Rukhabad Mausoleum, Samarkand

Rukhabad Mausoleum, Samarkand

According to the Arabian traveler Ibn Battuta, central asian Sheikh Burkhan ad-Din Sagardji was the head of Islam in Peking. Earlier, Ibn Battuta had met him in India. When Sheikh Sagardji died, his son Abu Sa'id transported the body to Samarkand and buried him beside the mazar of Samarkand Sheikh Basir, according to his father's will. Abu Sa'id Sagardji stayed in Samarkand and occupied a place among the most esteemed clerics of Amir Timur's court. Amir Timur ordered the construction of a mausoleum over the tomb of Sheikh Burkhan ad-Din Sagardji. The mausoleum was named Rukhabad - "House of the Spirit".

The sons of the Sheikh, Abu Sa'id and Shaikhzod Isom ad-Din, as well as the other members of the Sagardji family, were buried here later; in particular, the "Chinese princess", a wife of Sheikh Sagardji. The legend goes that under the dome lies a box with seven hairs of the Prophet Muhammad. Rukhabad Mausoleum adjoins the summer mosque, whose decoration bears traces of Eastern-Turkic and Chinese traditions. A small minaret was added to the complex at the end the 19th century.