Uzbekistan: Shrine of Three Religions

The tomb of Khoja Daniyar, as Muslims call him or the Biblical prophet Daniel, as Christians call him or Daniel, one of the four great Jewish prophets, is located near the river Siab, between the hills of Afrasiab.

It is a fascinating place, full of peace and overpowering faith, known on the one hand as a tomb of the iconic saint ,on the other there is still controversy about whose body is buried in the mausoleum. In any case, everyone is sure that anyone who has come to Samarkand is obliged to visit to the mazar of Khoja Daniyar to worship the saint.

Daniel, whose name translates from Hebrew as “judge god” or “God is my judge”, was born on the Holy Land of Jerusalem in 603 BC. He was a descendant of Kings David and Solomon. In 586 BC Israel was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel with other young Jewish noble men were captured and taken to Babylon. There young Daniel was placed at the school, where astrology and skill of dream interpretation were compulsory subjects. Daniel, in order not to deviate from his religion, was allowed not to eat meat and drink wine but only vegetables .

After successfully completing his studies, Daniel entered the service of the king’s court as a court dignitary. There they immediately noticed Daniel’s talent, he interpreted dreams very accurately, including those of King Nebuchadnezzar’s. Because of this talent he was promoted by the king making him one of his closest councilman.

He retained his high position even after the defeat of Babylon. Daniel became a councilman of Nebuchadnezzar’s heirs-Darius and Cyrus. But not everything went well; envious gentile lords slandered Daniel to Darius Midian, who ordered to throw him to the lions. But God was merciful to Daniel: no lion came to him.

When Darius realised his mistake, he subjected the slanderers to the same test that Daniel had passed – the lions immediately attacked the lords and torn them apart. During the reign of Cyrus, fate favoured Danie again: he held high position at court and was able to influence the ruler’s decisions. So, following his advice, Cyrus released Jewish prisoners.

In the third year of Cyrus’ reign in Babylon, Daniel received revelations about the future of all world nations and wrote a prophetic book with 14 chapters. The fact that it was written in two languages – Hebrew and Judeo-Aramaic – it led many questions whether the book was written by Daniel alone and not by several people. However, it is known from numerous historical sources that Daniel was fluent in both languages.

Christian theologians have worshipped Daniel, not excluding the fact that the prophecies of the prophet Daniel are the basis of the hagiography of Jesus Christ.

In his old age Daniel moved to Susa city q, where he blessedly finished his life and was buried in the tomb of the kings. There is a belief that Daniel’s spirit protects the city from all troubles and brings prosperity.

But how did the saint relics come to Samarkand? There is more than one legend, one more incredible than the others, one way or another to explain the mysterious appearance of the saint’s tomb in Samarkand. But the most widespread says that the appearance of this beautiful mausoleum is due to the wish of Amir Timur to give Samarkand and its inhabitants protection and prosperity, thanks to the patronage of the spirit of Daniel. During another campaign to Asia Minor, Tamerlane succeeded in conquering Susa. Theologians told him that the city was protected by the holy relics of the prophet Daniel. The governor of Mowaraunnahr signed an agreement that he would leave the city in peace in exchange for permission to take the holy’s right hand back to his motherland. By legend, the horse carrying the relics stopped in place like a stone, no one could move it. And when it hit the hoof, a miracle happened: a miraculous spring began to gush of the ground at that point. Then they decided to bury Daniel’s relics here, next to the river Siab.
A miracle happened when it struck a hoof: a healing spring sprang from the ground at this spot. It was then decided to bury Daniel’s relics here near the river Siab.
According to another version, not a horse but a camel carried the relics and when the caravan entered Samarkand, the camels stood on the exact spot resembling Souza. It was a sign: the ashes should be laid to rest here. On the same day on the side where the head of the sarcophagus was facing a spring with holy water flowed. It is a beautiful legend but there is no evidence in the historical documents that Timur visited the tomb of the Prophet in Susa. However, there is evidence of the fact that Daniel’s relics were taken to Constantinople under Queen Helen, long before Tamerlane’s campaign to Asia Minor.
Many stories are also associated with the length of the tomb. The servants of the mausoleum have repeatedly rebuilt the tomb, claiming that in particularly prosperous years the saint’s bones grow. Thus the tomb has now reached a length of 18 metres. It is said that Daniel’s arm will grow until it encircles the whole planet at which point paradise will come to Earth. According to another legend, Tamerlane decided to build a tomb so long that enemies and greedy people would not be able to find the relics.

Before the mausoleum was built, Daniel’s tomb was covered with river rock and sacred staves were placed at the head of the tomb. In 1900 a beautiful six-domed mazar of the same color as the pistachio tree growing next to it was erected over the tomb. Today, five of the six domes remain.
All official delegations from countries of different faiths arriving in Samarkand make sure to visit the mausoleum of Prophet Daniel. Many people tie scraps of cloth to the branches of the pistachio tree and make wishes and they say that they will come true.

Another miracle is the spring at the foot of the mausoleum. It is clean icy water is not only tasty and healthy but also has surprising qualities to heal not only the body but also the soul. Everyone who comes to the mausoleum must have a drink of water from this spring and perform ablutions.

People believe in the power of the holy spring and come here from all over Asia to drink the miraculous water and take some of the magic nectar with them.

Muslim amulets are sold near the mausoleum. People in the know buy them and ask the person reciting a prayer inside the mausoleum to “read on the amulet” for all good. One should go into the mausoleum without shoes – all the interior is covered with carpets and kurpach.

One has to silently walk around the tomb covered with green velvet with golden embroidery on the edges three times. Everyone is then seated and the ranger reads a prayer. It is said that when the ranger accidentally yawns during the reading, one of the prayers is absolved of sins.

As mentioned earlier, there are many legends associated with the mausoleum whose peace is not disturbed even by the singing of the birds. One of them says that it is not the relics of a saint that are buried in Samarkand, but the aprach from Daniel’s grave.

As is well known, according to the canons of Islam, the burial of the dead must be immediate and disturbing the remains of those resting in peace is not permitted. As a Muslim, Tamerlane could not afford to take some of the remains, even for such a noble purpose as the welfare of his empire’s capital. Therefore, Tamerlane took the earth from the saint’s tomb and mixed it with Samarkand earth to make a burial ground on which he later erected a mausoleum.