Shahizinda is a complex of mausoleums of prominent Samarkand figures, which includes more than twenty structures dating back to the 9th-14th and 19th centuries.
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The name ("shohi zinda" – living king) is associated with a legend. It states that Qusam ibn Abbas, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), arrived in Samarkand with a small army to spread Islam. During a battle with the polytheists, he was hit by a bullet, but somehow managed to get into a hole (according to some sources, a well) and hide from the eyes of the infidels, where he is said to live to this day.
The old structures of the complex, where only the foundation and tombstones have survived, date back to the 11th–12th centuries. Most of the structures date back to the 14th–15th centuries, and the reconstructions of the 16th–19th centuries had almost no impact on the composition and interior of the complex. The mausoleums were decorated in blue turquoise or covered with dark blue tiles with floral patterns.