Mizdarkhan, also spelled Mizdakhan, is a necropolis and archeological site in

Karakalpakstan Karakalpakstan, officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, is an autonomous republic and part of Uzbekistan. It spans the northwestern portion of Uzbekistan. Its capital is Nukus (' / ). Karakalpakstan has an area of , and has a population of a ...

, an autonomous republic within

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. Founded in the 4th century BC, it was inhabited for approximately 1,700 years, after which it was used as a sacred burial site.

History

Founded in the 4th century BC, Mizdarkhan was once the second-largest city in

Khorezm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by t ...

after Konye Urgench. A local legend says it is the burial site of

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

, which may account for its sacred status in ancient times. Mizdarkhan was built close to an older city of fire-worshippers, and

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

was practiced here, too. In the medieval period, Zoroastrian and Islamic traditions entwined, as is evidenced by burial sites which have been excavated. Mizdarkhan thrived until the 14th century when

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

led three campaigns against Khorezm. He attacked Mizdarkhan and reduced it to rubble, and after this the city was depopulated and used solely as a burial place. Most of the mausoleums and the small mosque which are visible today date from this period.

Main sites

The complex of monuments at Mizdarkhan is located on three hills close to the village of Khodzheyli (Khodjeyli). There are remnants of a fortress with walls 10m thick, which creates a strong impression of how prosperous and well defended the city once would have been. Within these fortified walls are the ruins of two important buildings, a

fire temple A fire temple (; ) is a place of worship for Zoroastrians. In Zoroastrian doctrine, ''atar'' and '' aban'' (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies sregarded as the basis of ritual lif ...

and a palace. Opposite the fortress is a hill with the original Zoroastrian cemetery. Unlike Muslims, Zoroastrians didn’t bury their dead, but rather left the bodies to be consumed by birds of prey on top of a flat roofed tower called a

dakhma A ''dakhma'' (), also known as a Tower of Silence (), is a circular, raised structure built by Zoroastrians for excarnation (that is, the exposure of human corpses to the elements for decomposition), in order to avoid contamination of the ...

. They then put the clean bones into

ossuaries An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...

, a number of which have been discovered here. The grave associated with Adam is beneath a mud brick mausoleum. Local legend says that a brick falls from the structure every year, and when the last brick has fallen, the world will end. In order to protect mankind from this event, pilgrims place additional bricks on the structure when they visit, ensuring it stays standing. On the western edge of Mizdarkhan the 11th-century tomb of Yusup Ishan and a number of other grand mausoleums dating from the medieval period. These are Muslim burial sites, and some of the mausoleums have beautiful decorative tiles.

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in Uzbekistan