Among Zoroastrian burial items, there is a camel-shaped zoomorphic OSTADON lying there. It was found…
The history of creating and maintaining personal libraries and book collections in Central Asia dates back to the distant past, from the 8th to the 14th centuries, during the existence of the Samanid, Karakhanid, and Timurid states. The development of personal libraries at that time was influenced by the economic and cultural state of the nations, the book culture typical of Muslim society, the institution of patronage at royal courts, and the growth of book production.
In the 19th to the early 20th centuries, personal libraries developed more intensively, particularly in Bukhara, Fergana, Samarkand, Tashkent, and other cities. The sources of acquisition and growth of personal libraries were mainly gifts from private individuals and the purchase of books domestically and abroad. However, book lovers and collectors often traveled to neighboring countries, especially to Iran, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, to acquire rare, ancient works by famous scholars, writers, and theologians.
The largest number of personal libraries was observed in the territory of the Bukharan Emirate, with book collections owned by beks, qazis, mullahs, members of the administrative-clerical apparatus, clergy, writers, and scientists. Many libraries were established long ago and passed down from generation to generation.
The well-known Bukharan bibliophile Sharifdjan Mahdum spent many years passionately and tastefully collecting manuscript manuscripts. "He had a passionate love for books," wrote orientalist and academic A.A. Semenov, "and spared no effort or expense in collecting books and manuscripts in various fields of knowledge: if he saw a rare list in someone's hands or heard where one was available, he would stop at nothing to acquire it."
According to the renowned writer, scholar, and public figure Sadriddin Ayni, Sharifdjan Mahdum's library was considered one of the best and richest personal libraries in Bukhara. The Eastern Department of the State Public Library (now the National Library of Uzbekistan) acquired about 300 volumes of valuable manuscripts from the heirs of this Bukharan collector and bibliophile.
