Culture of the Kazan Khanate

The art critic F.H.Valeev strongly believed that stone carving (he called this phenomenon oriental Baroque) was widely used in tatar monumental architecture of the XV-XVI centuries. In this period jeweller’s art, production of decorated ceramics, weapon and footwear was common. Stone carving was also used in decoration of grave stones and various buildings.

Archaeological finds on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin prove that already in the XV-XVI centuries people knew the secret of making patterned gypsum slabs that were used to revet buildings. Some buildings of the IX century were reveted with majolica, but later this material was forgotten.

Ornamental patterns of Bulgar period were rather modest and simple. Later it became more dynamic, ornamentally richer, and the main role belonged to traditional “floral style”. Peculiarities of this style can be observed on grave stones, jewelry, and some architectural details of Kazan monumental buildings.

Ornamental patters of the first half of the XVI century marked the end of the artistic traditions of Early Feudal period and became more perfect foundations for further development of ornamentations of the followings epochs. In the process of development and improvement of this “new” style important role played traditionally historic, cultural and economic relations between the ancestors of modern Tatars with various nationalities of the East, especially with the people of Caucasus and Asia Minor.

Unfortunately, rare and scant literary and documentary sources of this period that were preserved till today can give us only few names of eminent scientist and poets that lived and worked in Kazan long ago. Among them such names as Muhammadjar (his poems were preserved), Muhammad Amin Garifbek, Kul Sherif, Muhammadsherif, Ibragim-al-Kazany.  This is an extract from “Nury Sodur” by Muhammadjar:

“Unbelief won’t destroy a state,

Despotism will ruin a country.

The unfaithful and unbelieving injure their souls,

But despotism can harm the whole country”.

However, after the downfall of the Kazan Khanate standard of culture decreased dramatically. People had to return from urbanism to rural way of life, thus they lost some of the achievements of their ancient culture, such as building skills, decoration of buildings with mosaic and tile, laying on water supply and some others.

Still this struggle for existence didn’t subdue the Moslem culture. The standard of culture declined, the number of educated people decreased, relations with cultural centers of Persia, Bukhara and Turkestan diminished, but they weren’t completely lost.