Bukhara education system: Historical analysis and social significance

The Imam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center, in collaboration with the Institute for Asian-African Studies at the University of Hamburg, Germany, held another online seminar in the “Material Cultural of the Zerafshan Valley” online lecture series. It was attended by employees of the Center, researchers from scientific institutions in our country and abroad, as well as scientists from Germany, Austria, and Turkey.

The seminar featured a lecture by Abdusattor Jumanazarov, a research fellow at the Abu Rayhon Beruni Institute of Oriental Studies, entitled “Reflections on the Bukhara Education System in the Middle Ages.”

The scholar analyzed the education system of Bukhara in the Middle Ages, the history of madrasahs, and their socio-economic significance, describing the 1,200-year history of the city’s madrasahs, the educational processes in them, how they were divided into categories, and the system of provision organized on the basis of waqf properties.

The structure of the Bukhara education system consisted of three main parts: the management of madrasas, the educational process, and student support. From the highest-ranking teachers to the lowest-ranking teachers, everyone had specific tasks, and the education sector developed on the basis of an orderly and perfect system. The lecture showed the academic levels of students, material support, as well as the social significance of the waqf properties.

The scientist noted that the continuity of various categories of madrasahs and the educational process was an important factor in the scientific and cultural development, especially the waqf properties played a decisive role in the material support of these educational institutions, as well as the state and society constantly supported their activities in material and spiritual terms.

Jumanazarov’s research in this area has opened up new directions in the study of the Bukhara education system, allowing for a broader understanding of the development of madrasahs and education in different periods.

The seminar continued with a lively question-and-answer session.