Architecture of Eski-Kyrym
MarifetÖzbek Han camisi
Among all the architectural monuments of the Golden Horde era, the Uzbek Khan’s Mosque is the largest and best preserved in Crimea, namely in the city of Eski-Kyrym (back then it was a capital called Solkhat). It was built in 714 (according to the Hijri calendar, in 1314 according to the Gregorian calendar) during the reign of Muhammad (the name he chose after the conversion to Islam), as evidenced by an Arabic calligraphic inscription on the entrance portal.
Uzbek Khan introduced Islam as the state religion but the Horde nobility did not approve of this decision, so he relied on the wealthy Crimean ulus and built a mosque for the inhabitants of the capital.
One of the first mentions of the mosque of Khan Uzbek was found in Emilio Dorotelli d’Ascoli’s work “Description of the Black Sea and Tataria”, which was created in the first half of the 17th century.
The structure of the mosque is simple: it is built in a rectangular shape, with the minaret located near the exit. Inside, there are 15-metre-high pillars. There was also a library in the hall. The Quran richly decorated with engravings was of particular importance here. A peculiar characteristic of the mosque is its monumental entrance decorated with a delicate pattern of steppe lilies.
The mosque was destroyed in the 1420s, although the reasons are unknown: perhaps it was affected by wars or an earthquake. This was discovered by archaeologists and architects who began its restoration in the 1980s. They found out that the masonry of the entrance portal was tightly leaning against the northern wall of the mosque, which did not comply with the building rules. At the same time, archaeologists began to investigate the southern wall adjacent to the Indzhibek Khatun madrasa and discovered that the madrasa was already there when the mosque was built. It means that the mosque was dismantled and rebuilt on a new site. It happened in between the 15th and 16th centuries. It was probably done during the reign of Mengli I Gerai. It is also evidenced by the minbar built in the mosque in 918 (1512) by the khan, as well as the style of carving of the mihrab (a niche in the wall pointing to Mecca), similar to that on the mausoleum of the first Crimean khans in Salachyk, which was built by Mengli I Gerai in 1502.
In 1992, the restoration process was completed. The mosque was handed over to the local Crimean Tatar community.
İncibek hatun medresesi
In 1332, a madrasa was built on the initiative and at the expense of Indzhibek Khatun, a noble Horde woman. It is evidenced by the inscription on the door, which was mentioned in 1666 in Evliya Chelebi’s Travel Book: “This blessed madrasa was ordered to be built during the reign of Muhammad Gerai, O Good One, King of the local world and Giver of prosperity, by Indzhibek Khatun, daughter of Bei Kilburun, Emir of the Emirs, deceased, and Allah will sanctify his grave in 733 AH.” In fact, Evliya Chelebi made a mistake: the madrasa was built during the reign of Khan Muhammad Uzbek.
The madrasa was destroyed in 1423 because of an earthquake.
In 1925-1926, the Crimean government headed by Veli Ibraimov allocated the necessary funds for archaeological excavations in Eski-Kyrym. For two years, excavations and thorough studies of the madrasa were carried out. The results of these archaeological investigations determined that the total area of the madrasa was 819.29 m2. The entrance portal was lavishly decorated with ornaments, 10 metres high. The courtyard was paved with a fountain in the middle of it. There were also 24 cells for students and teachers located on the sides. Inside the madrasa, there were special auditoriums for lectures. The building had service rooms as well as niches in the walls for writing utensils and books.
Along with religious studies, secular subjects such as Arabic, jurisprudence, rhetoric, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and others were taught there. The term of study lasted for 9 years. There were approximately 100 students.
The archaeologists also found an underground chamber with a brick vault in one of the rooms in the north-western corner of the madrasa. They found several burials in wooden coffins, a marble monument on a wooden pedestal decorated with turquoise tiles with gold paintings and the date 776 (1371). The researchers concluded that the monument belonged to Indzhibek Khatun and that after her death, one of the rooms in the madrasa was allocated for a mausoleum.
In the first year of the madrasa’s existence, the Arab traveller Ibn Battuta visited Eski-Kyrym. In his notes from 1333, he mentions a number of local scholars and religious authorities. It is likely that some of these figures taught at the Indzhibek Khatun’s madrasa. In addition to the function of an educational institution, the madrasa also served as a muwakkithane, where the exact time of prayers for each day was calculated.
Misk camisi
Little is known about this building: neither the date of its construction nor who built it. The only thing we’re aware of for sure is that musk was added to the mortar because it has a pleasant and very persistent aroma, and Muslims believe that this is what paradise smells like. There are few such structures in the world, as musk is a rather expensive substance. Among them are the minaret of the mosque in Marrakech, the mihrab of the Zobeideh Mosque in Tabriz, and the Safa Mosque in Diyarbakir. There are also four legends that were recorded by different travellers and chroniclers at different times.
In 1636, the Turkish traveller Abdullah ibn Rizvan-pasha wrote that the reason for the construction of the mosque was a dispute between Indian and Crimean merchants, who were competing for the title of the richest. The Indians sent a whole caravan of musk to Crimea on the condition that the entire consignment could be purchased by only one person. According to their expectations, this was to prove that there were no such wealthy merchants in Crimea, but such a person was found and impressed the rival by generously sprinkling it on the mud floor of the mosque instead of straw chaff.
30 years later, another Evliya Chelebi, wrote that after the rain, the remains of the mosque still smell like musk, and if you throw a pinch of dust from the ruins, you can smell ambergris. As an explanation, the man cited a legend: “A wealthy merchant decided to build a mosque in the city at his own expense. One day, he noticed a merchant driving past the construction site with a load of precious fragrances – musk and ambergris. The owner of the mosque asked the merchant where he was going and how much his goods were worth. But the merchant silently passed him without answering. Then the mosque builder approached the merchant’s caravan, threw off the sacks of ambergris and musk weighing half a tonne and poured them into the mortar. The merchant was frightened because now he was broke. However, the owner invited him to his house, treated him to a meal, paid for the goods with an equal weight of gold, and let him go.”
The same legend is described in his work by the Crimean Tatar chronicler of the Khan’s time, Seid Muhammad Riza, but with the clarification that the owner himself was working on the construction site, dressed in work clothes, and the merchant was rude to him because he mistook him for an ordinary worker. The owner then punished the impudent man by pouring his goods into the mortar so that he would not judge a person by their appearance next time.
The fourth version was recorded by Russian historians in the 19th century from the words of the inhabitants of Eski-Kyrym: “In ancient times, one of the city’s mosques was so old that it could collapse at any moment, so it became dangerous to go inside. But instead of repairing it, the city’s wealthy decided to pray outside to avoid spending money on repairs. Seeing their greed, Yusuf, a poor porter, prayed to Allah and asked him to send him money to rebuild the mosque. He travelled to a foreign land, was hired by a merchant, and earned the merchant’s trust for his honest work. The merchant eventually decided to give all his property to Yusuf after his death. The man returned to his hometown and offered the rich people to rebuild the mosque together: he would give a third of the money and they would give the rest, but the greedy rich people ran away when they heard this. So Yusuf showed them true generosity and used all his money to build a mosque of unprecedented luxury – made of marble, gold, ivory, the stones of which were bonded with musk mortar.”
The ruins of the Muslim mosque are probably located on the territory of the private sector, with sheds and fences attached to the old wall, and a significant part of the wall dismantled for household needs. Archaeological research has not yet been carried out, so no one can say for sure that these are the ruins of Musk Dzhami.
Beybars camisi
Some people claim that this monument was built by order of the Egyptian Sultan Baybars, who was allegedly born in Crimea. In fact, this is not true. All that is known about the origin of Sultan Baybars is that he was from the Kipchak steppe, which means that he could be from Crimea, the Volga region, or the Transcaspian steppe.
No Crimean Tatar legend mentions Baybars’ name, and the information about his involvement in the mosque first appeared in the 19th century in the works of Russian researchers who relied on the work of the authoritative French orientalist Joseph de Guignes, namely the following passage: “Many different supplies were sent for the mosque that was being built in Eski-Kyrym, at a cost of 2000 dinars. The nickname of the sultan, El Melik El Mansur, was inscribed on this mosque. They also sent a mason to carve the sultan’s titles on the mosque”.
In his brief summary, the researcher made a mistake: he confused the names of Baybars with his successor Qalawun, as both begin with the same name – El Melik (although in fact it is not a proper name but the title). Apart from this, the chronicle cannot be about Sultan Baybars as it is dated 1287 – when Sultan Qalawun ruled.
In the 1980s, archaeological excavations were carried out on the ruins of the Baybars Mosque, which revealed that the foundation of the mosque stands on the site of demolished residential areas. Under the foundation, traces of utility pits, houses destroyed before the construction of the mosque, and Horde coins dating from the 14th century were found. Thus, the mosque was built in the late 14th century, meaning it has nothing to do with Egypt. It was probably built during the reign of Khan Tokhtamysh.
However, Eski-Kyrym may indeed have once had a mosque built at the expense of the Egyptian sultan, as evidenced by the court chronicles of Qalawun and the chronicles of the Maghrebi traveller Ibn Battuta.
Sources:
1. Країна Крим. Нариси про пам’ятки історії Кримського ханату: Видавництво «Майстер Книг», Київ-Бахчисарай 2017.
2. «Узбек Джамі – одна з найстаріших мечетей Криму» (увага! Стаття російською).
4. Мечеть хана Узбека. Старий Крим (увага! Стаття російською).
5. Старокримський університет Інджібек-хатун (увага! Стаття російською).
6. Муск-Джамі.
7. Мечеть Бейбарса.
Article by Sultaniie Zeinidinova, Olena Sudak, Datia Piskun, Mamure Chabanova