Chubin Madrasa (Shahrisabz History Museum)

History

Its founder is unknown. The name is linked to the old timber market (chub means wood): the madrasa stood in the woodworkers’ quarter next to it. It was built in the 16th century, and its student cells were rebuilt on the old foundations at the end of the 17th century.

Restored in 1993–1996 and adapted as a museum, it now houses the Shahrisabz history museum and became part of the Shahrisabz museum-reserve in 2019.

Medieval manuscripts mention more than forty madrasas in Shahrisabz, with students arriving from far away and living in the cells. Chubin likewise had a lecture hall, a mosque and cells around a courtyard, its walls and domes finished in carved ganch plaster. Alongside it, the museum-reserve includes the Malik Ajdar and Kunchiqar mosques and the Chorsu trading dome.