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

Madrasah of Qutlugh Murad Inak

The palace historian Hudayberdi ibn Qoshmukhammad Khivaki who commemorated the events of the past of historical pages in the work under the name "Dili Gharoyib" ("Hearts of the surprised"), wrote:-"Khevak many times destroyed and was again restored. The late father of their majesty (Alla Quli Khan) be peace upon Their soul in paradise, Abulgazi Muhammad Rakhimkhan and his younger brother Qutlugh Murad Inak the city was city was landscaped by their efforts was constructed a big madrasah (Kutlug Murad the monk, 1812) and a mausoleum with a big dome (Pakhlavan Makhmoud's mausoleum, 1810 - 1825)" was constructed.

According to the inscriptions on the carved doors – the madrasah was constructed in 1804-1812 by the uncle of the khan of Khiva Allakulikhan the governor of (muzofot) Qunghrad province, the military commander Qutlugh Murad Inak. The Madrasah was built at two floors, it has 81 hujras for students, and a convenient darskhana and a mosque, in the courtyard of the madrasah underground construction is located (water reservoir) a sardaba, according to the locals "teyi Zamin" (underground reservoir). majority of the population of the city of (Ichang-Qala) in the past took drinking water from this underground reservoir. For the madrasah as waqf award 24634 tanap of land was allocated. Certainly, Khivan masters for the first time in the built-up city while building two-storied madrasah tried to take as an example for it the samples already known. The basisThey took for such a sample a rather complicated in its structure the building of Abdulaziz Khan madrasah in Bukhara.

Architects who built the madrasah to save costs several simplified its structure a little, they didn't included in the structure of madrasah summer aivans, as well as two large premises on portal wings. They managed to construction ordinary cells instead. Khivan masters introduced an innovation into the old layout, i. e. decorated the portals of the courtyard with patterns. Inside the eastern portal of the madrasah a summer mosque was built on which at the height of the second floor there settled a wooden Balakhana (the upper chamber). Elements of innovation lurking in their composition, the northern and southern Balakhana (local "tallak" - lightweight superstructure over the first floor) is wider than the western and eastern. The architects tried to give to the yard a picturesque look such way. The building differs from the madrasah built in Khiva in previous centuries, reminiscent of a fortress; its facade has a rather luxurious look. Such a result was achieved thanks to the dispensation of the portal pentahedral arches and niches in Bukhara and by increasing the number of various ornaments. The surface around arches fringed with diverse majolica, the same majolica decorates the angular towers of the madrasah, samples of art of carving on gypsum inside the portal gives it a beautiful look. All of these architectural elements to a certain extent have changed an overall picture of the building, loopholes-door, high powerful angular towers which are making out two wings of the main facade; all together give the construction a fortress look. Although the master sought on the basis of a new plan to make some innovations in the design of the exterior facades we can not see the same inside the madrasah. Even the mosque and darskhana are executed very simplistically and unadorned, only on the calotte of mionsaray and on calotte of the summer mosque there are separate samples of simple decorations. Noteworthy are carved gates of the madrasah and also the door of the mosque and darskhana doors. Each door is a remarkable sample of fine art of wood carving. The remaining rooms are of the same type of madrasah hujras in the form of direct quadrangle covered by "Balkhi" dome. The daylight illuminates hujras through a window “pandjara” installed above the front door. In hujras there are also niches and raised platform "soopa" (elevation for sitting and relaxing). Inside of some hujras are arranged wooden low shelves in the form of the second floor, occupying nearly half of the hujra and serving for the storage of food and essential household items. Madrasah Qutlugh Murad Inak is the only madrasah in Khiva where embossed stamped tiles typical for the architecture of Bukhara were applied, which are now decorate the angle towers of the madrasah.
According to the legends, Qutlugh Murad Inak bequeathed to be buried after his death under the entrance part of the madrasah he had built. According to the ancient unwritten custom of the Khivans to bring the bodies of people who died outside the city into the fortress was not allowed. But having conferred altogether the elders and the clergy of the city had founded the solution in a way. The fortress wall in front of the madrasah was destroyed resulting to the madrasah to be included into the territory of Dishan-Qala (outer city). Through the breach made the Khan's body was brought in and buried in the front part of the madrasah under the floor of the central entrance room.
After that the wall was restored. Some time later the wall at this point was again demolished and the area Alla Quli Khan carried out wide scale construction of madrasah, shopping arcade (Tim) and caravanserai. But according to some assumptions, the body of Qutlugh Murad Inak could be found in the tomb, set on the left side of the square in front of the madrasah, because there is dictum among the people: - "Sultan won't allow humiliating his bones". For its time, the madrasah was a major abode of knowledge, about its activities the following data remained: - "In the year of 1275 (Hijra) on the fourth day of the month of Safar (September 13, 1858) at the expense of the Waqf of the madrasah Qutlugh Murad Inak there was taken in 1880 batman grain and distributed as follows: - to the poor as "ushr" (the tithe) or Kavsan (donations to the poor) 50 batmans (Khivan Batman is 20 kg.), Mutevelli 180 batmans, to farrash (cleaner) 50 batmans, 30 batmans to the barber, to the two akhuns - 324 batmans, to Muezzin with Imam of the mosque per 130 batmans each, the remaining 1,160 batmans were distributed among the students, for students of highest stage (there were 29 persons) per 21 batmans each - 616 batmans totally, to secondary level students per 10.5 batmans (there were 18 people), 191 batmans total, to the students of lower stage (48 of them) per 5 batmans each 255 batmans of grain was distributed totallyAs can be seen from this document, in 1858 in the the madrasah there studied 95 students where 2 akhuns (Akhund) taught. Other than that in the madrasah there were mutevelli (the person authorized to head the madrasah), the imam, azanchi (muezzin), farrash (servant cleaner cleaning and keeping clean the territory of madrasah) and the barber shaving beard and mustache of the students. In front of the madrasah a large square was located and around it there were trade rows and a small market as well. The students who graduated from madrasah passed exams. For this purpose on the part of Khan there used to be created "a special commission" (hay`at), its structure occasionally included the Khan himself in most cases, the heir to the throne, Kazi Kalon (supreme judge), Kazi Urda (city judge) and the a number of scholars - Ulems. Students who successfully passed the exams are the titles of Mufti, a`lam, akhund, mukarrir (teacher, giving a practical training and the repetition of the passed subjects students who concurrently served as the librarian the madrasah - kitabdar) were awarded. From among the graduate students there came out poets, historians, scribes, calligraphers, scholars and educated men. In the madrasah Qutlugh Murad Inak the well-known Uzbek poet Avaz Utar and Karakalpak poet Berdakh studied. In honor of the 18th anniversary of independence of the country the madrasah was restored and there permanent exhibition of well-known Khorezm fine art masters was opened. The exhibition features 52 paintings of artists of Khorezm are displayed which reveal the life, mode of life, culture and customs of Khorezm. Among the paintings there are works of famous artists: Kuryazov, Kichko, Khudaybergenov, A. Allaberganov. Useful area is 140 sq.m. In the courtyard of the madrasash there are craftsmen's workshops.