The Momine Khatum Mausoleum is the supreme example of medieval Azerbaijani architecture. Built in the 12th century by the architect Ajami of Nakhchivan, it is a ten-sided tower of brick decorated with intricate geometric patterns and bands of Kufic script in turquoise-glazed tile. It was erected in memory of Momine Khatum, wife of the Atabek Eldegiz ruler of the emirate. Nearby stands the octagonal Yusuf Ibn Kusir tomb, also by Ajami, and a statue of the architect himself. Both monuments predate many of the great Islamic buildings of Iran and Anatolia and are among the most significant medieval structures in the South Caucasus.
Momine Khatum Mausoleum
Masterpiece of 12th-century Azerbaijani brick and tile architecture
| Address | Ajami Street, Nakhchivan City |
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A story
Built in 1186 by the master architect Ajami in memory of Momine Khatum, wife of the Atabek Eldegiz ruler, the mausoleum is one of the earliest and finest examples of the brick-tomb tradition that spread across the medieval Islamic world. Its turquoise-glazed Kufic inscription bands and ten-faceted form influenced tower-tomb architecture from Anatolia to Central Asia.