Historic Sights of Tashkent

1.1 Ulugh Beg Madrasah (1417–1420)
The Ulugh Beg Madrasah, built during the Timurid Empire era of Timur—Tamerlane, has an imposing aiwan with a lancet-arch pishtaq or portal facing the square. The corners are flanked by high minarets. The mosaic panel over the iwan's entrance arch is decorated by geometrical stylized ornaments. The square courtyard includes a mosque and lecture rooms, and is fringed by the dormitory cells in which students lived. There are deep galleries along the axes. Originally the Ulugh Beg Madrasah was a two-storied building with four domed darskhonas (lecture rooms) at the corners.
The Ulugh Beg Madrasah (Persian: مدرسه الغ بیگ‎) was one of the best clergy universities of the Muslim Orient in the 15th Century CE. Abdul-Rahman Jami, the great Persian poet, scholar, mystic, scientist and philosopher studied at the madrasah. Ulugh Beg himself gave lectures there. During Ulugh Beg's government the madrasah was a centre of secular science.
17th century
1.2 Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636) Sher-Dor Madrassah was built on the Registan Square, Samarkand in 1619-1636. The name is translated as “Madrassah with Lions”. It is the distorted and exaggerated reflection of the Ulugbek Madrassah, which is located just opposite, on the western side of the Registan Square. The difference in age between them is 200 years. Sher-Dor has larger area and sizes, but it yields to its “elder brother” by the quality of finishing works.
On the outside and inside this Madrassah is decorated with bright ornaments of glazed brick, walls and towers are covered with majolica of various patterns of climber flowers and quotations from Koran on Arabic. But some part of finishing is irretrievably lost, though scientists, historians and restorers try to recover the initial appearance of Sher-Dor Madrassah.
By architecture the Sher-Dor Madrassah almost repeats the Ulugbek Madrassah, i.e. it is the square building with inner yard, khudjras (cells) for students and two rooms for classes. The Madrassah was considered as the modern building of that time, because the latest architectural innovations were used at the construction. Moreover such grand building has a set of constructive peculiarities, which make it one of the best architectural monuments in Samarkand.
In addition the Madrassah of Sher-Dor has some features. In the center of the arch above the entrance there is the image of swastika, which from ancient times was the symbol of abundance and fertility. Also there are images of tigers with the sun on their backs on each side of the arch.For the whole period of existence the Madrassah of Sher-Dor has been restored many times.