Born named Mohammed Taragai in 1394, Temur recognised his grandson’s talent and had him re-named Ulug Beg – Grand Duke.
When Temur died in 1405, his youngest son, Shahrukh murdered his way to the head of what was then a much smaller Empire. He left his own son, Ulug Beg, to govern Samarkand as he went off to look after Persia.
Ulug Beg was more interested in science, mathematics and astronomy and even 200 years before the invention of the telescope, he was charting the course co-ordinates of the stars and recalculating the stellar year to within seconds of that made by modern day technology.
In 1424, Ulug Beg ordered the construction of an Observatory on an unprecedented scale to ensure accuracy and make Samarkand the star-gazing capital of the 15th century. When his father died in 1447, Ulug Beg was not interested in ruling the Empire and a court of dervishes despatched him on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He didn’t get very far as he was murdered en route. The Observatory was destroyed and left undiscovered until 1908, when a Russian archaeologist unearthed the underground section of a vast meridian arc. This section is embedded into rock in order to reduce seismic distortion and would have continued upwards to be housed in a three story building.
The underground discovery is now covered by a portal and vault at the centre of the Observatory’s foundations. A new museum, commemorating the careers of Temur and his grandson, is now open on the same site.
A huge statue of Ulug Beg welcomes us to the museum site. The façade to the museum building resembles the portal to Ulug Beg’s Madrassah in Registan Square. In the museum itself we see displays showing what the original Observatory building would have looked like.
It seems incredible that such a structure could have been built in the 15th century but once outside I make my way across the courtyard to the entrance of the underground section of the sextant. It’s dark inside but by pressing a button wall lights come on to light up the discovery. It is huge and this is only half of it. The other half would have extended way up above my head. What an incredible feet of engineering.
Ulug Beg Observatory, Samarkand
I am reminded of a museum in Milan to the engineering and anatomical skills and knowledge of Leonardo da Vinci and I would have Ulug Beg right up there with him.
As we come out of the museum, we see a wedding party posing for photos at the foot of Ulug Beg’s statue. Tatiana tells us this is a common occurrence for newly-weds to have their wedding photos taken here and also at the Temur’s statues in Samarkand and Tashkent.
What a fitting way to end our time in Samarkand as we now have to hit the road to get back to Tashkent for our flight home.