Mirali Mausoleum
Location: Ashaghy Veysalli, Fuzuli
Condition Assessment
Status: Unchanged
Located in the village of Ashaghy Veysalli (Fuzuli district), Mirali Mausoleum is on the list of heritage sites of the Republic of Azerbaijan (inventory No. 215) as a 14 th century monument. 1,2,3,4
In folklore, it is known as the Mirali (Mir Ali) Mausoleum. A conical roof with carefully fitted stone slabs serves as a covering for the spherical dome of the mausoleum. The inner space consists of a burial vault and an upper chamber (for the plan of the mausoleum see Supplementary Images). A characteristic feature of the monument is the internal stepped passage from the upper chamber to the burial vault. A dome covers the square lower room. The deep niches located on the sides of the central square give the vault a cruciform shape. Under the window there is a small flat niche, apparently serving as a mihrab. In the absence of inscriptions, the mausoleum is dated on stylistic grounds to the end of the 13 th or beginning of the 14 th century. 5
Comparison of KH-9 Hexagon satellite imagery dated July 1980 6 with satellite imagery captured in October 2020 7 shows that the overall structure and shape of the mausoleum is unchanged. Numerous images and videos post-dating the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War also confirm that the monument is well-preserved. But recent photographic evidence shows that there is minor damage in the eastern part of the monument that appears to have resulted from its position on the line of contact during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Drag the swipe tool right to see the mausoleum in July 1980 6 ; drag left to see the mausoleum in October 2020. 7
Geolocation
The mausoleum is marked on a 1:50,000 scale topographic map of 1973. 8
The mausoleum on a 1:50K scale map of 1973. 8
Supplementary Images
References
2 Bretanitski L., Salamzadə Ə., Azərbaycan memarlığı abidələri. AzSSR EA, Memarlıq İn-tu. Bakı: Elm, 1951.
3 Архитектура Азербайджана: эпоха Низами. [отв. ред. С. А. Дадашев, М. А. Усейнов]. Москва: Баку: Государственное архитектурное издательство, 1947.
4 Усейнов М., Бретаницкий Л., Саламзаде А., История архитектуры Азербайджана. Акад. наук АзССР. Ин-т архитектуры и искусства. Москва: Госстройиздат, 1963. p. 146.
5 Усейнов М., Бретаницкий Л., Саламзаде А., История архитектуры Азербайджана. Акад. наук АзССР. Ин-т архитектуры и искусства. Москва: Госстройиздат, 1963. p. 148.
6 KH-9 Hexagon, D3C1216-100138A003, July 3, 1980.
7 Google Earth and Maxar Technologies, October 2, 2020.
8 1:50K scale topographic map of the General Staff of the Soviet Army (Sheet J-38-11-V, 1973).
