The Masjid Sabz or Green Mosque is a mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

 in the city of Balkh

Balkh

Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...

, in northern Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. It is believed to be have been commissioned by the then ruler of the Eastern Timurid

Timurid

Timurid may refer to:* Timur , also known as Tamerlane in English, a fourteenth-century conqueror of Western, South and Central Asia, founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty in Central Asia...

 Empire, Shah Rukh, or by his wife Goharshad

Goharshad

Goharshād was a wife of Shāh Rukh, the emperor of the Timurid Dynasty of Herāt. She was the daughter of Giāth ud-Din Tarkhān, an important and influential noble during Tīmur's reign...

.

History

After Tamerlane's death in 1405, his empire fell apart with various tribes and warlords competing for dominance. The Black Sheep Turkmen destroyed the western empire in 1410 when they captured Baghdad, but in Persia and Transoxiana Shāhrukh was able to secure effective control from about 1409. His empire controlled the main trade routes between East and West, including the legendary Silk Road, and became immensely wealthy as a result. His wife, Gowhar Shād, funded the construction of many outstanding mosques and schools throughout khorasan (western Afghanistan and eastern Persia) the most secure portions of the empire. It was during these times of stability that many architectural masterpiece's where constructed. In the 1640's Mughal Prince Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...

 was stationed in the Balkh Province due to Uzbek incursions. Shah Jahan has been known in the region to have had made adjustments to many of the local mosques and borrowing ideas for his own buildings that he built throughout his reign, also aspects of this building are a precursor to the famous Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...

, as the similarities can be seen.

Architecture

The main building displays a typical Timurid architectural style. However, today much of the building itself has suffered heavy from neglect and damage by waring factions during the soviet and afghan civil wars. The main courtyard has been well preserved allowing people to pray in the open spaces. To the back of the building however little care has been given to the paving and gardens.
The minaret has either collapsed due to the age of the building or could have been the act of aggression during wartime by the communists. Much of the tile work has disappeared and the wooden doors are in dire need of repair.