The Mausoleum of Asaf ibn Burhiya — Companion of the Legendary Solomon
One of the most famous architectural monuments of the southern capital of Kyrgyzstan, the city of Osh, is the mausoleum of Asaf ibn Burhiya, which is located right at the foot of the eastern slope of the Sulayman-Too mountain.
This architectural monument, as the folk legend goes, is inextricably linked to the name of one of the closest companions and viziers of the legendary King Solomon — Asaf ibn Burhiya. According to historical legends, Asaf ibn Burhiya bequeathed to be buried at this place, at the foot of the holy mountain Takhti-Suleiman, which was subsequently fulfilled.
The History of the Mausoleum of Asaf ibn Burhiya
The first information about the burial of Solomon's closest companion, named Asaf ibn Burhiya, near the mountain in Osh belongs to Jemal Karshi, the author of the only source of the 13th century of Central Asian origin. In this regard, the outstanding orientalist V.V. Bartold wrote in his work "Fergana":
“Regarding the association of the legends of the cycle about King Solomon with this mountain (Sulayman-Too), Babur says nothing (we learn from him only that there are many hadiths about the merits of Osh), but this association must have taken place already then, because, according to Jemal Karshi, the grave of the vizier Asaf ibn Burhiya was located not far from this mountain.”
In Jemal Karshi's report, the architectural structure over the grave (the mausoleum) is not mentioned. However, there is every reason to assert that by the 13th century it had already been built, as during scientific surveys of the historical monument, employees of the scientific research design bureau of the "Kyrgyzrestavratsiya" association discovered the remains of a building made of bricks from the 11th-12th centuries under the foundation of the existing building. The reasons for the destruction of the mausoleum building from the Karakhanid period are unknown. The time of the construction of the new building on the site of the destroyed one is also unknown.
It can only be assumed that the building was repeatedly rebuilt, as researchers from the 19th-20th centuries, both pre-revolutionary and Soviet (Zimin L.A., Denike B.P., Bernshtam A.N., Pomaskin B.P., Nysov V.E., and others), believe that the current building was erected in the 18th century.
Unfortunately, the Arabic inscriptions in the interior of the monument, mentioned by E.L. Markov, a Russian writer and publicist who visited Osh in the second half of the 19th century, have not survived. In his book "Fergana. Travel Essays on the Kokand Khanate," he dedicated one of the chapters to the city of Osh titled "Osh and Its Inhabitants." Here are excerpts from this chapter:
“At the foot of these cliffs, there is an old garden of centuries-old poplars of monstrous thickness and height, probably contemporaries of Timur. In their dense shade, under the Suleiman rock, there is a dim chapel. In the middle of it stands a massive stone tomb, covered with red coverings. Under the dark dome of the chapel, instead of stucco cornices, its round walls are wrapped in a double belt of huge black and red letters, Kufic Arabic inscriptions from the Quran. Intricate carved doors made of blackened wood lead into this burial place, full of stern grandeur.”
It is possible that among the mentioned inscriptions was also the date of the building's construction. Such a practice was widespread in the Islamic world. But since all inscriptions in the interior have long been lost, 20th-century researchers dated the building based on the characteristics of the construction materials used, techniques, and methods employed by the architects in the construction of the mausoleum.
In 1911, L. Zimin, a participant in the Turkestan circle of archaeology enthusiasts, who traveled through the Fergana Valley to study architectural monuments, conducted the first visual surveys and measurements of the mausoleum of Asaf ibn Burhiya. He presented the results of this work in his article "Muslim Legend about the City of Osh." In particular, he writes:
“The mausoleum, named after Hazrat Asaf ibn Burhiya, is located in Osh, at the foot of Takhti-Suleiman on its southeastern side. It is a building of not particularly old construction made of baked bricks typical of Central Asia. The entrance is a high arch, blocked by a wooden lattice. This arch is beautifully painted inside to resemble mosaic. At the depth of the arch, there is a carved door, locked with an iron lock, attached with an iron staple in the shape of a fish. The name of the craftsman who made the door, a certain Ahmed, is carved on the door, and above the door, in gold on a blue background, is written a hadith about Solomon. Near the door are three oval-shaped stones with half-erased Arabic inscriptions, on which I could neither read anything coherent nor find any date. I could not enter the mausoleum behind the wooden door. The keeper of the mausoleum said that inside there is only one large stone above Asaf's grave, and there are no inscriptions on the stone. The dome of the mausoleum is large and rises about 8-9 arshins above the ground. The Juma mosque directly adjoins the mausoleum, built in the shape of a right angle, one side of which, starting from the mausoleum, according to local mullahs, was built 5 years ago, while the other side, perpendicular to the first, was built four years earlier.”
During archival research, scholars managed to uncover the waqf documents of the mausoleum of Hazrat Asaf ibn Burhiya, dating from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The total volume of documents amounted to 23 sheets. Analysis of the waqf-nama and inoyat-nama showed that by the early 20th century, the mausoleum of Hazrat Asaf ibn Burhiya represented a complex of cult buildings located both at the foot of the Sulayman-Tag mountain and on its slopes and summit.
A general description of the mausoleum is contained in the protocol of the land tax commissioner of the 3rd district of the Osh county, Lieutenant Colonel Lebedev, dated June 14, 1904. Below you can see an excerpt from this protocol:
“The waqf establishment of the mausoleum of Hazrat Asaf ibn Burhiya, both as a grave and the summit of the Takhti-Suleiman mountain, where the mosque stands, is considered by Muslims as a holy place and is associated with the name of King Solomon (or Suleiman). All buildings were constructed from the income of the waqf with the participation of khans and many charitable donors.”
Further, the document lists the real estate of the mausoleum, which includes 3 market stalls and 4 plots of land with a total area of 157 tanaps.
The holdings of the mausoleum, mentioned in the "waqf-nama," consisted of various donations for the mausoleum of Hazrat Asaf ibn Burhiya and provided a solid income, constantly replenished by offerings from pilgrims.
This income allowed for the maintenance of all components of the mausoleum complex in good order, timely and regularly conducting construction and repair works on all cult buildings, as well as supporting the religious cult servants and necessary workers.
During the Soviet period, in the years of the "cultural revolution," many historical religious objects were doomed to destruction as unnecessary heritage corrupting the “builders of communism.” For example, well-known historical monuments such as the "Babur's House," the Alimbek Datka madrasa, the Ravat Abdullah mosque, and others gradually fell into disrepair without proper state attention; while some objects were relatively lucky, others were completely destroyed.
Some buildings of the mausoleum complex of Asaf ibn Burhiya were also destroyed, and the Jami mosque was used as a warehouse for a canning factory. In 1978, the mosque building was demolished, leaving only the mausoleum from the entire complex. Abandoned and half-ruined, it represented an example of barbaric treatment of the works of folk architecture.
In 1980-1982, according to the decision of the Ministry of Culture of the Kyrgyz SSR, comprehensive scientific research was conducted on the mausoleum, and a restoration project was developed by Special Scientific Restoration Production Workshops. The authors of the restoration project were D. Imankulov, E. Frolov, S. Merkulova, with historical and archival research conducted by B. Pomaskin, and consultant V. Nusov. The main volume of restoration work was completed in 1983.
Today's building of the mausoleum of Asaf ibn Burhiya is a portal-dome structure, rectangular in plan, with dimensions of 7.3 and 9.65 m. The interior space has an octagonal outline. The pointed dome, with a diameter of 4.4 m, rests on a low octagonal drum, while the upper part of the portal of the mausoleum of Asaf ibn Burhiya is completed with four rectangular openings covered with lattice screens. The portal is finished with teeth adorned with ornamental patterns in the form of a stylized trefoil. At the corners of the portal are slender minaret-like columns. The ornamented entrance niche of the portal has wooden carved doors, which are made in the traditional style of wood carving characteristic of the folk art of Central Asia.
