Kyzyl mazar

Qizilmozor mausoleum – a cultural heritage object in Uzbekistan, a notable site. Object period: 16th–18th centuries. Located in Bekobod district of Tashkent region. Object address: “Taqachi” MFY. State property (based on the operational management right of the Tashkent region cultural heritage department). Included in the national list of immovable cultural heritage objects by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on 4 October 2019 – placed under state protection.

Classification

The original name of the monument is unknown, the current name reflects its external characteristics (the color of the brick texture).

The monument is a single-domed, almost rectangular structure built of hard brick. It is surrounded on all sides by a large, currently used cemetery. Qizilmozor functions architecturally as a portal-domed composite mausoleum‑chamber. The composition of Qizilmozor consists of a centralized cube formed by a single cruciform base with openings on four sides through doors, and a small protruding portal. As a result, typologically, the mausoleum belongs to a mixed type, where its square shape approaches the idea of centralized mausoleums (a type resembling a ribbed‑dome kiosk, opened on all sides by belt openings). On the other hand, there are features typical of “facade” mausoleums, with particular attention given to developing one portal side while the building’s centralization remains largely unchanged. In the early 1970s, the portal columns were still completely preserved. Currently, all doors except the one on the southern façade are closed and not functionally used.

The hall is covered by a single dome, spherical. The transition from the hall's floor to it was carried out by pseudo-spherical sails covered with a ringed stone. The base of the dome composed of round stones is not a strict circle, but an oval square. Once the stairways' landing places were covered with "balxi" arches. Lantern windows are present above the doors. The building's façade was not intended for decorative covering, the calculation was made for the brick structure of the stone. The front façade of the porch columns is decorated with fine openings divided along a vertical axis, on the lower floor an arch is carved into the straight rectangle of the vault, and on the two upper floors there are rectangles. The remaining sides are decorated with flat-banded niches on the sides of the doors and with four rib-like divisions on the upper part of the walls.

The external dimensions of the shrine are 13.1×11.3 m. The length of the building's portal columns is 13.1 m, but the main planned size is 11.3×11.3 m. The height of the building walls is 7.1 m. –7.2 m. The side of the square with the dome is 5.9 m. The height with the dome is 10.5 m. The width of the portal is 8.5 m. The width of the arch is 5.4 m.

Qizilmozor is built in a rectangular shape from baked brick measuring 25 x 25 x 5‑5.5 cm, with walls plastered with lime mortar. Its walls (10 rows + 10 joints) amount to 71 cm, which is characteristic of the norm typical for late medieval monuments. This norm is typical for architectural structures of the 14th‑18th centuries. If the size and thickness of the baked bricks are taken into account, the chronological range can be placed in the 14th‑16th centuries. However, there were some peripheral irregularities such as carelessness in the wall and some uncertainties in the plan layout. The arch and dome are built on lime plaster. According to L.Yu. Mankovskaya, the monument can be considered belonging to the 16th‑17th centuries, because from later periods tombs in Tashkent region are very small, the standard of fired bricks is different, but most importantly, the construction of other shapes is characteristic.

Nevertheless, many uncertain aspects about the Qizilmozor tomb remain, for example, it is still unclear for whom exactly this tomb was built. Interestingly, folk traditions associate its construction with the name of Babur (i.e., the first half of the 16th century); according to one version, it was built in memory of a deceased Hindu queen, and on the other hand – in honor of a friend and military commander who died in battle with a Hindu army at this place.

The monument has a brief research history. Kyzylmazar was first recorded in 1969 by K. A. Abdullaev while drawing the map of Tashkent region. According to K. A. Abdullaev’s data, in 1970 L. Yu. Mankovskaya and A. R. Muxamedjonov visited Kyzylmazar, inspected it, and studied its dimensions, plan and plots. Unfortunately, the foundation of the building and its surroundings have not been studied archaeologically. Although the cemetery was examined, there are unexcavated and excavated clay fragments dating to the 15th–18th centuries in the soil layer.