Miri-Arab Madrasah in Bukhara
Miri-Arab Madrasah
The construction of Miri-Arab Madrasah (Mir-i Arab Madrasah) is ascribed to Sheikh Abdullah Yamani of Yemen, called Miri-Arab, who was the spiritual mentor of Ubaidullah-khan and his son Abdul-Aziz-khan. Ubaidullah-khan waged ongoing successful wars with Iran. On at least three occasions, his troops seized Herat.
Historical Background
Each of these plundering raids on Iran was accompanied by the capture of many prisoners. It is said that Ubaidullah-khan invested the money gained from the ransom of more than three thousand Persian captives into the construction of the Miri-Arab Madrasah.
Ubaidullah-khan was deeply religious and had been nurtured in high respect for Islam and in the spirit of Sufism. His father named him in honor of the prominent 15th-century sheikh Ubaidullah al-Ahrar (1404–1490), who was originally from the Tashkent Region.
Architectural and Cultural Significance
By the 1530s, the era when sovereigns built splendid mausoleums for themselves and their relatives had ended. The khans of the Shaibanid dynasty became the standard-bearers of Quranic traditions. The importance of religion was so profound that even a prominent khan like Ubaidullah was laid to rest near his mentor within the madrasah.
In the center of the vault (gurhana) of the Miri-Arab Madrasah stands the wooden tomb of Ubaidullah-khan. Nearby, his mentor Miri-Arab is buried, as well as Muhammad Kasim, mudarris (a senior teacher) of the madrasah, who died in 1047 hijra.
The portal of the Miri-Arab Madrasah aligns on one axis with the portal of the Kalyan Mosque. However, due to a lower elevation of the square to the east, it was necessary to elevate the madrasah structure on a platform.