Khoja Gaukushan Ensemble

Khoja Gaukushan Ensemble (1562-79, with later additions)

The Khoja Gaukushan ensemble is a group of buildings lining the intersection of two medieval streets and the Shah Rud canal, comprising a mosque, a minaret, two madrasas and a hauz (pond or reservoir). The name of the ensemble, Gaukushan, refers to the slaughter of cattle, suggesting the site was used as an abattoir prior to its later function.

The ensemble was largely completed by the powerful Jubari family between 1562 and 1579 with the Mir Haidar Bala madrasa (east of the hauz) built somewhat later. The Jubaris were closely associated with the rise to power of Abdullah Khan II, the ruler of Bukhara from 1557 onward, and supreme Khan from 1583-98. They were represented by Khwajah Islam (1492/3-1563) and his son Khwajah Sa'd (d.1589), lords of a vast commercial empire and eminent leaders of the local Islamic Naqshbandi community. The Jubaris were active throughout the 2nd half of the 16th century buying land in the inner city for the construction of trading domes, baths, caravanserai, and other commercial buildings. Although the Gaukushan ensemble would not have directly provided a new revenue stream, it formed the core of a "new sub-centre of the city" (Gangler, et. al., p. 94) and served to attract residents to the area.

The Jubaris worked within the existing street fabric, resulting in the trapezoidal form of the madrasa as it lies sandwiched between two intersecting routes. North of the madrasa, the mosque was built with the usual rectangular footprint, but as it stands parallel to the street the qibla wall is skewed off-axis to Mecca. Unfortunately, the northern half the mosque is demolished—including the prayer hall—making it unclear how the incorrect orientation was resolved, if at all.

East of the mosque stands an octagonal hauz, or reservoir, fed by the adjacent Shah Rud canal. The practice of placing a mosque adjacent to reservoirs originated in the reign of Ubaydullah Khan (1534-39) and remained popular thereafter. Directly to the southwest of the hauz is a tall minaret—the 2nd highest in the city—attached by a footbridge to the mosque. The Mir Haidar Bala madrasa on the east side was built at a later date, concluding the ensemble.

Individually, none of the ensemble's buildings is particularly notable. However, as a whole, they represent a rare opportunity to see a group of 16th century buildings and waterworks in their original layout, which somehow managed to escape Soviet-era "redevelopment" that resulted in the loss of so much cultural heritage.

Site plan of the Gaukushan Ensemble