Presumably the name of the city comes from the Tajik “kulob”, which means “lake water”, or “kulob” – “wetland, thickets”. Kulyab received city status in 1934.
Kulyab history
Under the modern name of the city Kulyab was first mentioned in the 13th century.
For many centuries, it has been one of the important political, commercial, economic, and cultural centers of Khatlon Oblast in modern Tajikistan. The city was located on one of the roads of the Great Silk Road and had close trade, economic and cultural ties with many countries of the East and West.
In the period of the Middle Ages, the city was the center of the Kulyabskoy bek of the Bukhara Khanate. It was an important political, economic and cultural center. At that time, a large number of maktabs (schools) and madrasahs (higher educational institutions) functioned here, various craft industries and trade developed, literary and scientific associations were active.
In the 17th – 19th centuries, 40 poets lived and worked in Kulyab. The most famous of them were Nasekh (Abdurakhmon Khoja), Khoja Husaini Kangurti, Bismil, Shokhin.
During the archaeological excavations, the remains of buildings and mausoleums, testifying to a highly developed culture of architecture and construction in the city, were found on the territory of the city and its surroundings.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the city of Kulyab turned into the largest city of Eastern Bukhara – it had 20 blocks in its structure. On a high level, there were different kinds of crafts. Weaving (silk high-quality fabrics: brocade, alachi, kurtachi, suzani), jewelry, pottery and leather industry, carpentry, as well as the production of knives, horse harness, weapons and other metal products were considered to be especially significant and respected of them.
In addition, trade was developed in the city, there were eastern bazaars. Mostly in Kulyab, embroidery (Gulduzi and Chakak), which had a unique peculiar shape and coloring, was valued.
Sights of Kulyab
The main attractions of the city are the Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadoni mausoleum and the historical city museum.
The mausoleum of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadoni (14th – 17th centuries). The Mir Sayyid Ali Khamadoni memorial complex is located in the very center of the city of Kulyab, in a park area where majestic centuries-old plane trees grow. The man, whose remains now rest in this mausoleum, was a prominent figure of the 15th century – a poet, philosopher and thinker. However, in addition to Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadoni, his son Muhammad, numerous relatives and a former caretaker of the mausoleum and a mosque attached to him – Sheikh Shokhi Tolikoni from the Afghan city of Tolukan are also buried here.
The building of the mausoleum is a traditional medieval building. Originally, it had three portal entrances with a domed hall decorated with carved decorations. This building dates from the end of the 15th century. Later, a mosque and a tomb were attached to it.
In the 70s of the last century, the mausoleum was restored. In this case, the master sought to preserve the appearance of the mausoleum as it was during all five centuries. And they coped with this task quite well.
Next to the mausoleum is another marble tombstone with inscriptions in Arabic and Persian, decorated with geometric patterns. On the western side of the tombstone there is an inscription which says that the son of the ruler of Khatlon, Amir Muhammad bin Shaikh Abdullah, was buried here. The tombstone itself, rectangular in shape, weighing about a ton. According to legend, he was brought to Kulob from India on elephants.
Currently, the mausoleum is a place of pilgrimage for the local population and numerous tourists.