Plan: Amir Timur Museum in Tashkent

MUSEUM OF AMIR TEMUR

Plan:

1. 
   Amir Timur Museum in Tashkent
   
2. 
   The museum stores over 5,000 different historical exhibits
   
3. 
   Opening
   

Amir Timur Museum in Tashkent

The State Museum of the Timurids’ history is named exactly so, because it numbers more than 5 thousand of exhibits, referring to the period of Timur’s governing and the dynasty of the Timurids.

Amir Timur Museum in Tashkent was established in 1996 in honor of celebrating the 660th anniversary of the birth of Amir Timur.

The Timurids Museum is situated in downtown Tashkent, in the square near the monument of Amir Timur.

The Timurids Museum is amazing with its pompousness. The building of the museum is a round engineering design with the classical eastern dome. Amir Timur Museum has three storeys, the second and third storeys are fully devoted to the Timurids’ history. The interior of the museum is richly adorned with marble, pillars, paintings, eastern miniature, tinsel, and the building is ornamented with canopy. The walls of the halls are paintings, depicting Amir Timur’s life and pictures from the country’s history from ancient times till the present. One cannot admire the cut-glass chandelier, which is the adornment of the Timurids’ history State Museum. The height of the chandelier is 8,5  meters.

The exposure of the museum is rich in archeological, ethnographical and numismatic materials. Accoutrements and objects, which got to the kingdom of Amir Timur along the Great Silk Road, are also in the Timurids Museum. The museum has important documents such as letters of Amir Timur and his posterities with European kings; clever pieces of thumbnails, copies of Amir Timur’s pictures, painted by European artists of those times.

But the central museum pieces are the duplicate of the Koran and the panel devoted to Amir Timur’s life. The panel shows different scenes from the commander’s life. The panel is subdivided into three parts, from Amir Timur’s birth to death.

The exclusive exhibits of Amir Timur Museum are presented by numerous jewelry, arms, clothes of military leaders and soldiers, musical instruments, scripts of Amir Timur and Babur, astronomic instruments of Ulugbek and other cult values, going back to the era of the Timurids.

There is a separate room in Amir Timur Museum, where gifts from museum visitors are kept. The museum displays were demonstrated on international exhibits in France, the USA, Germany and Austria.

Every year thousands of tourists visit Amir Timur Museum.

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The State Museum of the History of the Temurids was erected by the decision of the President of the Uzbekistan Republic, I.A. Karimov, in 1996. The main purpose of this museum is to preserve the historical heritage of the Temurids, who made a huge contribution to the development of science, culture, art, education and the state itself.

The museum stores over 5,000 different historical exhibits

The museum stores over 5,000 different historical exhibits. Among them, military armor and tools, ceramics and copper products, jewelry, astronomical devices, musical instruments, paintings, manuscripts - everything that has survived to the present day and gave great information about the life and culture of that time. Special museum items are: a copy of the Samarkand Kufic Koran (the Quran of Osman, the third supreme Muslim ruler) and the unique panel embodying the whole life of the great Amir Temur. It depicts the life of the commander, represented in three parts: the birth of the future great ruler under the lucky star, the very creative life of Temur himself (represented in his famous buildings), and finally his tomb - the famous mausoleum Gur-Emir. All three parts are connected by a running river, embodying the flow of life and the alternation of events.

The museum often hosts international exhibitions in conjunction with countries such as India, France, Germany, Austria, the United States and others. The states constantly exchange ancient unique specimens of the Temurids' time, collecting a huge number of guests and tourists who want to get acquainted with the historical personality of Amir Temur and the products of his success in various fields. Every year more than 2 million people visit the museum, and this number only increases, as interest in the ancient history of the Temurids and all that is associated with them grows.

One of two doubly landlocked countries in the world – a landlocked country surrounded entirely landlocked countries, the other being Liechtenstein – Uzbekistan as a national idea did not exist until the Soviets created it in the 1920s, complicating the process of state formation in Uzbekistan today. (The soviets were also responsible for environmental disaster within Uzbekistan such as the draining of the Aral Sea.)

Uzbekistan officially came into existence in 1991, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, and holds within its borders a mix of ethnic groups, including Uzbeks, Russians, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks and Tatars.

In order to help unify the diverse population held together by its soviet created borders the new Uzbek state looked to pre-Russian Central Asian past for unifying national myths, in order to encourage a cohesive Uzbek identity.

The figure that emerged out of this search through Central Asian history was the highly controversial figure of Amir Temur (Tamerlane).

A fourteenth-century conqueror of Western, South and Central Asia, Amir Temur’s main qualifications was that his huge empire was located in the modern Uzbek state. He founded the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty (1370–1405) in Central Asia. Central Asia blossomed economically and culturally under his reign. At the same time, Baghdad, Damascus, Delhi and other Arab, Persian, Indian and Turkic cities were sacked and destroyed.

Ironically, the unifying figure of Uzbekistan wasn’t Uzbek at all and instead belonged to the Barlas, a Turko-Mongolian tribe. In fact, it was the fall of the Timurids that allowed the Uzbek Khaqanate to gain power and form the basis of modern Uzbeks.

Nonetheless, Timur has been officially recognized as a national hero of Uzbekistan, because his imperial capital was located in Samarkand. His name has replaced Marx’s and Lenin’s on street signs and government buildings all over Uzbekistan.

Opened in 2006, the Amir Timur Museum is one of the newest museums in Tashkent. It was established to commemorate the 660th birthday of Amir Timur. The museum’s blue dome and ornate interior reference Central Asian Islamic architecture. The museum collection consists of ancient manuscripts, paintings, and engravings of Timurid’s age. The collection also includes a 14th century Quran from Syria. Amir Timur’s military career is reconstructed in a celebratory manner. The gardens surrounding the museum contain a statue of Timur on horseback and some prominent fountains.

Lingering Soviet influence is acutely felt in the Amir Temur museum. Murals reminiscent of social realism decorate the lobby of the museum. The museum also features an exhibit on president Islam Karimov. Karimov came to power under the Soviet regime and has had a firm grip on the presidency since 1990.

After Uzbekistan became independent in 1991, much attention was given to the revival of the nation's spiritual and cultural heritage, including recognition of historical persons who had an important role in world civilization. Among those was Amir Temur, the warlord, politician and reformer, patron of science, education, trade, culture, and craft. Having established a great centralized state, he strengthened its power and also united many nations and people. Amir Temur's rule promoted science, education, culture, architecture, fine arts, music and poetry, laying the foundations of the Timurid Renaissance.

Former President Islam Karimov encouraged celebration of Timur, linking the Mongol ruler's achievements with the President's own style of governance.[2][3] Karimov declared 1996 to be the “Year of Amir Temur”, and the 660th anniversary was widely celebrated in Uzbekistan, and the republic subsequently resolved to build a state museum in central Tashkent, featuring the Timurid history.[4]

Opening

The ceremonial opening of the round museum structure was held on 18 October 1996 in the presence of Uzbek people and foreign guests. President Karimov stated that, "The State Museum of the History of the Temurids which is opening in such a holiday conditions is the real result of the fact that in our country the historical justice towards the personality of Sahibkiran has triumphed". He compared Amir Temur Square to a ring, saying "the Museum is a precious stone decorating it”

The museum's blue cupola resembles that of the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum in Samarkand. Though the museum was built according to the traditions of medieval architecture, it satisfies modern requirements.

There are more than 5,000 artifacts in the museum collection, with more than 2,000 displayed in museum exhibition halls. In particular, the museum displays focus on the genealogy of Amir Temur, his coming to power, the military campaigns of Sahib Kiran, diplomatic and trade relations, workmanship, city improvement and landscaping, and science and education development. There are also exhibits related to representatives of the Timurid dynasty, including maps, weapons, copper and silver coins, miniatures, rare manuscripts, potteries, and jewelry.

The museum attracts more than 2 million visitors annually. It is visited by foreign statesmen and official delegations, and more than 800 such delegations have been recorded in the museum guest book.

Through participation in international exhibitions, the museum has promoted its material and spiritual heritage around the world. In particular, unique exhibits were displayed at the international exhibitions as "Timurid Renaissance" in France; at Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany; and "Bright colors: fabrics and ceramics from Central Asia" at thePowerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia.

The museum carries out educational work with young people, encouraging respect and love towards heritage, history, and historical figures. To this end, the museum holds spiritual enlightenment activities in collaboration with schools, colleges, and lyceums.