Architectural Epigraphy of Uzbekistan: Karakalpakstan

Architectural Epigraphy of Uzbekistan: Karakalpakstan (Архитектурная эпиграфика Узбекистана: Каракалпакстан) is a beautifully illustrated scholarly album devoted to the written heritage preserved on the monuments of Karakalpakstan, one of the most historically distinctive regions of Uzbekistan.

The volume forms part of the ambitious Architectural Epigraphy of Uzbekistan project, which sought to document, decipher, translate, and preserve inscriptions found on the country’s architectural and archaeological monuments. The Karakalpakstan volume brings together epigraphic material from different periods, including inscriptions, wall paintings, ceramic tablets, and funerary monuments.

Particular attention is given to the region’s kulpтас tombstones—distinctive stone memorials bearing epitaphs that can reveal remarkably personal information about the deceased, including their names, ages, tribal affiliations and, in some cases, the descendants who commissioned their monuments. The book also examines material from important archaeological and architectural sites, including the Mazlumkhan-Sulu funerary complex at Mizdakhan and the Narindjan-baba complex.

Beyond simply recording inscriptions, the album demonstrates how epigraphy can illuminate the history of a region: its people, religious traditions, artistic practices and changing forms of written culture. The project is especially valuable because some of the inscriptions documented through the wider series had previously received little or no scholarly attention.

Published in Tashkent by Uzbekistan Today in 2015, this 268-page album is a fascinating combination of art history, archaeology, Islamic heritage and documentary photography, offering an unusually detailed visual record of Karakalpakstan’s surviving epigraphic monuments.