Khoja Ali Romitani Complex

The saint and his shrine

Khoja Ali Romitani was born in Romitan in the late 12th or the 13th century and earned his living as a weaver all his life, hence his other name, Khoja Nassoj, “the weaver”. A disciple of Mahmud Anjir Fagnavi, he received from his dying master the right to guide pupils. He is said to have been called Hazrati Azizon because he addressed everyone he spoke to as azizon, “my dear ones”. He taught in Bukhara, Abivard and Khwarazm and named Muhammad Bobo Samosi as his successor; the sources date his death to 1315 or 1321.

Tradition venerates the Romitan complex as his burial place, although some sources say he spent his last years in Khwarazm. The official register lists his grave as a 16th-century monument, protected by the state since 2019; the Azizon Mosque in the same neighbourhood is also a listed heritage site.