The oldest shrine in Samarkand, the Shah-i-Zinda, is a small complex of burial sites displaying classical Islamic architecture. Not a single collection of sites in the entirety of the Central Asian region and neighboring countries has received such scientific interest nor such rich literary attention. This article is devoted to the analysis of the new book by Dr. Nina Nemtseva about this unique archaeological site. Her monograph under consideration is the result of several decades of archaeological and architectural research carried out by the author and recreates a comprehensive biography of the monument. Shakh-i-Zinda, now for the first time, is presented as a complex, multifaceted phenomenon from the medieval culture of Central Asia shown against the backdrop of the history of the region with its political and socioeconomic changes. N.B. Nemtseva carefully follows the stages of structural development, monumental spatial forms, decor, as well as many other aspects of the spiritual and material culture of Maverannahr and its neighboring historical regions over the past millennium. She identifies several historical, cultural, and chronological stages in the functioning of the Shakh-i-Zinda complex, whose zenith occurred during the era of the Karakhanids (11th-12th centuries) and Timurids (14th-15th centuries), when Samarkand twice acquired the status as the capitals of these empires. These periods were the most active in the ensemble’s construction and associated with the state and socioeconomic stability of the two empires.