Two Foundation Inscriptions for 'Abd-Allah Khan in Buildings of Bukhara

Abstract

Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities of Central Asia. Most of the historic buildings in this romantic eastern city contain numerous varied inscriptions on many of the architectural elements. The contents of these inscriptions are both religious and secular. Among them are a number of Qur'anic verses and sayings of the Prophet. Additionally, there were construction inscriptions containing many titles, names of khans, dates of completion. Bukharan foundation inscriptions are very short compared with those on Timurid architecture in Samarqand, which are of great historical and archaeological importance. Generally there are few foundation inscriptions known in Bukharan architecture. This fact highlights the importance of two unpublished foundation inscriptions for 'Abd-Allah Khan, one of them inside the northern iwan of the Gaukushon madrasa, and the other above the main entrance portal of the 'Abd-Allah Khan madrasa. These two inscriptions are also significant because they contain many titles that provide evidence of the political and religious circumstances of the rule of 'Abd-Allah Khan. Additionally, the style of the script in the second inscription is unique in its shape, and different from that of the rest of the inscriptions in the Central Asian region.