As "Haroun ol Rashid" died in 773, in "Honaiv ebn Ghohtabe"s Villa", located in "Sanabad" (previous name of "Meshed"), his body was buried in a garden attached to the villa and a tomb (building) was built upon his grave. Ten years later, in 783, "Ali ebn Mousa Reza" was buried in the West corner of Haroun's Tomb. This place was a Zoroastrian Fire Temple, before.

There was some changes until 1387 in the tomb, but the most renovations took place in Timurid era. Shahrokh Timurid (1387-1430), encouraged by his Iranian wife, Goharshad, succeeded in realizing many projects, including the foundation of "Darolhefaz" and "Darosiadeh" Halls and the construction of "Goharshad Mosque" in 1401 AD, adjacent to Shrine.

Part of Old Court, Sahn Atiq, was constructed with the assistance of Sultan Hussein Bayghora's Minister, "Amir Ali Shir Navai".

Many installations were added to Shrine Complex in Safavid era, as:
Gold plating of the dome during the reign of Shah Tahmasb I (1510-1564 AD)
Further gold plating of dome, on the order of Shah Abbas I
Further gold plating of dome, between 1590-1596 AD
Shah Abbas (1632-1657) II repaired and tiled Sahn Atigh
Shah Solomon (1657-1683) repaired the dome, damaged in 1664 earthquake, in 1666, and founded several religious schools.

Nader Shah Afshar (1728-1740) renovated Gold Minaret, constructed Old Court's second minaret and decorated Amir Ali Shir Navai's Terrace with gold.

In Qajar era, construction of "New Sahn" began during the reign of "Fath Ali Shah" and ended during the reign of "Nasereddin Shah" and its terrace decorated with gold.

In Islamic Republic it has became a huge complex.