Hoja Zayniddin Mosque and Khanqah

Hoja Zayniddin complex — an architectural monument in Bukhara (first half of the 16th century); a historic monument built during the Shaybanid dynasty of the Bukhara khanate at the initiative of Zayniddin in honor of Imam al-Bukhari by the master Mir Dostumbiy. The complex is located in the Hoja Zayniddin district, in the southwestern part of the city. The Hoja Zayniddin complex includes a mosque‑madrasah, a pool, a school, a mausoleum, and chambers for pilgrims. Currently the complex is entered in the national list of immovable objects of Uzbekistan's material and cultural heritage.

History

The Hoja Zayniddin complex was built by the master Mir Dostumbiy at the initiative of Hoja Zayniddin, who held the position of Bukhara qazi, in honor of Imam al-Bukhari. The building was designed as a mosque and also has chambers. This complex served both as a madrasah and a mosque. The structure is multi‑roomed and domed. The complex contains multi‑room chambers and a pool in the center. The mosque‑madrasah has an iwan, is composed of columns, and the domed hall is decorated with ornaments. In the Hoja Zayniddin complex there is the Hoja Turk mausoleum, topped with a raised dome. The mosque‑madrasah also includes a ablution facility and the chambers of Haji Rahmatulla. The pool of the complex is a large angular pool raised on stones. The pool was built in the first half of the 16th century. At the initiative of the Bukhara governor Amir Olimkhon, repair work was carried out in 1913 on the pool of the complex, and a new device made of marble was installed in the southeast of the pool, replacing the “obpartar”. It is decorated in the open‑mouth style of a dragon. The marble is adorned with carved patterns, and there is a plaque providing information about the repair year and the author. Repair work was carried out in the Hoja Zayniddin complex in the years 1970‑1975, and it is now well preserved. The mihrab inside the western wall of the Hoja Zayniddin mosque‑madrasah is decorated with carved patterns. The columns of the mosque‑madrasah are well preserved. Currently the mosque continues its activity.

Architecture

The Hoja Zayniddin complex was built of baked brick, wood, stone and plaster. The mosque‑khanqah consists of a large vaulted hall and 5 small chambers, as well as an iwan attached on two sides, occupying most of the courtyard; one of the southern porticos of the khanqah houses the tomb of Hoja Zayniddin. The main style of the khanqah’s portal retains decorative remnants. From the large hall three sides (through a deep portico to the street and from two sides to the iwan) lead out. The hall’s dome is supported by complex shield‑shaped ribs, the interior of the dome is divided into 32 sections decorated with finely painted flowers, and the lower part of the dome is adorned with a row of muqarnas. The wall niches and the mihrab feature semi‑dome muqarnas. The wall surfaces are decorated with intricate geometric patterns made of glazed tiles and vegetal motifs; the dome, niches, mihrab and the inscriptions on the western wall are executed in a calligraphic style. The upper main part of the wall is covered with Islamic patterns (white, black, blue). The walls of the large hall adjoining the iwan are divided into portico displays. In the north‑east, an iwan with a height of 7 m and 8 columns, surrounded by a stone‑paved courtyard, faces a pool courtyard (water is brought to the pool by a marble conduit shaped like a dragon). The iwan’s façade is divided into odd, star‑shaped 7 bays, attractively decorated with geometric patterns. The Hoja Zayniddin complex is valuable as a structure that uniquely embodies the architecture of public and religious buildings.