The burial vault of 'Ala' al-Mulk the First (a «counter-caliph» - see below for information about him) who bore the titles Sadat-i buzurg and Sultan-i Sadat was the first major mausoleum of the complex (built in the 30s of the 13th century). The necropolis was apparently named from the last title.
At the same time, residents of Old Termez smashed by the Mongols started to resettle in this sacred place. In the sources dated from that time and in the legends on local coins, New Termez was called Madinat ar-ridjal (City of [Learned ] Scholars).
The Sultan Sadat complex is extended 70 m along the west-east axis. The oldest burial vault of 'Ala' al-Mulk the First consists of two rooms covered by domes and joined by the monumental vaulted vestibule (aiwan) on the (western) backside of which there is a door aperture. Similar apertures are open to the building of the mausoleum ( north ) and the mosque (south). At a later time, the hall of the mosque became a burial place.
Throughout the 16th-17th centures, considerable construction works were conducted at the complex, the right and left (northern and southern) wings were added to the building. Some of the parts of the ancient décor were coated by a new one and the inscription on the mausoleum of 'Ala al-Mulk the First was partially restored (see below).
You can read more about the archaeological monuments of the Surkhandarya region in the book-album “Surkhandarya” series “Architectural epigraphy of Uzbekistan”.
What is the Sultan Sadat complex famous for?
Sultan Sadat (Arabic: Sultan as-sadat – The Sultan of Sayyids), a family burial vault of the Sayyids of Termiz/Termez (10th-17th centuries) is situated 3 km to the north-east of the modern-day Termez, on the right bank of the Surkhandarya river.