Many scholars as well as general public, when speaking about Uzbekistan mostly associate Samarkand with the Silk Road. The reason for that might be the abundance of soviet research done on Samarkand while Bukhara was largely neglected by the state due to the large number of historical monuments in an appalling state that needed care. Samarkand, on the other hand, presented a smaller series of monuments that were, however, well preserved (Burton,1997). Therefore, Samarkand always attracted more scholars throughout the years.
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| Ensemble Po-i Kalan |
Bukhara in translation from sogdian language means “successful area”. It was established approximately 500 BCE. Bukhara is located in today’s Uzbekistan, Central Asia, and is classified as a part of the Great Silk Road which made it the centre of trade and commerce, culture and religion. It is also listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Architectural heritage of Bukhara is very diverse: from caravansaries and bazaars, madrasas and mosques to monumental ensembles that still amaze people all over the world.
The time of the greatest architectural achievement in Bukhara correlates with the beginning of the reign of the Shaybanids (1500-1598) - a new dynasty that conquered the Timurids. In that period, Bukhara at last became a capital of Khanate and continued to be it for three hundred years onward. The tsar and Mughal emperors in addition to China, India, Iran, Turkey, Russia exchanged embassies with Bukhara. It gained power in trade and commerce and became known to the nations from the west to the east of the Silk Road. (Burton,1997) Bukhara has been always known as a city of trade and craftsmanship. As Bukhara attracted more merchants and began emerging as a prominent trade center, city planning has changed to accommodate the trade specialisation of the city. Architecture played a major role in building the trade city for common citizens and the rulers alike. The greatest builder in the history of Bukhara from 16 to 17c.e. was Abdullah Khan II, and I am interested in investigating how warfare, trade and religion shaped the city during the rule of this powerful leader.
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| The Arc and the view on the city and Po-i Kalan ensemble |
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| THE ARC |
http://www.photodom.com/photo/2124110
Medieval Bukhara consisted of a town, surrounded by a citadel wall or the “arc”. The arc was 20 meters high and ran for 10 km fully encompassing the town inside.( Burton,1997). That is why there is an unusually dense, even for a medieval city, development: narrow pedestrian streets, tangled alleys and tight courtyards. In the 16th century, buildings with the new appearance and style were introduced to Bukhara. New look was majorly caused by new engineering designs – system of arches and domes, based on mutually intersecting arcs, instead of walls. This allowed for the larger premises and space for more traffic to go through (Borodina,1985). The majority of buildings that define the old city as it is seen today, however, were build under the Uzbek rule. Main agents in these processes were Abdullah Khan II (1557-1598), Imam Quli Khan (1611-1641), ‘Abdulla Aziz Khan (1645-1681) and their contemporaries. The most prominent of those were associates of Abdulla Khan II.( Gangler et.al.,2004)
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| ABDULLAH KHAN II |
However, the development started rather slowly, since every ruler had a different approach to the way the city should operate. For example, the first ruler Shaybani Khan (1500-1510) was too preoccupied with wars and had little concern about the city’s architecture. His nephew Ubaydullah Khan (1512-1533), was the one who applied the amazing ceramic revetment to the great mosque and finished the remarkable ensemble Pa-ye Kalan. It is interesting to note that the madrasa was built on the money from the sale of three thousand Iranian prisoners. Some historians view the funding of orthodox religious schools by the slave trade as impure and hypocritic. (Chuvin and Gerrard, 2001)
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| Kalyan Minaret - "The Death Tower"which was also used for public execution |
The rebuilding of Bukhara continued during the long reign of Abdullah Khan II (1557-1598). He came from Shaybanids lower branch. Initially, he ruled in the name of his father, but by 1583 he became a supreme khan. “Abdullah Khan presided over the reconstruction of the bazaar, while taking care of the vast crossroads (char su) and covered a market hall (tim) that was built for valuable fabrics; remarkable for concentric plan liberating a medium space, and encircled by an unbroken series of arcades ringed by cubbyholes for no less than 56 shops, this was the most monumental and the only surviving building of the four of its type located around the city.” (Gangler et. al., 2004, p.135) Anette Gangler and her colleagues note that the structure of lanes and streets bared strong resemblance to one seen in bazaars of Iran and Central Asia. Moreover, they argue that there is a clear Persian influence and that similar types of structures existed during the Timurid era in the 15th century in Heart. The words like chahar-suq or tim exist in Persian and Arabic languages where chahar means four, and suq means bazaar or directions; tim in translation from pure Persian means caravanserai. As such large construction projects required advanced techniques, specialized craftsmen and builders were often hired. The authors suggest that “…aesthetic aspirations of a whole society, including the lower class, counts less then patronage of the aristocracy and high clergy, who prefer the latest trends in architecture”.( Gangler et. al., 2004, p.93) In addition, it is important to note that prior to Bukhara, the cultural center was Samarkand, and they suggest that Timurid cultural and artistic “…influence was sought all over empire”. (Gangler et. Al., 2004, p.93) Evidently, external cultural influence played a strong and often pivotal role in the architecture of large monuments.
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| https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2YyLkLcUx-pE1WZDSzwCQw |
A noticeable growth in amount of caravanserais, madrasas, bath houses and places for prayer could be noticed during Abdullah Khan II reign. The city started to grow to the south and south-west from the inside and outside. Commercial centers changed rapidly - the bazaar was reorganized and joined with the southern parts of the market. The new urban sub-center Gawkushan-complex was built in the west. (Gangler et. Al., 2004) Audrey Burton in his book “The Bukharans” writes that it was important for Abdullah Khan to continue the trade with neighboring countries as his main source of income was mainly dependant on sales of the merchants who were obligated to pay him taxes.The funds which he received from merchands were spent mainly on the administrators and military purposes. Also, Abdullah Khan II tried to take over Khurasan and establish control over trade routs to India and China. While he explained his goals as getting rid of “the dust of heresy and darkness of tyranny” it became clear that he considered the town as a more of a trade center, also it would be useful stopover for Bukharan pilgrims who wanted to avoid Iran on their way to Mecca. Abdullah Khan also helped traders by providing them with numerous caravanserais, tim, bridges and cool resting places such as sardab a well-ventilated structure built over a water-cistern, ribats (hostels or small fortifications) all over the khanate and on the major caravan routs. The traders definately benefited from his peaceful reign.( Burton,1997)Thus, it is obvious that whatever Abdullah Khan was doing for the city and khanate his main interest was his own benefit, but in virtue of that we have beautiful monuments like Taq Zargaran, Taq Tilpakfurushan and Tim Abdullah Khan and others.
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| Taq Zargaran |
Religious aspects, indeed was the other major factor that contributed and influenced Abdullah Khan’s II decisions. “The Uzbeks were very orthodox Muslims (Sunni), and religious dignitaries played an important role in the administration of the khanate. The main lay officials were ataliq who often acted as tutor for the khaqan’s son and took over the administration in the ruler’s absence”.( Burton,1997,p. 4).The khanate was the home of several monastic orders who were keen to asceticism. The heads of these Sufi orders were one of the most influential shaikhs. For example Juibari sheikhs of the Naqshbandi order, were often influencing policies of the rulers for whom they acted as spiritual leaders. The position of Juibari shaikhs in the court gave them opportunity to advice the khans on matters of administration, trade and foreign relations. Also, they often managed large areas of the land that belonged to them, in addition to numerous shops and vast herds of cattle and horses. As they were in contact with many Muslim rulers, they received much support from the khans, who were happy to free them from taxes. For Abdullah Khan II support of the religious leaders was very important, as it helped him to become the ruler after the death of his father. For Juibari sheiks it was more important that he was a religious man, and they ignored the Chinghizid’s practice of selecting the oldest member of ruling family. The Juibari shaikhs referred to Abdullah Khan as a ‘…eminently capable of protecting the shari’a, and no other quality was more laudable in the ruler.’(Burton,1997,p. 46) Abdullah Khan married Kwarazmian Princess in order to gain support from Khwarazmian Sunnis for taking over Herat. Due to this support from both sides, Abdullah Khan and Jaibari shaikhs were able to build many mosques, madrasas and khanakas. Khanaka , was a hostel and a place for collective prayer for Suffi’s dervishes. The 16th century Bukhara became a place of dense population of religious missioners and members of various Muslim ascetic orders. The most acknowledged buildings of religious type were and still remain the Faizabad khanaka, Char Bars ensemble, the madrasa Kukeldash, Abdullah Khan mosque and madrasa. Religion and religious leaders of the 16th century Bukhara greatly influenced the way city has been designed, Abdullah Khan could use their support in promoting his power and establishing strong connections with Islamic followers of other regions.
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| CHAR BARS |
The architectural masterpieces of Bukhara have a well diserved world-wide fame. This is where the whole city becomes a museum that attracts scholars and tourists from around the world.(Pugachenkova,1981) As the researchers study Bukhara today, its architecture can tell us what was influencing the minds of its architects, rulers and common citizens. The 16th century Bukhara is an example of how different cultures, religion and one’s person interest and vision can change the appearance of the whole city and make people speak about it many years later. During Abdullah Khan II Bukhara reached the peak of its military might and achieved the greatest expansion of its territory. This period was also one of great economic and cultural expansion, during which many fine buildings were constructed.( Bregel,1989) Abdullah Khan II was eager to achieve diplomatic relations with countries that were involved in the trade, by accomodating their commercial envoys and religious missioners. People of the city were a great agency that influenced decisions of the khans. The buildings of Bukhara, even though influenced by Persian style, are unique and reflect the steady progress of architectural conception and individuality of those who were responsible for their creation.
Bibliography
Bregel, Yuri. "BUKHARA Iii.After the Mongol Invasion." Encyclopedia Iranica. 15 Dec. 1989. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://www.iranica.com/articles/bukhara-iii>.
Borodina, I. .., and Vadim Evguenievitch. Guippenreiter. Srednaya Azia. Moskva: Izd-vo "Planeta", 1985. Print
Burton, Audrey. The Bukharans: a Dynastic, Diplomatic, and Commercial History, 1550-1702. Richmond, Eng.: Curzon, 1997. Print.
Chuvin, Pierre, and Gerrard Degeorge. Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva. Paris: Flammarion, 2001. Print.
Gangler, Anette, Heinz Gaube, and Attilio Petruccioli. Bukhara, the Eastern Dome of Islam: Urban Development, Urban Space, Architecture and Population. Stuttgart: Ed. Axel Menges, 2004. Print.
Pugachenkova, Galina Anatolevna. Muzei Pod Otkrytym Nebom. Tashkent: Izd-vo Lit-ry Isskustva Im. Gafura Gulima, 1981. Print.
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