Abdulaziz Khan Madrasa

History

The court architect Muhammad Salih built it on the orders and at the expense of Abdulaziz Khan (1645–1681); sources date the work to 1651–1652, some to 1652–1654. It was the last of Bukhara's large madrasas and one of the final flowerings of the ornate style first seen in the Timurid buildings of Samarkand.

Seventeenth-century Bukharan builders looked back past Abdullah Khan II to Timurid traditions, and lavish, costly decoration came back into fashion. Part of the exterior was never finished — traditionally explained by work stopping when the khan lost his throne.

Architecture

Set on the same axis as the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, it is considerably larger. The portal is drawn upwards, its niche filled with tiers of muqarnas, and the courtyard is elongated. Inside, gilded and painted decoration, tilework and mosaic survive.

The former lecture hall holds a museum of woodcarving, with carved doors, columns and other work by Bukharan craftsmen.

Did you know?

Two hundred and thirty-five years separate the Ulugh Beg and Abdulaziz Khan madrasas. Because they face each other, you can stand between them and compare the restrained Timurid proportions with the exuberant ornament of the 17th century.