There are many historical places in Samarkand, among which the mausoleum of Khoja Daniel stands out. This historical place is considered a holy place of pilgrimage for representatives of three religions. Such blessed places are rare in the world.

    This architectural monument in Samarkand was built on the south side of the Afrosiab fortress, on the banks of the Siab stream. Muslim travelers, Christians and Jews from different parts of the world regularly come here. The Mausoleum of St. Khoja Daniel is the burial place of a saint revered in three world religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Muslims call him the Prophet Khoja Daniel (not mentioned in the Koran, but is one of 124,000 prophets, the Jews call him the prophet Daniel, in Christianity the prophet Daniel). Also called "Saint Daniel" in Russian sources.

    There are different opinions and views about the personality of Khoja Daniel. For example, according to one of them, this breed was born in Jerusalem in 603 BC. David and Solomon are the descendants of the prophets who lived 2600 years ago. 600 years after the Prophet Muhammad lived 1200 years ago and preached monotheism. According to the interpretation of the Bible, Daniel in Hebrew means "God is the judge."

    According to legend, Saint Daniel was captured by the Babylonian soldiers. They will take him from Jerusalem to Babylon. He works as an interpreter of dreams in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar. Later, the Persian king Darius I ascended the throne and planned to make Khoja Daniel the prime minister. But when the other ministers heard of this intention of the king, they made a plan to destroy Daniel. Khoja slanders Daniel and brings him to the king in handcuffs and chains. Daniel throws the prophet into a cage with lions. The king did not sleep at night, and early in the morning he seized other ministers and brought them to that pit to feed the lions, saying that my beloved minister had died, and now there is no salvation for you either. When the lions opened the den and looked, the prophet Daniel was talking to the animals. He survived, and for many years he urged people to worship a single god and lived with different views. When he was old, he moved to Susa and was buried with honors in the city of Susa.

    According to Islam, Khoja Daniel was an associate of Kusam ibn Abbas, who is known as the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. The Samarkand historian Abu Takhirkhoja writes in his book “Samaria”: “The tomb of Khoja Daniel is located on the outskirts of Samarkand, under the northern wall of the Afrosiab fortress. The river Siyob flows near the mausoleum. People consider this tomb to be the tomb of the prophet Daniel, but his tomb is located in the province of Mosul. It is said that this grave is the grave of one of the comrades of Kusam ibn Abbas. Be healthy! The grave is covered with stones of Zarafshan. They say that Khoja Daniel was very devout and pious. At the head of the grave, near the Siyob stream, there is a spring of Khoja Daniel. People drink and bathe in it. This is considered the reason for the healing of many sick people. God bless him!”

    About this Abul Hakim Samarkandi writes the following in his book "Kandiya": - "I have a spring in Samarkand, one of the springs of heaven, and it is near the Obi Rahmat stream. According to historians, this water flows from the head of the tomb of the prophet Daniel, and this source is the cause of healing, and part of this water flows towards Bogi Maidan and flows into Obi Rakhmat. Above is the tomb of the prophet Daniel, who is considered a prophet who brings blessings to the nation.”

    Scientists still do not have a common opinion about when and how the mausoleum of the prophet Daniel appeared in Samarkand. According to legend, the great commander Amir Temur, during his seven-year campaign in Asia Minor (1397-1404), despite being a great commander, could not conquer Susa. The owner hears from the pious that the city will be guarded by the blessed Khok of St. Daniel. Then Amir Temur concluded an agreement with the besieged, promising not to touch their property and not to take captives into slavery, and in return offered to take part of the saint's land, i.e. his right hand, to Samarkand, so that he would protect his kingdom from all kinds of disasters. On the way home, the camel caravan suddenly stopped near the city of Samarkand. It was a sign from above, and they decided to build a mausoleum there. After the mausoleum was built, over the years, according to legend, the tomb grew to a length of about 18 meters. After the burial of the saint in Samarkand, a spring springs from the head of the grave, and the inhabitants of the city and its environs consider this water blessed and use it. But this legend is contrary to the rules and customs of the Islamic religion, that is, it is impossible to disturb the dead. The truth is that the great commander brought some of his khoks from Susa to Samarkand, and on his orders the mausoleum was built as a symbol of a successful victory in the military campaign.

    The mausoleum was periodically completed and completed by scientists, and at the beginning of the 20th century, a rectangular long mausoleum building with five chains of low domes was built over the grave of the Prophet. There are 5 graves of the prophet Daniel in the world. The longest in Samarkand. According to legend, the tomb grew or was built for a long time so as not to reveal the exact location of the Prophet's tomb.

    Representatives of three religions visiting the shrine bypass the mausoleum according to their custom. Jewish rabbis read the Torah at the head of the grave, Christian popes read the Bible, Muslims read one verse of the Koran and open their hands for prayer.

    In 1996, during his visit to Uzbekistan, the 15th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II visited Samarkand, in particular, the mausoleum of Khoja Daniel. A 600-year-old pistachio tree grew near the mausoleum, which began to wither, and the patriarch decided to consecrate the tree, sprinkled it with divine water, and after a while the tree came to life again. There is another reason why the tree turns blue. Preparations are underway for the arrival of Patriarch Alexy, rags and ropes tied by the people to pistachios are being removed, they are made into royal clothes and watered again.

    There is a strange wooden door between the earthen walls in the temple. This little door is the closet door. They came here and were busy with dhikr. Access is currently denied. Because there is a risk of being littered with earth.

    In 2001, the city of Samarkand and its historical architectural and archaeological monuments, including the mausoleum and the Khoja Daniel complex, were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List under the name "Samarkand - the crossroads of cultures."

    The mausoleum consists of a 15-meter rectangular building with a roof and five domes. The basement is located on the north side, and dome-shaped bowl-shaped flower beds are decorated with ganch carvings on both sides, and arches on the sides. Inside the mausoleum is an oblong hut. Inside the mausoleum is the longest tomb in the world, 18 meters long. The height of the grave on the south side is 90 cm, on the north side 160 cm, on the north side it is 2 m wider, since a square sagon is installed on this side. The sagona is made of baked bricks, sandblasted and decorated with marble panels with Koranic inscriptions. On the opposite side of the sagon, on the windowsill of the mausoleum facing north, there is a stone with Arabic inscriptions, called by the locals "niyat-toshi". Pilgrims go around the tomb of Hazrat Daniel one to three times and try to lift or at least move this stone.

    There are several traditions regarding the length of the grave. According to one of them, due to the fact that the brought turban was considered sacred, people with bad intentions could dig up the remains and carry them away. Therefore, a long grave was dug and the remains of the Prophet were buried somewhere in it. For other reasons, graves grow in the world, and among these graves is the grave of the prophet Daniel. According to this opinion, every 100 years the bones of the Prophet grow by one gas (72 cm), which is why the tomb has such a length. If the two sides of the grave converge in the form of a circle and cover the globe, then there will be paradise on earth.

    The mausoleum of the prophet Daniel in different periods had a different appearance. The book, published during the Russian Empire, features an engraving of the Prophet Daniel from the 1870s–1980s. According to him, at that time the grave of Daniel the Prophet was covered with river stones, and around it there was a small porch and a room (mosque), and six knots were placed around the grave, symbols of priests and saints. Flags were set on special stones, and there are still stones holding these flags, but the flags have not been preserved.

    At the end of the 19th century, a mausoleum was built over this grave. The main road leading to it goes from the ancient settlement of Afrosiab, and the entrance porch-porch was built just above the mausoleum. Its remains are still preserved, and it was built at the same time as the mausoleum. The mausoleum over the grave of Hazrat Daniel was built at the beginning of the 20th century by the master of Samarkand soap makers Mahmud the Elder, because Hazrat Daniel is considered the oldest of the soap makers. According to some reports, the Russian businessman and merchant Miroshnichenko also participated in the construction of the mausoleum.

    The mausoleum has been renovated several times. The sanctuary was surrounded by a wall, and a three-part staircase was built to it. At the same time, the tomb was covered with onyx and black marble. In an early 20th century photograph, the mausoleum has six domes, but today it has five domes, which may have been destroyed and rebuilt. On the northern side of the mausoleum, the upper part of the building is decorated with baked brick domes. They are built in European style. The interior used shield-shaped anchors and arches supporting the domes.

    In 2001, archaeological excavations were carried out around the complex. Remains of a mosque dating back to the 14th century have been found. The shelf of the mihrab of the mosque is turned towards Mecca. According to the elders, the mosque was destroyed during World War II for unknown reasons. The walls of the building are built in the chupkor style, and the roof beams are laid on a brick foundation. In the northern part of the mosque there was a porch with an area of ​​25 square meters and from here the entrance to the mosque. Length 80 cm, width 40 cm, thickness 20 cm in the northwest corner of the porch. two rectangular stone slabs were found. They were the raw material for making tombstones. Upon careful examination of the lower part of the southern wall of the mosque, bricks of the 17th century were found there. The arched wall was built in place of a much older wall to hold the cliff face. The bricks here and under the south wall date back to the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

    In a word, this mausoleum is considered one of the most unique mausoleums on the borders of our country. The main thing is that this mausoleum is considered a typical example of religious tolerance for our people. It is important to live in peace, especially in today's dangerous times, regardless of religion. The fact that both the Jewish synagogue and the Christian church have survived and function in Uzbekistan is the main factor expressing the unique tolerance of our country and people.

Sunatillo Mukhiddinov,

Samarkand State University

Head of the Department of History of Samarkand Civilization, Associate Professor.