| Egyptian Journal of Archeological and Restoration Studies

Authors:
Ebaid, Sh.
Lecture in Islamic dept., Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo Univ, Egypt

Abstract:
Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities of Central Asia. Most of the historic buildings in this romantic eastern city contain numerous varied inscriptions on many of the architectural elements. The contents of these inscriptions were both religious and secular. Among them were a number of Quranic verses and saying of the Prophet. Additionally, there were construction inscriptions which contained many titles, names of Khans and dates of completion. Bukharan foundation inscriptions are very short compared to those on Timurid architecture in Samarkand, which were of great historical and archaeological importance. Generally there are few foundation inscriptions known in Bukharan architecture. This fact highlights the importance of two unpublished foundation inscriptions for Abdullah Khan, one of them inside the northern iwan of Gaukushon madrassa, and the other a top the main entrance portal of the Abdullah Khan madrassa. These two inscriptions are also significant because they contain many titles that provide evidence for the political and religious circumstances of the rule of Abdullah Khan Additionally, the style of the script in the second inscription is unique in its shape, different from that of the rest of the inscriptions in the Central Asian region.

Keywords:
Foundation inscriptions; Bukhara; Thuluth script; Gaukushon madrassa

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