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116Bukhara - open-air museum
N.Dj.Yadgarov, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Bukhara State University, Department of Fine Arts and
Engineering Graphics
Abstract - this article is devoted to Bukhara as almost unchanged cities of Central Asia during the Middle Ages and a brief history of some of its historical monuments.
Keywords - madrasah, mosque, building form, built, composition, architecture.
Bukhara is one of the ancient cities of the world has made great contribution in the development of the spiritual and material culture of the mankind for many centuries. Located in the Great Silk Road, Bukhara is over 2500 years old. It is an example of Central Asian city which hasn't almost changed it's appearance since Middle Ages. Nowadays Bukhara is turned into a "museum in the open sky" for the visitors of our country.
Today the city has more than 400 architectural monuments of material culture: 11 prominent architectural- palace ensembles, 8 mausoleums, 47 mosques, 14 caravanserais, 39 madrassahs, 8 monuments of archeology, 5 trade arcades, 19 bath- houses, 264 dwelling houses of artistic importance. In 1993 the city was entered on a list of the obj ects of the World legacy by the resolution of the session of UNESCO, it was evidence for admitting culture of our motherland in the world. The unique items created by the handicraftsmen of Bukhara have also invaluable price.
During the centuries sacred soil of Bukhara was the center of education, culture, civilization and brought up scholars as great tabib (doctor) Abu Ali ibn Sina, Napshakhi, the great historian of his time, religious leaders as Imam al-Bukhari, Abdukholik Gijduvani, Bahouddin Nakshband, Khoja Orif Revgari, Khoja Makhmud Anjir Fagnavi, Khoja Ali Romitani, Boboyi Samosi, Emir Kulal and many other great people. Bukhara wasn't left out by great people's attention like Amir Temur and Mirzo Ulugbek.
Bukhara is one of the ancient cities of Uzbekistan is like a treasure built up over centuries by our people. The most precious part of this treasure is made up by its architecture.
For architectural monuments reflect the life of a nation, the history of a city, the religion and culture of a country. Architecture is a vivid reflection of the immense constructional experience, the scientific achievements, the level of the social development and the public thought accumulated by the previous generations.
There is hardly any other city like Bukhara in Central Asia. We are celebrating its glorious 2500th jubilee this year. During its long history Bukhara experienced periods of development and decadence. Every time was ruined by invaders, the genius of the people restored it from the Ashes, like the legendary Phoenix, with yet more peculiar beauty.
There are a number of folk legends related to the foundation of the city. One of these legends attributes the foundation of Bukhara to Siavush - a legendary young hero of folk epics. Fleeing from his stepmother's perfidies, Siavush, the son of an Iranian shaykh and a Turk Princess, arrived in Turan. Shaikh Afrasiab married him to his daughter and gave him land on the lower streams of the river Zarafshan. Deceived by an enemy conspiracy Afrasiab had Siavush assassinated. As the legend says, Siavush was buried near the eastern gate of the Ark citadel.
The city is mentioned as Sogdian Numijkat in the 6th century and as Bukho, Pukho, Bughe in the Chinese chronicles of the 7th-8th centuries. Bukhara is mentioned as a capital city since the 6th century.
The son of the Turkic khan, prince Sheri Kishvar, made Bukhara his Residence after suppressing the insurrection in the city of Boikent in Sogdiana.
In the 7th century, the ruler of Bukhara, Bidun, reconstructed the Ark castle, which had been destroyed, giving it the shape of the Big Bear star constellation; he had his name engraved on an iron plate Affixed to the castle gate.
From the very ancient times city grew in the from of Kuhandoz (a fortress), Shahriston (a city) and Rabat (outskirts), its shape and boundaries have gradually evolved throughout
the ages. Kuhandoz (the Ark) was the center of the city and consisted of a royal palace, an office, a treasury, a prison, a temple and mosque. In front of the Ark laid a Registan (or aquaria) covered with sand and was surrounded by hundreds of pavilions separated by ditches. The city and the thousands of pavilions were supplied with water from the canals: Fardiz, Juybor, Raboh, Juyvar. Shahriston was opposite Kuhandoz and had a rectangular shape, initially having four gates. Due to expansion the number of gates later increased to seven.
By the 13 th century Rabat had joined the city, which had been surrounded by a wall with 11gates. The city had been destroyed and rebuilt several times in the following centuries, but finally appeared complete in the 16th century. As a result of further fortification constructed during the reign of Abdullahan the city acquired its outmost boundaries. Although the city's construction was carried out somewhat aimlessly in that period, it was divided into residential neighborhoods with sanitary amenities, commercial districts and a politico-administrative center; and a well-developed network of canals and ponds supplied the city with water.
Against the stately backdrop of mosques with their towering portals, ornate madrassahs, khonakas (or dervish prayer houses) and trading domes, ran the boisterous streets and crossroads of Bukhara. These grand shapes could be seen from a far giving the oriental city its intriguing and majestic grace.
Ismail Samani's Mausoleum
Ismail Samani's Mausoleum (9th-10th centuries) is on of the oldest monumental structures still standing. Ismail built it over his father's grave and was himself buried there after his demise.
The preserved inscription of "Nasr II" on a piece of wood above the eastern aperture, above with the eastern aperture, along with discover of two adult men and one boy's skeletons in the tomb, has led specialists to assert that it was the Samanides' family crypt.
The structure isn't of a big volume (10.8x10.7m). It is of a cubic shape slightly narrow to its top and crowned with a semispherical dome. All the parts of the construction are built on the basis of precise proportions and logic.
The foundation is laid from larger bricks, the wails-from middle-sized bricks and the dome-from smaller ones. In the center of the walls four perceptively shortened thin, columns support four acres. The apertures between them are identically repaired with regard to the main four axes.
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The walls rising from the foundation end up on the top with an arched gallery with 11 lancet windows on each side and at the corners with % thick columns. The four small domes on the four corners of the roof, copying the main tall dome, bestow on it a peculiar sublimate. The structure's external and internal appearance is determined by the transition from the square walls to the dome. To attain this, the architect placed 8 relatively-thin arches in the foundation is laid from larger bricks, the walls-from middle sized bricks and the dome-from smaller ones. In the center of the walls four perceptively shortened thin, columns support four aches. The apertures between them are identically repeated with regards to the main four axes.
One of the major feature of the mausoleum is the decorative, raised patterns on the walls formed by small square bricks (22.5x23x3 cm). The bricks are laid in two five pairs, vertically, horizontally, diagonally, circularly and in many other patterns. Such a various, effective and highly artistic application of baked brick can hardly be found elsewhere in world architecture. From dawn to sunset the relief brickwork displays an amazing variety of shade and light play as the sunlight falls on it.
The geometrically proportioned structures of the supporting and supported elements of the building and the construction of all its parts
designed on the basis of technical and aesthetic demands account for its such expressive, grand and accurate architecture.
This is why the monument is under UNESCO's protection as a masterpiece of world architecture.
Ismail Samani's mausoleum is a magnificent reflection of the scientific, cultural and architectural achievements of the period. Like Ibn Sino, Rudaki and Narshakhi, it is milestone in world-wide architecture.
The Magoki-Attori Mosque According to Muhammad Ibn Jafar an Narshakhi (10th c.), the current location of the mosque previously held a large, shaded market place with a nearby canal. Here, craftsmen would sell their hand-crafted idols. To help attract people interested in purchasing such idols, the shah himself would come to the market place and sit on a throne near the Moch temple. The mosque was previously a fire-worshippers temple as well. On shopping days the people would gather there and worship fire. After the religion of Islam gained power, this Mokh temple was adapted as a mosque. After several stages of reconstruction (the eastern portal was added in 1547) the Magoki-Attori mosque.
Archeological excavation inside the mosque revealed the remains of an architectural decor typical of the 9-10th centuries, under which is adobe brickwork from the Pre-Islamic period.
Only two pylons and an arch in between them remain from the entrance portal. The patterns formed by the delicate decorative quarter columns adorning the doorway are examples of Pre-Islamic architecture. At the same time decorative art representing the new era is displayed in the baked brick. Like in the Kalyan Minaret, raised geometric patterns formed by
double, ornamental and firmed bricks decorate the portal sections adjoining the door. Raised, ribbed bricks divide the wall under the arch into panels. Some of these panels contain ornaments wrought with trimmed ceramics, whereas others are in alabaster plaster, containing vegetable and geometric motifs. The small arch resting on the delicate quarter columns contains an intricate design of intertwined vegetables on turquoise tiles. Such artistic designs, raised mosaic patterns, and vegetable ornaments made from trimmed bricks and ceramic tiles help to rank the Magoki-Attori mosque among such grand architectural monuments as Ismail Samani's mausoleum and the Kalyan Minaret.
The Kalyan Minaret
The Kalyan Minaret (Grand minaret) is peak amongst the monuments of the Post-samanide era of art, culture and architecture. It has been stately towering the above the ancient city for almost 900 years, and plays a decisive role in the appearance of the city. The first thing a traveler approaching the city sees is its majestic figure amongst the mosques and ancient buildings.
Erected by a prominent member of the Karakhanide dynasty, Arslankhan, in 1127, it was originally located outside the Shahristan, near the Ark. On the khan's orders it was transported into Shahristan. The minaret's upper section was made of wood, but after it fell down and damaged a nearby mosque, it was rebuilt entirely with bricks, ending with a height of almost 50 m and diameter of 9 m on its basis. The minaret is a formidable cylindric trunk gradually narrowing upwards with a lantern light on the top crowned with a small dome. The vertical axis apparent on top of the lantern light is indicates the intention of constructing a further higher part. A passage from the roof of the neighboring mosque leads to the spiral staircase with 105 steps within the tower. The stairs and up at a rotunda containing 16 lancet windows. From there a muezzin called the people of the city to prayers on Fridays. When there was danger of an enemy attack it also used as a watch tower.
Due to natural disasters and the impact of time, numerous grand constructions in Uzbekistan have disappeared without a trace.
But the minaret, a sublime architectural monument erected under (the supervision of) the architect Bako exactly 870 years ago, still stands as a brilliant specimen of our ancient culture. This remarkable phenomenon can be attributed to the science and architecture which gave the minaret its precise proportions, perfectly-laid foundation, and the high-quality constructive materials used in it. The foundation is laid from larger bricks, the walls, four columns support the four aches.
The walls rising from the foundation end at the top with an arched gallery containing 10 lancet windows on the each side, columns at the corners. The four small domes on the four corners of the roof which the main larger dome bestow the minaret with a particular sublimity.
The appearance of the internal and external structures is determined by the transition from the square walls to the dome. To support the arches and the dome, diagonal semi arches were applied. The small decorative columns on the edge of the internal walls help attain a complete circle by transforming the octagon to the sixteen-sided from. To provide structural completeness and to prevent the arches from crumbling, the minaret is designed with lancet apertures from the outside and filed with cruces from lattices composed of trimmed bricks.
The Pre-Islamic architectural elements of the structure are apparent in the remaining stairs that exist ever the gallery of windows, in the decorative columns wrought of alabaster and in some elements of the ornaments. For the first time in Central Asia baked brick was used in this structure to meet the requirements and spirit of the period.
Another feature of the mausoleum is the decorative, raised patterns on the walls formed by small square bricks (22.5x23x3 cm). The bricks are laid in two to five pairs, vertically, horizontally, diagonally, circularity and in many other patterns. Such a highly artistic application of baked brick can not be found elsewhere in world of architecture. From dawn to sunset the relief brick work displays an amazing variety of shade and light. The mausoleum takes on an especially attractive charm in the full moonlight. The architecture and design is so unique and impressive that the monument is under UNESCO's protection as a masterpiece of world architecture.
Ismail Samani's mausoleum is a magnificent reflection of the scientific, cultural and architectural achievements of the period. Like Ibn Sino, Rudaki and Narshakhi, it is a milestone in world-wide architecture. In the Kalyan minaret, raised geometric patterns formed by double ornamental and trimmed bricks decorate the portal sections adjoining the door. Raised, ribbed bricks divide the wall under the arch into panels. Some of these panels contain ornaments wrought with trimmed ceramics where others contain alabaster plaster with vegetable and geometric motifs.
Boyon Kulihan's and Saifiddin Bokharzi's Mausoleums
There mausoleums are situated just outside the Karohi gate of the city in a place called Fathobod. While approaching the monuments looking east, one's eyes first upon the larger sized Saifiddin Bokharzi's mausoleum, and then upon the rather modest Boyon Kulikhon, a Wokdol ruler, who was killed in the uprising of the people of Samarkand in 1358. The mausoleum, which has a right-angled, comparatively low entrance (8,5m tall) is crowned with a low dome (8,5m high in the
interior). It comprises two parts - a more spacious pilgrims' room and a smaller crypt. The sepulcher rising in the center of the crypt is entirely covered with tile. The interior is illuminated by a skylight with a diameter of half a meter. The side walls of the crypt contain very narrow and dark passages, one of which leads up through a single to the roof of the structure. Although the walls of the pilgrimage room are only one brick they have endured time and nature's pressure ever since 14th century thanks to the tiled facing which covers both the outside and the inside walls.
The architectural decor in the 10-12th centuries was characterized by baked, trimmed bricks, gorged or embossed ceramic, and deep plaster carving. The design of this structure preserves all these design elements, but at the same time the surface is covered with tricolor veneer. The ornaments of vegetable and geometric patterns are worked with a depth of 38 cm on bright turquoise, white and blue tiles.
The incompleteness of the entrance, the application of % columns at the corners, the existence of a passage among the walls and the employment of stalactite decor in the sub dome indicate the structure's its linkage with the architectural traditions prior to the Mongol Conquest. Neither the Mongol conquest nor the impact of time were able to harm the architectural traditions of this ancient building.
Saifiddin Bokharzi was one of the representatives of Islam from Bukhara. His demise dates back to 1261, and this mausoleum is believed to have been built in the 13th century. The mausoleum was completed in three different stages. Its oldest part is a signature shaped crypt (9.5x9.5m inside) which narrows slightly as at
moves upwards. The main part of the mausoleum consists of a spacious (12x12m) square-shaped pilgrim's room. Linked with the crypt by only the common foundation, this 14th century stage of the construction is crowned with an egg-shaped dome. A similar but smaller dome crowns the crypt. The bricks protruding at right angle from each other on the surfaces of both the domes create an impression of firmness and solidity. The main eastern portal built during the 15th- 16th centuries, is much taller than the portals of the northern and southern walls, and contains columns whose corners twist slightly. The décor of the mausoleum is very modest: the internal walls are covered with red plaster. The empty spaces where the square walls of the pilgrim's room pass to the spheres dome are filled with a artistic design. Soft light penetrating through small apertures below the dome creates an amazing play of light and shade on the surface of these raised patterns.
The Chashma Ayub Mausoleum Uzbek history links the construction of this mausoleum with the name of Arsienkhon, a Karakhanid ruler. The name of the mausoleum be related to the existence of a well in its interior. An inscription on the wall of the crypt reads that the mausoleum was built on Amir Timur's orders in 1379. That very year the ruler took many craftsmen from Khorezm to Shakrisabz to build the White Palace.
A group of them is known to have stayed in Bukhara. The shape of the conic dome rising over the ancient part of the structure is very close to Khorezm's architectural traditions. This dome plays an essential role in the appearance of the mausoleum. It crowns a small-sized crypt (4.5x4.5m). The two-layered dome, used in Bukhara architecture for the first time in this
building, rests on what from the outside appears to be a tall drum. The second, inner layer of the dome is formed by large, three-deep rowed stalactites. They serve the function of transition from the square walls to the reserved dome with raised ribs.
As a result of the construction of additional premises to the eastern side of the building, a portal built during the 14th century remains insides. The architectural decor of the 10-12th centuries was characterized by baked trimmed bricks, gorged or embossed ceramic and deep plaster carving. The décor of this structure preserves all these design elements.
The Ulugbek Madrasa
From the time of Tamerlane, the capital city of Samarkand has been regarded as the world's most brilliant city of nobility, famous for its magnificent palaces. Whereas the city of Bukhara, Bahauddin Naqshbandi's home town, has been the center of the power of Islam and a dome of Islam. When Ulugbek's grandson ascended to the throne, he began his reign with the construction of a madrassah in Bukhara. The construction of the madrassah and its tiled décor was designed by the architect Ismail Ibn Tahir in 1417.
The madrassah consists of a traditional central square courtyard (25x25m), bordered by two stories of cells and galleries. Beautiful towers mark the corners. The southern stately portal possesses both delicate and grand proportions. This entrance has two outlets, one on the right side and on the left side, of the central courtyard. One may find the prayer room and the lecture room at the corners of the first floor. There are two smaller inner portals flanking the courtyard, where one may view large, bottom facing glazed ornaments.
The madrassah offers architectural and ornamental elements of three periods. The red-brimmed, gilded turquoise and white ornaments on dark blue background represent Ulugbek's period. White and blue ornamentation was added in the 16th century. Glazed tiles with a turquoise tint on a somber grey background were added in the 17th century.
The large scale reconstruction of the madrassah was carried out by Abdullakhon in 1586. Despite the minor modification of the madrassah as a result of later reconstruction, it has retained the subtlety unique to the culture of Ulugbek's period.
References
[1] A.I.Rempel, Bukhara. Far and close. (Bukhara notes), Tashkent, 1982
[2] G.A.Pugachenkova, Masterpieces of Central Asia, Tashkent, 1986
[3] V.G.Saakoff, History of Bukhara, Tashkent, 2013.
[4] National encyclopedia of Uzbekistan, II volume, Tashkent, 2006
[5] Н.Д.Ядгаров, Г.А.Хакимова, Самобытное творчество народных мастеров Узбекистана, Молодой ученый, №15, стр. 272-275, 2018, url: https://moluch.ru/ archive/201/49386/
