The most extensive and complete collection of artifacts from Uzbekistan is housed in the collection of the National Museum - the Naprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures.
Written records relating to the history of Uzbekistan can be found in the National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague. This refers primarily to two facsimiles of manuscripts by the jurist Abu Layth Samarqandi (944-983), a representative of the Hanafi madhhab (one of the four schools of law in Sunni Islam), who worked during the reign of the Samanid dynasty. The manuscript "Bustan al-'arifin" ("Gardens of Those Who Know Allah") contains 153 chapters, 112 leaves, and is dated 1628. The manuscript "Kitab al-Bustan" ("Book of the Garden") contains 160 chapters, 170 leaves, and is dated 1670. Both manuscripts deal with the same topics: the meaning of science and human knowledge, Islamic law, logic, contain fatwas, tell about good morals, about the relationship to parents, people's attitude to animals, etc. The second manuscript, in addition, includes an interpretation of hadiths offered by Abu Layth Samarqandi.
An undeniable confirmation of the Czechs' interest in the historical events that took place in Central Asia is the book "The History of Tamerlane, King of the Tatars" in Czech, which was translated from Latin and published in Prague in 1598 by Bartolomey Macer of Letoschitz. The book is printed in Gothic type, consists of 25 chapters and 112 pages. Its chapters tell about the birth and youth of Amir Timur, the beginning of his reign, the conquered territories, the battle with the Turkish sultan Bayezid. The book also tells about the personal qualities and family of the ruler - about his severity and at the same time generosity, friendliness and heroism, about one of his wives, children and, finally, about his death.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "The Collection of the Czech Republic" (Volume XVI) in the series "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections".
The main sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.
Where are the hadiths collected by Abu Layth Samarqandi kept?
In the cultural institutions of the Czech Republic, art objects from Uzbekistan are represented by small but very expressive collections, confirming the uniqueness of Uzbek cultural heritage.