Madrasa x Square in Central Asia

My dissertation examines how the madrasa, as both an architectural and institutional form, rose to become the anchor of major public squares in early modern Central Asia. Focusing on Samarkand’s Registan between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, it traces how successive madrasas redefined the square’s spatial, visual, and ceremonial order. Through architectural analysis, endowment records, and drawings, the study situates the Registan within broader Eurasian and Islamic architectural traditions, revealing the madrasa’s role in articulating and shaping power, learning, and urban form.