Chashma Ayub Khazira

Chashmai Ayyub khazira – an architectural monument (XI–XIX) located in Vobkent district, Bukhara region of Uzbekistan. This stepwell is associated with water and the prophet Ayyub.

The khazira was built in 1208–1209 by the Burkhani ruler sadr Abdulaziz II on the tomb of the hadith scholar Abu Sa’d al-Xarjushiy, who died in 1017. According to scholars, the master architect who built the Vobkent minaret also constructed the Chashmai Ayyub khazira. In the Middle Ages this pilgrimage site, which served as a stepwell, also contained a dervish cell and a mosque.

The hadith written on the khazira’s façade is considered one of the oldest hadith specimens preserved among Central Asian monuments. Currently the monument is included in the national list of immovable objects of Uzbekistan’s material and cultural heritage – taken under state protection.

In the traditions

According to one tradition, the prophet Ayyub, exhausted from traveling the world, crossed the Amu Darya and arrived in Bukhara. The local population received him with respect and honor. Grateful to the people, the prophet prayed:

With time the prophet died there. Under the dome of the building erected on his grave, a spring, said in traditions and legends to be one of the springs of Paradise, is located. In front of the spring a tree grew whose leaves remain evergreen even in winter.

According to another tradition, where the prophet stopped, a spring burst from the ground by the strike of his staff. The spring water was considered healing, and thousands of pilgrims and travelers began to gather at the spring. Over time that place became a pilgrimage site. The spring water was regarded as curative for skin diseases.

History

The Chashmai Ayyub khazira is located 20 km from the city of Bukhara and was built in 1208–1209 by Sadr Abdulaziz II during the Burkhani rule. In Uzbekistan there are three monuments named Chashmai Ayyub. They are the Chashmai Ayyub tomb in Bukhara (XII–XVI centuries), the Chashmai Ayyub tomb in Qarshi (XII–XV centuries), and the Chashmai Ayyub khazira in Vobkent (XIII century).

One of the main reasons for naming the Khazira Chashmai Ayyub is that the depth located about 10 meters north of the grave is given relative to a stone well of 12–15 meters. In the Chashmai Ayyub Khazira lies the tomb of the hadith scholar Saʿd al‑Kharjūshī, who died in AD 1017 (AH 404). Information about Saʿd al‑Kharjūshī is provided in Abdulkarim al‑Samʿūnī’s work “al‑Ansāb” (Genealogy).

The building also served as a caravanserai because it was located near a trade route. Currently only the entrance part, i.e., the façade, of the building has been preserved. On the left side of the façade there is a part of a wall later repaired, built of baked brick.

When the practice of Islam began, clergy and religious representatives, following the directives of the Qurʾān and the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, adopted the path of not stepping on or circumambulating the sacred steps named after sanctified persons. In later periods, some concessions for pilgrimage were granted based on the fatwas issued by religious representatives. In the Chashmai Ayyub monument there is also a plaque taken from a hadith. On the upper part of the façade the inscription “muaqqoq” contains a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the date of the building’s construction.

In the turquoise‑colored tile inside is written the following verse:

The book completed in the monument is considered one of the ancient hadith specimens preserved in the Central Asian monuments. According to the research of art historian candidate Qoryogʻdi Jumayev, the inscription on the cup is dated Hijri 650 (AD 1252). According to the historian Yelezaveta Nekrasova, the inscription on the cup is dated Hijri 605, completed in AD 1208–1209. Most sources note that the inscription on the shrine’s podium was completed in AD 1208–1209. A well is located inside the building. In addition, there are four wells around the shrine. Three of the wells have collapsed, and only one remains preserved today. According to Yelezaveta Nekrasova, a natural spring has existed around the Chashmai Ayyub shrine since ancient times. Archaeological excavations have uncovered a ceramic vessel fragment from the 10th century and a bronze bowl of Nuh ibn Nasr dated to 945–946 behind the mosque wall surrounding the shrine. The building was founded approximately in the first quarter of the 12th century by Sultan Abdulaziz I (died 1124), which is not contradicted by the findings beneath the shrine. Scholars believe that the Vobkent tower was erected 9–10 years before the construction of the shrine.

The decorative ornaments and inscriptions of the Vobkent shrine and tower are very similar to each other. In addition, the semi-domes of the upper part of the podium of the Chashmai Ayyub shrine and the Magʻoki attori mosque in Bukhara are decorated in almost the same style. According to Qoryogʻdi Jumayev, the monument built in the 11th–12th centuries resembles the architectural construction of the Raboti Malik and Mir Said Bahrom mausoleums in Karmana.

In 1220 the city of Bukhara was captured by Genghis Khan, devastated and burned. The population of Bukhara was also slaughtered. This invasion is also evident in the rural areas. As a result of the invasion, the Chashma Ayub Khazira also fell into a ruined state. The building wall and mosque were destroyed, and the walls of the room where the spring was located also began to crumble. In the monument, small repair works were carried out in the 16th century, and its area was reduced from 280 square meters to half, i.e., to 120 square meters. The ruin of the Chashma Ayub Khazira is related to the political and economic crisis of the 18th century that affected the whole country, including the capital Bukhara and its surroundings.