The Historic Cities Programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has initiated repairs on the complex since 2005.

The Mongols were a central Asian ethnographic group, thus the Timurids artistic styles were influenced by their Asiatic traditions.

The mausoleum was built for Abd Allah Ansari resting place and the public wished to be buried beside him because they venerated the patron saint.

The graveyard was one of the richest in the east of Herat, and the tombs of a varied populace were embellished with stones of every color and every size.

The tombs were designed for princes, dervishes, state officials, soldiers, poets, and others who held a high status in society.

Trees surmount the tomb of Abdullah Ansari and north from it stands a tall marble column and headstone erected in his honor.

[3] The architect Qavam al-Din Shirazi had traveled from his hometown of Shiraz to the northern parts of Iran.

By the time he was commissioned by Shah Rukh to build the shrine, he had developed his own architectural style that integrated Iranian, Turanian, and his own personal stylistic elements.

This is likely due to the rushed nature of construction, which only took around three years despite the fact that decoration itself is usually completed in the same length of time, suggesting that Qavam al-Din designed the ornamentation himself, which was then executed by a team of mosaicists.

The brickwork is glazed turquoise and black in a banai style and laid in a chevron pattern.

Two inscriptions have been left on the facade: one by calligrapher Muhyi b. Muhammad b. Husayn dated 1014 A.D., and a lengthy vaqf-namah.

Each wall has a door: the north to the masjid, the south to the Jamaat Khana, and the east west to the courtyard.

Scenes of Madinah, Mecca, and, puzzlingly, palaces, kiosks and trays of food are painted above the arches.

Six alcoves, on either side of the middle three sections, open up to the entrance facade on the west and the courtyard on the east.

The dado is composed of buff hexagonal tiles and blue and black mosaic faience, broken up by narrow borders of four pointed stars.

[3] The inscriptions that wrap around the buildings vary in style and are accompanied by gold and lapis lazuli mosaics.

[6] Muqarnas, also described as stalactite composition, are a decorative tool used to give the appearance of a circular architecture in a square room.

This conch-like maquarna can only be seen a handful of other monuments: the Mausoleum of Baysunghur, the Madrasah of Khargird, the Masjid-i Mawlana, and the Shah-i Zindah.