Madrasah of Ulugbek in Samarkand

Ulugbek Madrasah, Samarkand

In 1417, Ulugbek began construction of a madrasah on Registan Square, which later bears his name. Ulugbek Madrasah initially had 50 hudzhkrel, in which lived more than a hundred students studying in the madrasah. Subsequently, a whole ensemble of buildings was built near the madrasah, including a mosque, a khanak and a caravanserai.

In Madrasah, in addition to a whole galaxy of famous scientists (Kazi-zade Rumi, Maulan Kashani, Maulan Kushchi), they gave their lectures on mathematics, geometry, logic, natural sciences, astronomy (including astrology), codes of teachings about man and the world soul, theology, Ulugbek himself taught. And as a rector, Ulugbek chose a simple, but very educated person - Maulan Muhammad Khavfi. On the opening day of the madrassah, Khavfi gave a lecture in the presence of 90 scholars, but no one could understand the lectures except Ulugbek himself and Kazy-zade Rumi (Ulugbek teacher).

In addition to the traditional quotes from the Koran, the Ulugbek Madrasah portal contains the following message: "About this house we can say: it is a versatile illumination for people, a direct path, mercy for people who have the right vision. The worthy sultan, the son of the sultan, the founder of this building of science and blessing, the satisfactor of peace and faith is Ulugbek Gurgan. May Allah keep the palace of his dominion, strengthen his foundation until the end of the existence of his state. It’s really good to live in this magnificent madrasah: Peace be with you! You were kind, for that enter into it, remaining in it forever. Year 820 (1417). Let it be known: this building is the most excellent and highest of the places in the world, the most perfect of buildings for art and work, indicates the foundations of science and guides in the way of salvation; the people of Sharia and Fatwa living in it; therefore, this great school is called - "scientists live in it."

Madrasah is planned according to the canon with a courtyard and a huge peshtak overlooking the square. The architect of this building is not known for certain, although the message of Ulugbek's contemporary, the historian Vasifi, that he was Kamaleddin Muhandis, a student of Kazy-zade Rumi, is known.

Ulugbek Madrasah is a closed rectangular courtyard, the back side of which was occupied by an audience mosque. At the corners of the ensemble towered 4 minarets. Around the courtyard there were two tiers of arches open to the outside, behind which there were fifty hujras-cells, which were home to over a hundred students studying here. A grand portal enters the square. Three more of the same portal, but smaller, were located on three other sides of the building. The rear portal served as the entrance to the mosque. Portals are the most wonderful building elements. They have a purely decorative function, their meaning is only in the impression made of monumentality and grandeur. This impression is achieved by a very simple technique - the exaggeratedly large size of the door niches.

For all its monumentality, the building gives the impression of lightness and grace. The relief details of the walls, talking about the severity and thickness of the walls, are either completely absent or minimized. A small decorative ornament, the coloring of the walls with blue and blue tiles, eliminate the idea of the severity of the masonry. Slender cylindrical minarets seemed to fit the building into the eternally blue Samarkand sky.

The decorative decoration of the madrasah, especially the mosaics, is distinguished by great sophistication, in terms of the purity of the tones of the glaze, the subtle harmony in the combination of colors, the beauty of the lines and the elegance of the pattern, which are among the most perfect decorative works of the medieval East. On the pylons of the main peshtak against the deep blue of the main background are lush rosettes of white, yellow, green, manganese-black flowers, blue and green stems. Graceful and moving letters of white and yellow inscriptions are intertwined with thin spiral-curved stems of plants.

In 1932 the minaret of the Ulugbek madrasah was straightened - an unprecedented case in world practice.

Over the next two centuries, caravan routes through Samarkand lose their significance. The decline of trade and craft production leads to stagnation in the economic life of the country. Samarkand is part of the Bukhara Khanate, as a special inheritance. At this time, Samarkand Emir Bakhodur Yalangtush at his own expense will build two other madrassas in Registan Square. This completes the construction of the ensemble of the central square, which is still magnificent in its beauty.

Entrance fee to Registan: 4 USD

Top Sights of Samarkand

Ulugbek Madrasah in Samarkand

Ulugbek Madrasah, Samarkand