tajikistan
Khujand - one
of the
oldest towns in Tajikistan,
the second largest city
in the country, was founded at
the time of Alexander
of Macedon, about
2,500 years
ago.
History
of Khujand
According to Greek historians, in
329 BC, Alexander
of Macedon founded
fortified castle
on the Syr Darya River. Subsequently,
due to
its favorable geographical
and strategic
location, the fortress was heavily populated.
In history this city is
known Alexandria Extreme(Eskhata).
The
question of
the exact location of
this ancient city worried scientists
around the world for
several hundred years.
Only in the middle
of the XX century, it
was confirmed that
it is present day Khujand.
Occupying a
favorable geographical position in
the Ferghana Valley,
Khujand flourished,
built palaces,
mosques, the
citadel.
In the
13th century Khujand was
conquered and
destroyed by the armies of
Genghis Khan. In
the late 14th - early 15th
centuries Khujand
was a part of the state of
Timur (Tamerlane).
In the 18th
-19th centuries Khujand has
expanded greatly,
becoming one
of the major cities
of Central Asia.
In late 19th - early 20th centuries Khujand was a typical Central Asian city with crooked and narrow streets, with their noisy markets and rows of various handicraft workshops.
Sheikh Muslihiddin Mausoleum
A huge
religious complex Sheikh Muslihiddin mausoleum is situated in
the historical center of Khujand city. This mausoleum was built
in the honor of a poet and governor of the Khujand Muslihiddin
Khujandi.
As for
folk legends, Sheikh Muslihiddin Khujandi was a saint. Initially
Sheikh was buiried in Unji village which is located in the
suburb of Khujand. But later on his followers moved to current
place.
In XII
century burial vault consisted of a small burial vault built of
bricks and decorated with terracotta and spray decor.
The
Muslihiddin Mausoleum was demolished during Mongol invasion. But
in XIV century it was erected again but with new décor and
design. Unfortunately, soon after it was ruined again. The
mausoleum took completely different shape and look in terms of
construction and décor in XVI century. If previously it served
as mausoleum in XVI century it began serving as
a place for ritual ceremonies as well.
In the 14th century the mausoleum was rebuilt but with a
different design and now consisted of two rooms. Its new look
existed for some time, but then it was destroyed again for
unknown reasons. In the 16th century a new building, quite
different from previous one in its construction and plan, was
built on the ruins of the old mausoleum. It acquired a new
purpose – from being just a mausoleum it turned into a
mausoleum-khonako, i.e. a building for prayer and ritual
ceremonies. The memorial has been reconstructed and repaired
many times since and that has led to a distortion of the 16th
century look of the mausoleum-khonako.
