Saif ed-Din Bokharzi & Bayan-Quli Khan Mausoleums

The Saif ed-Din Bokharzi and Bayan-Quli Khan Mausoleums are two significant historical sites, commemorating Saif ed-Din Bokharzi, a revered Khorasani Sufi sheikh, and Bayan-Quli Khan, a ruler of the Chagatai Khanate and a descendant of Genghis Khan.

Located in eastern Bukhara, in the Fathabad district, a part of the city that was used as an industrial area during the Soviet era. These two modest but historically significant structures are dedicated to two prominent figures: Saif ed-Din Bokharzi, a spiritual leader from Khorasan who passed away in 1261, and Bayan-Quli Khan, a ruler of the Chagatai Khanate who governed from 1348 to 1358.

Saif ed-din Bokharzi & Bayan-Quli Khan Mausoleums are located in the settlement called Fathabad, to the east of medieval Bukhara city. In the early times here were situated vast religious complex then became a part of the city that was used as an industrial area during the Soviet era.

Bayan-Quli Khan and His Political Role

Though the life of Bayan-Quli Khan had the title of Khan, the real power lay with Amir Qazagan, leader of the Qarauna Mongol tribe, who controlled large regions including Transoxiana, eastern Khorasan, and Afghanistan. Under Qazagan’s protection, Bayan-Quli resided in Samarkand. After Qazagan was assassinated by his son Abdullah in 1358, a political upheaval followed. Abdullah’s brief rule was rejected by factions in Samarkand, and he was soon forced out and died. Following these events, supporters of Bayan-Quli likely commissioned his mausoleum as a tribute to his legacy.

Bayan-Quli Khan Mausoleum

The mausoleum of Bayan-Quli Khan is small, it is known for its extraordinary glazed tilework, considered among the finest in Central Asia. Scholars Soustiel and Porter describe it as a precursor to the famous Timurid mausoleums of Shah-i-Zinda in Samarkand.

The mausoleum features a pishtaq (monumental portal) decorated with a band of Arabic calligraphy on the arch’s extrados and intricate arabesques in the spandrels. The tiles are glazed in varying shades of blue, from turquoise to deep azure, with some unique lavender-indigo accents, possibly created using tin-infused cobalt glaze—an innovation from Mongol Iranian ceramic workshops.

Originally, the entrance was framed with a continuous calligraphic frieze, similar to the one seen on the Najm ad-Din al-Kubra mausoleum in Konye-Urgench. Unfortunately, many of these tiles were removed in the 19th century and now reside in foreign museum collections, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Saif ed-Din Bokharzi Mausoleum

Bukhara sheik Saif ed-Din al-Boharsi (1190 – 1261) was born in the Horasan region (northeastern Iran), he got religious education in Herat and Nishapur cities. When he achieved significant successes in mystical teaching, he moved to Khorezm. There he became one of the nearest followers of very popular sheik – Nadjm ed-Din Kubra. Later, according to the famous poet Abdurahman Djami Boharsi (15th century), Sheikh Saif ed-Din went to Bukhara as a tutor.

In Bukhara, he was honored with the title of “Sheikh al-Alam” (“sheik of peace”). Unlike his teacher Saif-ed-Din al-Boharsi reliably survived the Mongol invasion. He lived in Bukhara for about 40 years under new rulers. Furthermore, he had great authority over the ruling elite. For instance, Berke Khan, who was the brother of Batu Khan, once had visited sheik al-Boharsi. Because of this meeting, the powerful Khan of the Kipchak or Golden Horde had adopted Islam.

The original focus of the complex was the grave of Saif ed-Din al-Boharsi, a highly popular poet, sheikh, and theologian who lived in the 13th century. The followers of the sheikh al-Boharsi have built up in this area of rabad (“rabad” – an outskirt) many dormitories (khanakas) for dervishes, who lived there on donations of the Kubrawiya Sufi order members. The Fathabad settlement later joined the city.

The existing mausoleum of Saif ed-Din Boharsi dates from the end of the 14th century. The Saif ed-Din al-Boharsi Mausoleum, together with the Bayan-Quli Khan Mausoleum, is an admirable architectural ensemble. These monuments are even more famous due to their religious-historical and cultural significance.

The mausoleum attracts with its large shapes, simplicity as well as clarity of an architectural idea. You can notice the evolution of architectural themes when comparing this mausoleum with the whole Bukhara monument of the 10th century. This Mausoleum is not unicameral burial-vault as the Samanid mausoleum. Two domes above these rooms organize the building’s side-view. The distinguishing feature of the Mausoleum is an absence of an inner and external decoration. In spite of this feature, an unknown architect achieved an impressive power of his building. During the restoration in the 1960s, the monument roof and walls were slightly strengthened. In spite of that, the earthquake in 1976 badly damaged the building.