Analysis of architectural structure and urban design (mosque - shrine) of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa in Timurid period of Iran in Balkh, Afghanistan

The shrines are monument of the deceased person which are constructed for respecting and honoring the memory of the deceased person and rely on spiritual concepts such as eternality, death etc. In this paper, attempt has been made to analyze architectural structure of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa in Balkh, Afghanistan which was part of Iran in the Timurids period and Khorasan (one province in Iran) region. This period is one of the most important periods for application of the shrine monuments. This shrine is one of the most important shrines in the Timurids period and probably is one of the known historical monuments of Balkh and also plays role of mosque which is called a kind of shrine mosque. Research method of this paper is historical documentary and its analysis method is descriptive –analytical. So, all types of decorations and architectural physical elements of this monument are studied and results from magnificence are given.