THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN BUKHARA AT THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Аннотация

This article analyzes the education system in the Bukhara Emirate at the end of the 19th century. It discusses the structure of schools and madrasas, curricula, the activities of teachers, and the role of education in society. The article also examines the initiatives of reformist intellectuals in the field of education and their contributions to the development of modern science. Based on historical sources, the article reveals the differences between traditional and modern educational approaches at theend ofthe19th century. Keywords:Bukhara, 19th century, education system, madrasa, school, reform, Jadidism, traditional education, curriculum, science and education. At the end of the 19th century, the development of culture among the indigenous population of Bukhara was considered crucial. When examining the level of culture, troubling conditions are evident. The education process in schools and madrasas was organized in such a way that young people spent 20-25 years learning only religious subjects and Arabic grammar, deprived of the opportunity to engage in other subjects. Moreover, secular subjects that had been taught in previous centuries were also removed from the curriculum. The Manghit dynasty inflicted a serious blow to the education system. Zealous court officials, in an excessively conservative mood, obstructed any new ideas by all available and unavailable means. Despite the numerous buildings intended for schools and madrasas in Bukhara, according to Ahmad Danesh, “the madrasa rooms had turned into storage places for straw carried by donkeys and grain warehouses for bakers.”1 According to the historian Sodiqkhodja Gulshani, the author of Shahona Tarikh (“History of Humayun”), there were 199 active madrasas in Bukhara at that time, constructed from stone, with many classes containing up to 50,000 students. Abduraouf Fitrat, in his Story of a Hindu Traveler (Narrative of the Indian Traveler), mentions that there were about 200 madrasas in Bukhara and lists the names of 72 of them. Muhammadjon Baljovani states that there were nearly 400 madrasas, mausoleums, and study rooms (corikhonalar) in Bukhara, and 1АхмадиДониш.РисолаёмухтасареазтаърихисалтанатихонадониМангития(Историческийтрактат иликороткообисториицарствованиямангитскойдинастии).-Душанбе:Сарват,1992.-8с. page1016 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue04,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai he tries to recall the names of the most famous ones from his knowledge. The above-mentioned scholarlistsmore than 78madrasas2. In Bukhara schools, Arabic, logic, and rhetoric were taught. Mathematics and literature were not mandatory, and individuals could independently learn these subjects if they wished. Tajik language was not taught at all. Curricula and textbooks remained unchanged. Graduates of elementary schools could end up illiterate. In madrasas, with the help of an assistant teacher, books like Avamil and Qofiya were studied. This process lasted three years. After that, students worked with more experienced teachers, studying books such as Sharh-i Mulla (the book of Abdurahman Jomiy) and a logic book called Shamsiya. This period lasted five years. Following that, they studied commentaries on the book Shamsiya, which lasted another year. In the following four years, they studied the commentary on Nasafi’s Aqaid (theology). In the next two years, they studied Takhzib (logic and metaphysics). In the final two years, they focused on Hikmatul Ayan (a philosophy book), and the final two years were dedicated to the study of Mulla Jalol (a theological book), thus completing the madrasa education. The teaching system and the textbooks remained unchanged for four or five hundred years, dating back to the Timurid period. It is known that for learning any language, two years would suffice if the lessonswere organized properly. However, Bukhara students spent 8 years in madrasas, learning only a few easy Arabic terms and the rules for pronouncing them correctly. Students would sit in rows before the teacher, and if the number of students was large and the room small, they would be squeezed together. Each group had a preacher who would read out sections from the book being studied. For instance, Jomiy’s works were also explained in this way. His works were not taught separately but had been forgotten in textbooks written four hundred years ago, and no one had made an effort to correct this error. Nonetheless, among the graduates of Bukhara madrasas, there were educated individuals. According to Sadriddin Aini, such people were “like rare plants in the desert”3.These individuals did not engage in theological debates but strived to gain knowledge with perseverance. However, even these educated individuals often returned to the madrasa environment and aspired to become teachers in a madrasa, gathering numerous students, leading discussions,