Dedicated to the memory of our mentor Saburdzhana Yusupov, who with his interesting stories and tales taught us to love the motherland, native nature, our favorite city Khiva

Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum


Pakhlavan Mahmud mausoleum was originally built mainly in the fourteenth century in the form of a small gurhana (space for burial), where the big "Pir" (spiritual guide) of his time - Pakhlavan Mahmud (1247-1326) was buried. Pakhlavan Mahmud was born in 1247 in the city of Khiva, in the family of craftsman furrier, sewing Khorezm coats. Even in his early youth he was engaged in a craft with his father - manufacturing coats, later he became literate, and attained a degree of great poet and philosopher. In addition, he was a strong fighter (wrestler), and for his 79 years of life has never suffered a defeat in the competition of fighters. A large number of legends is preserved about Pahlavan Mahmud. One of them says: "In the old days on the site of Khiva there was a waterless steppe (desert). After Kunya Urgench (ancient city of Gurgandzh, the capital of the state of Khorezm, now located on the territory of Turkmenistan) was completely destroyed after the invasion of the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan, its population scattered in various part of the state. The father of Pahlavan Mahmud and his wife, who was pregnant, moved to the city of Khiva. At the end of the road at the entrance to Khiva, where the family of Piryar Vali (father of the future Pahlavan Mahmud) was close to the village Kiyat his wife went into labor, and she gave birth to a boy, whom they gave the name of Mahmud. Reaching 15 years of age the boy has become a strong fighter, renowned athlete (pahlavan). By participating in the competitions of fighters in neighbouring countries of Iran, Khorasan, India and other countries, he always won. It is said that one day he was invited to the competition the fighters to India, which was attended by the strongest warriors from all over the East. There defeating all fighters, he also won a victory over a very strong fighter of an Indian king. Indian king, fascinated by the extraordinary power of Khiva hero, said, "Ask me whatever you want." Pakhlavan Mahmud said to the king: - "Free from the bondage and release my countrymen, who would fit into the untreated (rawhide) skin of a bull." The king agreed, and commanded to bring the skin of a bull. Pakhlavan Mahmud sliced the skin into thin ribbons and joining them together in one long belt, he swept a large area in a paddock, in which he put a large number Khorezmians and went with them to Khiva. He placed the people coming with him around the city, in the village of Shihlyar (Sheikhs). And to date the old-timers of the village confirm this tradition saying that before the arrival of Soviet power the representatives of the village have been in service in the mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud. This tradition shows to what extent Pakhlavan Mahmud was a wise, humane person, caring about people. He was also called a freethinking scientist-philosopher, possessor of great talent and insight, with respect to the poetic observation he was called "Khorezm's Khayyam." It is certainly no accident. According to scientific researchers, Pakhlavan Mahmud was not only a worthy successor of Omar Khayyam in poetry and philosophy, but also in the literature of the people speaking Farsi and Turki there was no poet, after Omar Khayyam, who could compare with him in writing Rubaiyat (quatrains). Great poets like Abdurrahman Jami, Navoi, Fuzuli, Babur though tried their hand at the genre of Rubai, but this genre had secondary place in their creative work. Pakhlavan Mahmoud in his work developed a philosophical and artistic ideas in the spirit of his time, he raised to khayyam study to the unprecedented heights. His work occupies a special place in the literature of the East. In that period, Pahlavan Mahmud was glorifies with such epithets as "Khorezm's Khayyam", "Tiger of Mazanderan". He wrote lyrical poetry (ghazal) under the pseudonym "Kitoli" - fighter, in 1303-1304 he created a work called "Kanz ul-hakoik" ("Treasury of the truth"), but unfortunately, this work did not make it to this day. Notice how he wrote his elegant and pleasant rubai strong with skillful performance in the spirit of "Hayyamnama" with deep content:

The world is like a gilded pitcher

Its water either is sweet, or it is like a bitter wine.
Hey ignorant, do not count a lot on your life
Death hung over your head like a blade.
* * * *
The architect of the world erected Palace iwan,
And after building it, it destroys the iwan.
Bringing today its dome to the heavens,
The next day, he levels the iwan with the ground.

The man who has read these heartfelt lines at once will feel the power of the worldview of the poet, his humanistic feelings. In essence, being a follower of Sufism flow Pahlavon Mahmud appreciates the intellectual and creative abilities of a person. Famous writer Tukhtasin Jalalov, who put a lot of work in the restoration of historical biography Pahlavan Mahmud, and prepared his unique rubai for publication, wrote the following lines: - "It should be emphasized that the era in which he was born and where the poet lived counted decades after the bloody invasion of Genghis Khan, who brought the most severe disaster in the history of Khorezm, and the delighting fact is that in the homeland, which has experienced such horrific disaster, at a time when its big wounds were not yet healed, the heart of the great poet born in this world flown into a rage as the waves of the sea."

Under the will of the poet, his body was buried in the premises of his former furrier shop. His many-sided activity of life was so fruitful that in spite of the fact that it was not long after his death, he was introduced to a number of famous saints, and his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. Pahlavan Mahmud's Mausoleum and the area around was worshiped over time and beautified by many rulers of Khorezm.
Historical sources indicate that the mausoleum had a door from the side of Amir Timur. The tombs of Abulgazikhan, Anushakhan and Arangkhan being inside the mausoleum confirms that the mausoleum and the tomb of the poet were landscaped during their reign. In 1701-1702 the Khiva's Kahn Shahniyazkhan rebuilt the mausoleum and from this period to our times the central entrance door at the entrance to the mausoleum complex (from the street) survived as remembrance. From the inscriptions printed on the door of the masters of woodcarving, it is known that these inscriptions are verses from the Koran, Hadith and chronograms in verse. The front part of the door is decorated with traditional Khorezm floral patterns turunj, madohil and other types of ornamentation. Here is a fragment of the inscription on the door:


"The receiving pleas of bruised hearts this radiant structure is built by Shahniyazkhan (in 1702), a well is also dug. He is himself in this place and buried. Carver master Nadir Mohammed".
The construction of today's mausoleum was started by Mohammed Rahimkhan I (1806 -1825) after a successful campaign in 1810 to the city of Kungrad, and construction was completed during the reign of his son Alla Kuli Khan. The mausoleum consists of 3 parts: kabrhana (burial space), ziyarathana, khanaka, on the right of which there is a corridor leading to the Juma mosque. In the domed room of gurhana (kabrhana), located in the western part of the mausoleum, there is a burial o Pakhlavan Mahmud. Near the northern wall khanaka in the patterned arched niche there is a tomb of Mohammed Rahimkhan I, and near it, in front of it gravestone plates of Khiva khans Abulgazikhan and Anushakhan are set. The arched niche of the corridor there is a burial of Alla Kuli Khan. The area around the mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud by the end of the XIX century formed into the family tomb of Khiva khans of Kungrad dynasty and their relatives. Construction of the building was carried out under the guidance of the master of Khazarasp named Adin Muhammad Murad. The Master managed to skillfully combine elements of large and small construction machinery and design art (decorative majolica tiles) into a single architectural whole. Majolica tiles decorated tombstones, external dome and the portal of the mausoleum, at this time the interiors of the room were plastered with ganch. By 1825, according to the commandment of Alla Kuli Khan (1825-1842), kabrhana, ziyarathana and khanaka were decorated with majolica tiles with floral patterns of Khiva. During this period the domes of ziyarathana and kabrhana were covered with blue, emerald green glazed bricks on the outside . Instead of some fallen majolica tiles on the portal of the mausoleum new tiles similar to them were set. Citing the front part of one room in a broad domed hall (dalan) in an arched niche of pentagonal shape, here was installed the Tomb Alla Kuli Khan. The walls of the mausoleum's room are lined with majolica tiles with floral patterns and a copper art grill (panjara). In construction works Khiva masters Mullah Nurmuhammed son of master Kalandar, Sufimuhammed Niaz son of master Abdujabbar and master Abdullah "Gene" were able to show their unique art. At the top of a large khanaka (at a height of 25 meters) in the frame of the Khiva plant patterns the masters placed 22 Rubaiyat (quatrains) of Pahlavan Mahmud, the names of masters, excerpts from the Hadith, chronograms (Tarikh) in Farsi, in which they practiced in versification themselves. At the top of the door in the cartouche at the entrance to kabrhana the following rubai of the poet are written in Farsi:

Three hundred Caucasian mountains to pestle,

Or for a century to languish under lock and key.
To paint the sky with blood of the heart is easier
Than to spend a moment with a fool.

In 1910 - 1913 in the western part of the mausoleum of Khan of Khiva Isfandiyarkhan II (1910 - 1918) erected kabrhana and two-storey building of karihana for his mother, for herself and his son and consisting of four hujras. Construction works were headed by architect master Kurbanniyaz, in front of the karihana an iwan was built with carved columns. In 1960, the top of the large dome khanaka, karihana and iwan of the mausoleum complex of Pahlavan Mahmud were restored with the assistance of the master Ruzmet Masharipov ("Ruzmet Arbab"), after which the mausoleum has acquired its original appearance. Currently, the complex is located in the premises of "Fund of Pahlavan Mahmud", administered by the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Uzbekistan. Due to the fact that some of the buildings were in need of restoration, in 2007, the iwan's columns, corridors, the area around the well, and a miniature wooden dome over the well, some have fallen majolica tiles of the mausoleum portal were restored again.

Ruzmet Masharipov ("Ruzmet Arbab"): Khiva population as a sign of deep respect for the masters who created wonderful examples of architectural and decorative art exalts them, adding to the name of the master word "Arbab" (activist, a prominent person), "Ustoz" (mentor teacher). These creations of masters of ancient Khorezm and still make tourists and visiting guests admire. Masters left their names on the inscriptions inflicted on the buildings which they have built, products manufactured by them, and thus they became part of the history of Khiva. On this basis, we can learn not only the history of a structure or manufacture of the product, but also the names of their masters who built them or produced. One of these masters of their craft was famous Khiva master of ganch (gilkor) thread, ornamentalist, architect usta Ruzmet arbab Masharipov. His life represents to us the history of Khiva a century ago. Usta Ruzmet was born at the end of XIX century in the Khiva city. From his early ages he learned secrets of architecture and ornamentation from famous masters of Khiva. At this time, with the efforts of Muhammad Sani Rahimkhan "Feruz", in Khiva a large number of facilities and constructions was built. Despite that the masters who built these buildings were of different ages and were representatives of various professions and crafts, they were very friendly with each other. If a master was in a difficult situation, all worked together to find a way to solve his problem. At the beginning of the XX century, usta Ruzmet reaching his creative maturity, became a skilled builder, skillful nakkash (ornamentalist), gained fame and recognition among the people. During the construction of the complex of the northern gate of Dishan Qala Kosh-Darvaza , which is an outer fortress of Khiva, the master was a supervisor; he invested all his creative strength and skills in the creation of this work of art. In 1912, the master on behalf Isfandiyarkhan II (1910 - 1918), together with experts of their field, masters Khudaibergenov Haji, Nurmetov nakkash (ornamentalist) Kuryaz chakkanom (agile), Babajan bala, who knew the art of painting patterns and ganch, fulfilled work on the design of carved and hand-painted designs of the official receptions building of Nurullabay palace, located in Dishan Qala.
Noticing his skill and ability, demonstrated in this grand building, khan (Isfandiyarhan II) assigned usta Ruzmet the title of master craftsmen, ie "Arbab", showed him reverence, gave him rich garments "sarpo" (clothes from head to toe). After this event master became known among the people under the name Ruzmet Arbab, then khan invited him to build a summer palace of Kubla Tazabag and Ark Tazabag (tazabag – new garden). Life of the master is inextricably linked with ancient monuments of Khiva, because master not only participated in their construction, but also in their restoration. The late historian Kamil mentor Abdullayev in the brochure entitled "Life embodied in the patterns" ("Nakshlarga bitilgan umr"), dedicated to the memory of his father Abdullah Baltaev, wrote about master a lot of warm words. As described therein, master in 1930 - 35 years restored together with other artists, many monuments of Khiva, who came to the completely destroyed state (palaces Kun-Ark and Tash-Hauli in 1936 - 37).
Here are some of them: - "Famous masters of Khiva often came to our home, I enjoyed listening to their conversation. In one of these conversations Ruzmet Arbab, starting the conversation, said that when he went out of the house (his house was near the pond Ata-Houz), I saw that the tower on the left side of madrasah Qutlugh Murad inak is slowly settling down. It was during war. The local government had no money for the restoration of madrasah. It is said that "the jeweler knows the price of gold," and masters know the price of patterns, historical madrasahs. They laid a good deed to restore the tower of the madrasah on Ruzmet arbab, and gave him a blessing. When all the master raised their hands to bless, Ruzmetov Arbab, delighted with the instruction given to him by these masters, said, "Amen." When I went to the museum, I saw that Ruzmet arbab together with his son Jumanazar (Ruzmet arbab had the only son, he was also taken into the army. After a while it came to the funeral) began the work around the tower. As I learned from my father, and it turned out that Ruzmet arbab bought the bricks to restore the tower for his own money. "
Master at the age of 60 years started the most difficult job, the restoration of the mausoleum Pahlavan Mahmud. To bring the majestic building and a holy place of pilgrimage for Khivans in the original appearance was no easy matter, but at the same time a good deed and a matter of honor. Perhaps for this reason, the old architect worked with the energy of a young boy. In the difficult work of restoring the unique monument, Ruzmet arbab’s talent, his deep knowledge and abilities manifested him. Destructed mausoleum parts found its true shape. The dome has become as beautiful as before. All the greatness of the ancient city is clearly evident in the character of the mausoleum.
The owner of a rare talent, a master of painting Ruzmet arbab Masharipov was involved not only in the restoration of historical monuments, but also in the design patterns of a number of construction of modern buildings of our country together with his disciples, such as Adambay Babadjanov, Adambay Yakubov, Ildar Mutalapov, Samandar Qalandarov. If you visit the ancient Khiva, the memory of the master architects, as well as the memory of Ruzmet arbab will accompany your route around the city.