Bukhara Prison is a fortified building that traditionally served as the prison of the Amir of

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

, in

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 ...

. In the late 18th century, during the reign of the Mangits, it was built and was one of the largest prisons of the Bukhara Emirate. After the Bukhara Revolution, the collapse of the monarchy, and the formation of the Bukhara People's Soviet Republic, it was closed. Currently, it is considered one of the noteworthy places in the city. At the same time, the Museum of Legal and Judicial History of

is located here.

History

The prison was built in the 2nd half of the 18th century, during the Mangit dynasty, and is located in the northwest corner of the ancient city, in the vicinity of the Hoja Nizamiddin Bolo burial site, around a hundred meters northeast of the Ark fortress, dating back to the middle centuries.National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan. The first volume. Tashkent, 2000

Architecture

The surroundings of the prison are enclosed by a solid meat wall, and above it rises a high adobe structure with walls reinforced by buttresses. The entrance to the prison is through a small arched and two-story ancient wooden door frame. The prison is divided into two parts: the upper prison called "zindon-i bolo" and the lower prison called "zindon-i poyon". The first part consists of several rooms for prisoners. During those times, every month, prisoners in this part were subjected to public flogging twice, suspended from a pole with chains. The detainees endured the punishment barefoot, without any protection. The second part is a deep pit with a diameter of 5 meters and a depth of 6.5 meters, surrounded by a high wall topped with battlements where criminals were placed, and their food was also lowered in the same manner. In many Muslim states of that era, deep pits were used for disgracing prisoners or those convicted of serious crimes. It was specially designated for high-ranking officials who had fallen into disgrace for various reasons. Most often, rebels, murderers, thieves, bandits, debtors (if the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

was not imposed on them), those awaiting execution (if the death penalty had not yet been carried out), and conspirators awaiting trial were thrown into the prison. The courtyard contains buildings made of various types of adobe, belonging to different historical periods. These include the prison guard's room, tax collectors' quarters, debtors' rooms, and cells for political prisoners as well as those condemned to death. Bukhara Prison is included in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List as part of the overall heritage of Uzbekistan. In 2020, some episodes of the film about Behbudiy were shot in the prison.

Gallery

File:Pg179 Prisoners of Buchara.jpg , A group of prisoners in Bukhara, 1899 File:All the Russias- travels and studies in contemporary European Russia, Finland, Siberia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia (1902) (14781088261).jpg , Bukhara prison, 1902 File:Bokhara Jailers.jpg , Executioners at the door of Bukhara prison, 1909 File:Prokudin-Gorskii-21.jpg , Bukhara. Photo of S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky, 1915 File:Death penalty in Bukhara.jpg , The process of beheading those sentenced to death in Bukhara, 1913 File:Gorskii 20009u.jpg , Prisoners in Bukhara.

References

{{Reflist Tourist attractions in Uzbekistan Buildings and structures in Bukhara Prisons in Uzbekistan Defunct prisons Prison museums Buildings and structures completed in the 18th century