Amir Temur epoch
The second half of the fifteenth
century featured the rise of Amir Temur, who overcame
the fierce resistance of the Mongolian nomadic aristocracy
and united Central Asia into a single state with one
economy. Amir Temur had much respect for Bukhara,
as it was the native city of his mother, though the
clergy of Bukhara tried to keep aloof from his active
political and military affairs. During his reign the
Namazgokh Mosque was reconstructed and the Chashma
Ayub Mausoleum was rebuilt. The latter had been erected
in 1383-1384 on the site of a popular old mazar(tomb)
said to be the grave of the Prophet Job. The mausoleum
was so named due to a well inside it which is said
to have sprung up after the biblical prophet struck
the place with his staff.
In Movember 1404 a Spanish diplomatic mission stopped
in Bukhara on its way back from Samarkand where it
had visited at the court of Temur. Rui Qonzales de
Clavijo recorded:
«Bukhara lies in a vast plain and is surrounded
with an earthen ramp and a deep moat, full of water.
In the one of its corners there is a fortress which
is also made of earth, for there is no stone in this
land...and a river flows near this fortress. The city
has a significant suburb and there are large buildings
in it. The city is rich in bread, meat, wine and other
edible goods...The envoys stayed in this city for
six days; there has been a heavy fall of snow while
they have been there».
In the time of Temur and the Temurids Bukhara continued
to be the second economic and cultural center of Maverannakhr.
As regards its religious and spiritual influence,
the city's dominant position rose even higher. It
was in the fourteenth century that Bakhawud-din Nakshbandi
(died in 1389), a famous member of the Makshbandi
Sufi order, carried out his activities in Bukhara.
This direction of Sufism was most prominent in its
protest against and protection of the masses against
robbery and tyranny by both Mongolian and local feudal
aristocracies. The Sufis were active in farming, crafts,
trade, and other spheres of life. They preached goodness,
compassion, and living only for fruits of one's own
labour. Among its their common workers, the Sufis
featured famous personages: Khodja Akhrar, for instance,
a prominent reformer of that time; Alisher Navoi;
Abdurakhman Djami; Zakhir ad-Din Babur and others.
In the first half of the fifteenth century the city
had been canonized as a sacred capital and a Kitob-i
Wua-zade, a guidebook on pilgrimage around the tombs
of famous saints in Bukhara and its surroundings,
had been compiled by Akhmed b. Mukhammad. Under the
first Temurid rulers Bukhara enhanced its position
as the spiritual and religious center, the second
city in the state and a city competing with the capital.
After Amir Temur died and Khalil Sultan had risen
to power in Samarkand, Ulughbek and Ibrahim Sultan,
the sons of Shakhruh — who were pretenders to
the throne and opposed the ruling power — arrived
in Bukhara. The city was not inferior to Samarkand
with respect to size. Princes and beks, first of all,
visited the tomb of Ayub the Prophet (Chashma Ayub
Mausoleum)34 built under Amir Temur, then stayed in
the Bukhara Ark. The eastern wing of Ark with the
eastern gates was occupied by Ulughbek and the western
wing with the western gates by Ibrahim Sultan. This
is the last time in history mention is made of the
eastern gates in the Bukhara Ark; during this century
the eastern gates were probably. During archaeological
research on the upper levels of the Bukhara Ark, a
narrow (2.5 meters long) paved path had been unearthed.
It splits the Ark into two parts and led to the eastern
gates of the citadel now blocked.35 Traces of significant
architectural activity dating back to the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries were found southward from
this pathway.
For the princes, Bukhara was of great interest for
two reasons. It was the second center of Maverannakhr
after Samarkand, and it was situated close to Khorasan
from whence the assistance of Shakhruh was expected.
However, they did not manage to stay there even for
a month, because the garrison of Bukhara went over
to Khalil Sultan and suddenly attacked the Ark. The
princes fled and their property was plundered by the
troops and Bukhara's citizens nevertheless, Shakhruh
began to keep permanent relations with Mukhammad Parsa,
the head of the Nakshbands in Bukhara, «to arrange
the affairs of Muslims», i.e. to weaken the
influence of Khalil Sultan and to promote Ulughbek
to the throne of Maverannakhr. Shakhruh was able to
pursue this because the sheikhs of Bukhara had strong
influence on the thinking of its people and played
a great role in political affairs of the state.
It is relevant to explain that supreme power was embodied
by representatives of the aristocracy, sheikh al-islams
or Bukhara's sadr-Djekhans, who belonged to the official
elite of clergy. The Bukhara sadr-djekhans were occasionally
official vicegerents to the secular rulers and also
were the richest people of that time. That is why
the style of life of these clerical high officials,
who constantly violated or treated lightly the laws
of shariat, tempted the believers. Sheikhs of the
Sufi orders, particularly Nakshbands who were disinterested
in power themselves, demanded strict observance of
the shariat justice and order. They acted as protectors
of the masses and exposed the tyranny inflicted by
secular authorities and bureaucracy both official
and secular.
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