Archives of Unknown Documents on the History of Osh
Having become a prominent Kokand dignitary, Datka Alay, the hakim of the Andijan province, and finally, for a short time, the chief vizier of the Kokand Khanate, Alymbek continued to regard the Alay pastures almost as his ancestral estate, while the city of Osh became the base for the Kyrgyz nomads. It was in Osh that Alymbek built a madrasah at his own expense, which, according to contemporaries, rivaled the khan's madrasah in Kokand in its architecture and beauty. The madrasah has not survived to this day; it was destroyed somewhere in the 1950s of our century, but photographs and descriptions of it remain, as well as official legal documents (waqf-nama) formalizing the ownership of this spiritual institution — the so-called waqf — land, trading shops, and other property.
According to archival documents, the madrasah was built in the late 1850s on the right bank of the Ak-Bura River along the Kara-Suy road, opposite the bazaar. It was constructed of burnt brick and consisted of a darshana, khanaka, and 28 hujras — cells, which housed three mudarris (spiritual teachers) and from 80 to 100 student-mullahs.
Architecturally, it was a structure typical of Muslim cult purposes. It was essentially a rectangle, measuring 40X50 m with an overall height of 5 m. The facade was adorned with two 15-meter minarets. Inside the courtyard, there were four gumbezi, a mosque, and ayvans, which could accommodate thousands of believers on festive days. Since the madrasah was located on the opposite side of the river from the city center and bazaar, Alymbek built a large hanging bridge over the Ak-Bura. The first chief mudarris at the madrasah was the well-known scholar Khadzhimat-alam.
The archives hold many unknown documents on the history of Osh and its institutions. Somewhere in their repositories, the waqf case, coded under No. 449 from 1901 about the madrasah and waqf of Alymbek-datka, has been lost. However, we discovered another, later document — from the Office of the Turkestan Governor-General, titled "The Case on the Most Humble Petition of Mullah Hasanbek Alymbekov for the Restoration of the Waqf Rights of the Madrasah 'Alymbek-chek' in the City of Osh, Fergana Province," which outlines the general picture of the accumulation and concentration of land and trading shops in the economy of Alymbek's madrasah, i.e., the formation and expansion of the waqf of Alymbek's madrasah.
On the pages of this original document, we read that in 1276 AH (1859), Alymbek-datka donated 5,000 sheep (approximately 1660 desyatins, i.e., about 1825 hectares) of land to the madrasah he built himself. These were the lands of the entire village of Chin-Abad. However, personal household plots of the peasants, measuring 2 tanaps, were excluded from the donation. As stated in the waqf-nama, they constituted "the inalienable property of their inhabitants and should be considered free from any obligations in favor of the waqf establishment — the madrasah."
It can be assumed that this was once a free expanse of land that, by Alymbek's order, was irrigated and made suitable for agriculture. For their labor, each peasant received 2 tanaps of land as a full tax-exempt property for their household plot, while the tax from all other land was to be directed to the benefit of Alymbek's madrasah. Thus, the foundation of land ownership for the madrasah was laid, which expanded year by year. Both Alymbek himself and later his heirs continued to purchase various plots of land both in Osh and its surroundings, formalizing them ("donating") to the waqf.
Alymbek's Donation to the Waqf
It is noteworthy that, being not only a large landowner but also the owner of herds of livestock, Alymbek-datka was concerned about hay harvesting (which was generally not characteristic of nomadic Kyrgyz). The Osh madrasah of Alymbek also had hayfields in its waqf. In one of the archival documents of the Kokand Khanate — a named list of representatives of the clergy in the Osh province — the waqf of Alymbek's madrasah is mentioned, which has its own hayfields. A document from the former Osh hakim Sultan Murad-bek has been preserved, which exempts the hayfields and vineyard of Alymbek's son — Abdullabek and even his warriors from taxes.
As follows from the waqf document, Alymbek indicates himself as the mutawalli — the manager of the waqf, and then this right should pass to his heirs. The question arises, why did Alymbek need to irrigate lands, buy them, and then donate them to a spiritual institution? Was it driven by the fanaticism of a believer, giving away a large part of his real estate — land — to a spiritual school, or by charity — donating land for the organization of education in the madrasah and ensuring the students? Not at all!
If this did occur, it was only to enhance the "authority" of this feudal lord. The essence lay elsewhere. According to Sharia, property bequeathed to a waqf for any institution cannot be alienated: it cannot be sold or confiscated. However, it can be (and this was almost universally the case) exempted from taxes in favor of the state, although sometimes a so-called "certificate of absolution" was also required. Thus, the waqf also had tax immunity. Provided that the manager of the waqf was the donor himself, he not only lost nothing but gained much.
Firstly, the donor remains the manager of the income from the waqf lands (although the document specifies what percentage goes personally to the mutawalli, what goes for the repair of the institution, what for the maintenance of students and teachers).
Secondly, he receives a guarantee of private ownership and can rest assured that it will not be confiscated. (Alymbek had already experienced this several times, repeatedly facing disgrace with confiscation of property).
Thirdly, the continuity of the mutawalli's office is ensured, which was guaranteed by the religion itself — Islam.
And, fourthly, all this created the appearance of a pious deed — "donating" one's own property to a spiritual institution — a Muslim madrasah or mosque.
Alymbek's donation to the waqf proved to be justified. The vicissitudes of court life, rivalry, and inter-feudal strife led to the fact that soon the star of Alymbek-datka set. The new khan Khudoyar confiscated all of Alymbek's property, except for ... the waqf.
The waqf of Alymbek's madrasah in Osh remained untouched, and its management passed into the hands of the descendants of the Kyrgyz feudal lord. The first mutawalli of the madrasah after Alymbek was his eldest son Jarkinbay Mirza-datka, followed in turn by other sons — Abdullabek, Batyrbek, Hasanbek, etc. The last mutawallis were S. Tanybekov, Mullah Bayba, Mullah Isami, and finally, Abdulmajit Abdulhakimov, who handed over all affairs to our informant D. Zainabitdinov in the waqf department in the 1920s during the Soviet power.
However, not all of them were from Alymbek's clan — Kurbandzhan, but all were in one way or another connected to him. In the waqf, as an inviolable treasury, the heirs of Alymbek and Kurbandzhan "donated" their own property.
The Waqf Document (Waqf-nama)
In 1292 AH (1875), Abdullabek formalized in waqf two adjacent plots of land for his father along the Osh river in the neighborhoods of Shahidan-tepe and Saray-kucha, with a total area of about 14 tanaps. One of the plots contained trading shops. Abdullabek retained the right of mutawalli for himself. This means he effectively maintained the tradition of his father's hereditary waqf (waqf-avlod). As seen from subsequent documents, there were 161 shops on these lands, and the zakat from all of them went not to the khan's treasury, but directly to the needs of Alymbek's madrasah and his son mutawalli Abdullabek.
For example, we present the waqf document (waqf-nama) itself and the khan's certificate (inoyat-nama) exempting the waqf from taxes. The first is provided in the translation of Turkestan officials from the early 20th century, the second — in a translation made at our request by the orientalist from Almaty V. P. Yudin.
“Waqf-nama of the Kyrgyz feudal lord Abdullabek on his donation of two plots of land to the waqf of his father Alymbek-datka in the city of Osh in 1292 AH (1875).
The madrasah made of burnt brick in the city of Osh. The madrasah consists of a darshana, khanaka, and 28 cells. Boundaries: to the west — the cemetery and the river, to the south — the waqf shops of the madrasah, to the east — the road, to the north — the cemetery.
Two plots of land along the Osh river, one next to the other, with a length of 443 arshins.
1st plot has boundaries: to the west — the mill ditch of Mirza-Rakhim, to the south — the road, to the east — the Osh river, to the north — the land owned by Mullah Hussein Ali Mullah Pirimkulov, the donor, and Mullah Muhammad Aziz Mahzum Damulla Tangrikumov.
2nd plot has boundaries: to the west — the mill ditch, to the south — the land of Mir-Seid Sheikh, Abjwazi Abdurakhmanbay Mullah Khal Muhammadov and Abjwazi Ishan Khoji, to the north — the road. This plot contains shops.
In the month of Zil-Qi'dah 1292 AH, Abdullabek-datka, son of Alymbek, the parvana of Hasanbek-biev, declared that he donates the mentioned plots of land to the waqf for the benefit of the madrasah. The mutawalli of the waqf is the donor himself, and after him — his descendants.
The income from the waqf should go for the repair of the madrasah, and the remainder should be divided into 10 parts: 1 — for the mutawalli, 3 — for the mudarris, 1 — for the imam, 1 — for the muazzin, the guard, and the barber, and 4 — for the benefit of the students.”
The waqf-nama is sealed with 20 seals of Osh qazis, ulem, and other legal and spiritual figures; the document did not have the khan's seal.
Apparently, this is why a "certificate of absolution" from the khan was also required, which was issued to Abdullabek by Khudoyar-khan at that time.
“At present, let it be known and acknowledged by all hakims, amins, and qazis, and noble ulem, and sheikhs of Islam and [all persons] involved in sultan affairs and who have taken responsibility in khan's matters, and other sarkars, and amins, and aksakals, and all kedkhudai of the high state, that in the days of our ever-increasing and eternally [accompanying us] power of our august majesty, chubazirat-pansat Abdullabek-datka purchased numerous shops with suitable land for construction on the banks of the river in the Osh province, transformed them into waqf for the madrasah built by his father, the late Alymbek-parvana [and] prepared a waqf certificate adorned with the seals of qazis and ulem, [which] has been worthy of consideration by the bright gaze of our majesty. By [our favor and benevolence towards this person], we commanded that all hakims, amins, and sarkars, and other concerned parties consider the waqfs, the boundaries of which are defined in the waqf certificate, as absolute waqf of the mentioned madrasah, not to demand and not to strive to receive dirhems and fuls from it, not to encroach on anything related to the mentioned waqfs and, for this reason, considering it resolved, not to violate [our] greatest, mandatory for execution firman.
In the month of Rajab of the revered year 1292 AH (1875).”
This document was sealed with the small seal of Khudoyar-khan from the second period of his reign — dated 1279 AH (1863) and represented a full-fledged "certificate of absolution," exempting the waqf from all taxes in favor of the treasury; the income from it now fully went only to Alymbek's madrasah, and it was managed by mutawalli Abdullabek.
The exemption from taxes was to be confirmed by documents from each new khan, which was usually done — but only concerning their supporters. Open enemies could very well not receive such confirmation.
Abdullabek, being a supporter of Ishak, who declared himself Pulat-khan and took the throne in the last months of the khanate's existence, had such "certificates of absolution" from him as well.
Waqf Immunity
In 1292 AH (1875), Abdullabek announced by special inoyat-nama that the Khojalat ditch, owned by Abdullabek-datka, is exempt from kharaj, which should go to his waqf, designated for the mosques Imam-Ata and Khydyer-datka. The tax collector was instructed "under no circumstances to touch the kharaj of the mentioned ditch."
It should be noted that waqf immunity was preserved even in the early years after the annexation of Fergana to Russia, even concerning open opponents of the latter, which did not extend to the private property of the same individuals. Thus, after Abdullabek fled to Afghanistan and was unwilling to return, his own lands in the Besh-Bulak area were classified as state-owned articles based on the order of the military governor of the Fergana province Skobolev in 1876. However, the lands that Abdullabek had previously designated as waqf for various institutions (both for his father's madrasah and other mazars) were not subject to confiscation and remained untouched. Their mutawallis were, as mentioned above, the sons of Alymbek in turn.
According to reports on the madrasah and mosques of the Osh district, in 1877, Alymbek-datka's madrasah had 71 trading shops and 34 tanaps of urban land, from which an income of 319 rubles was generated, in addition to income from the waqf lands of the village of Chin-Abad amounting to 437 rubles. It should be noted that even after the abolition of the majority of waqfs and the confiscation of the main fund of lands of madrasahs and mosques and their transfer to state-owned lands, the waqf of Alymbek's madrasah continued to remain quite wealthy. According to the chief of the Osh district, in 1886, the mutawalli of the madrasah Hasanbek owned 80 trading shops in the city alone, and according to data from 1906-1907, the madrasah had 120 trading shops. Despite the fact that after the land tax survey, most of the lands were transferred from the waqf to the fund of state lands, the Osh madrasah of Alymbek continued to be the richest. In 1891-1892, the maintenance of the mutawalli amounted to 160 rubles per year, senior students received 20 rubles, middle students — 10 rubles, and junior students — 5 rubles. Overall, the income from trading shops in 1901 amounted to 1350 rubles. From the lands that were removed from the waqf during the land tax survey and temporarily leased to the population as state-owned articles, in the same 1901, a tax was calculated (but it was no longer directed to the waqf madrasah, but to the treasury) from 1307 desyatins amounting to almost 3140 rubles.
The vitality of the waqf institution was evident even after the revolution. Even in the early years of Soviet power, Alymbek's madrasah continued to retain two plots of arable land and several trading shops in the city of Osh until the waqf was finally liquidated. The last waqf affairs from Alymbek's madrasah were taken over by a representative of the administration of the Soviet authorities, already mentioned D. Zainabitdinov, who shared with us his memories of Alymbek's madrasah and waqf in Osh in the summer of 1962.