Registan

The story of Registan

Registan is the historic public square at the center of Samarkand, and its most striking feature is the ensemble of three madrasas that frame it: the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, the Sherdar Madrasa, and the Tilakari Madrasa. Built in 1417, it became a key public space in the city, and it was once the heart of the Timurid Empire as well as Samarkand’s commercial, educational, and ceremonial center.

The square’s setting made it a stage for authority. People gathered on the Registan to hear royal proclamations, announced with blasts on enormous copper pipes called dzharchis, and it was also used for public executions. Britannica describes the square as a hub of the Timurid Renaissance, and that reputation fits its architectural fame: the place is known for soaring iwans, turquoise domes, intricate mosaic tilework, and geometric ornamentation.

Registan’s buildings reflect different phases of Samarkand’s history. The Ulugh Beg Madrasa belongs to the Timurid period, while the Sherdar Madrasa and the Tilakari Madrasa were built later under the Janid dynasty. The Registan as a whole is made with ceramic tile and brick, materials that help give the square its distinctive surface patterning and texture.

The site also carries layers of older history. Several decades after the Mongol conquest, a Friday mosque was erected here, and this was the same place that had served as the focal point of the Sarbadar uprising of 1365. To the east of the Tilakari Madrasa is the mausoleum of the Shaybanids, and nearby the trading dome Chorsu stands at the crossroads linking Samarkand, Tashkent, Bukhara, and Shahrisabz.

Today, Registan is part of Samarkand – Crossroad of Cultures and is listed as an object of tangible cultural heritage of Uzbekistan. When you visit, the three madrasas are the elements to look for first, because they define the square’s historical identity.