainly done on both sides of the road, not around an enclosure. That is these cases that make Khyaban-e Herat an urban community plan that was gradually being formed.
Keywords: Pairing Form, Timurid, Transoxiana, Herat, Herat Street.
 
Introduction
Construction of entrances porches is a feature of Timurid architecture. Paying attention to the porch and its ornamentation stems from Timurids’ overwhelming interest in facade decorations. Concurrent with the construction of the entrances to the buildings, the pairing of two buildings facing each other along one axis or in the middle of a field is another feature of this era’s architecture. This pairing, which consisted of two tall porch of buildings facing each other, in Timurid Architecture was called the “Cosh”. Timurid architectural works in metropolitan cities in Transoxiana such as Samarkand, Shahr-e-Sabz and Bukhara can fully be showing the different modes of building pairing implemented in different complex and important urban axes. But compared to these examples, in Herat city, their important and prominent capital in the Khorasan region, there are very few documents of this manner. This research seeks to investigate the pairing of two buildings facing each other in the Transoxiana region to determine its features. It also relies on the analysis of historical documents, seeks to find how the buildings were built, and the pairings along the Khyaban-e Herat axis, and after that, with their analysis, matched these features with the characteristics of the Transoxiana building. The data of this study were collected through documentary methods, visual observation and comparison of the findings And then, with the use of adaptive study, comparing the similarities and differences of the building pairing in the two regions of Transoxiana and Herat Street, can categorize and compare them. The questions raised in this study are as follows: How is the feature of buildings facing each other in the Timurid architectural complexes in Transoxiana and how can they be categorized? Moreover, what are the features of the building’s Establishment system and the pairing patterns along the Herat Street axis during the Timurid era? Furthermore, what aspects of buildings facing each other in the Herat Street axis have in common with the buildings facing each other in the Transoxiana architectural complexes?
 
Identified Traces
Firstly, the architectural complexes and burial axes of the Timurid era in Transoxiana should be examined and categorized in terms of construction paired form. Which include: Foulad Gate Complex: Inside the city of Samarkand is being built in a confined space, and the most prominent pairing in it is between a mosque and a school. Gur-e Mir: In this complex, the school building and the Khaneghah are located on two opposite sides of the courtyard.  Putting up the school and Khaneghah facing one another is one of the most used in Timurid times. Rigestan Complex: in this complex is also the main focus of the project between the school building and the Khaneghah. Shah-e Zende Complex: In this complex, only the four tombs were constructed with the pair form during the Timurid period. Ruh Abad: Near Gur-e Mir, two old tombs are on either side of a path. Dar al-Siade and Dar al-Talave: this complex consists of a pre-designed burial Street, on either side of which the Timurids tombs were located.  Paxt Abad Cemetery: Located in Farqaneh, the cemetery is similar to the Dar al-Siade and Shah-e Zende complexes.
Secondly, the survey of Pairing features in Khyaban-e Herat complexes. In this axis, based on historical documents, can imagine the pairing of five series of Timurid-era buildings. The pairing construction were done in these buildings, respectively: Firuzshah School and khaneghah. Guharshad School and porch of sa’d Hazireh. Hosseyn Mirza School and khaneghah. Hazireh Bibi Moheb and Hazireh Ahmad Choganchi. Tomb of Seyed Ashraf and school of Abu Saeed.
These pairing buildings, like other Timurid-era burial axes, have not been built up with specific planning along the way and the sponsors have used this method wherever they have the space to build two buildings opposite each other.
 
Conclusion
Pairing the facade of the building in front of each other in Timurid architecture was seen as an aesthetic principle in urban body design and collection that the architects of this era called the cosh. The pairing form in Timurid architecture was constructed in two distinct categories of architectural complexes. The first category was the religious service complexes located in the heart of the cities, the second category is the burial axes or cemeteries which the tombs situated on both sides of the route, mostly outside the city. The Khyaban-e Herat axis is a different complex than the others, compared to the urban complexes and burial axes. Although the Khyaban-e Herat axis, like other axes along with a historic cemetery, has been progressively constructed without prior design, at the heart of the site are several urban complexes where we can see the design and layout of a plan site. Urban complexes along Khyaban-e Herat, unlike urban complexes in Transoxiana, are not located around a quadrilateral area, they are designed on both sides of the street. These buildings usually have School and Khaneghah on either side of the street, opposite each other, and other buildings are located around these two buildings. In conclusion, these things that make Herat Street as the largest city complex of the Timurid era.