Vobkent Minaret

History

The minaret dates from the Qarakhanid era and was commissioned by Burhaniddin Abdulaziz II of the sadr family, Bukhara's religious and political leaders, whose name appears on one of its bands. The lower inscription records the order to build in Jumada al-Awwal 593 AH (March–April 1196), while the Kufic inscription at the top gives completion in 595 AH (1198–1199).

A madrasa and mosque once stood in front of it, and fragments survive. The tower served both for the call to prayer and as a lookout. It was restored after independence; research in 1989 showed that the blocks of the upper inscription had been set in the wrong order when it was built.

Architecture

The 40.3 m minaret rises from a twelve-sided base; the shaft is 6.19 m across at the bottom and 2.81 m at the top. It is built of fired brick with timber, stone and gypsum, and its surface is divided by ten bands of ever-changing patterns. Below the lantern runs a Kufic inscription in carved glazed terracotta. The spiral staircase inside was reached through a door from the neighbouring mosque.

It looks like a scaled-down Kalyan Minaret: shorter, slimmer and more simply decorated, but beautifully proportioned.