Cultural tours over monuments of Bukhara.

“That vault is the pinnacle of all earthly wonders, the likeness of the vault of the eternal heaven.
That the dome of heaven is given, everything is reflected in the dome of the earth”

Alisher Navoi.

Take a ride to Bukhara town.

Mazar (saint tomb) Imom Kozihon (Imam Kozi-khon) is mentioned in the “Book of Mullo-zod”, where the full name of the saint (Imam Hasan ben Mansur ben Mahmoud ben Abdu-laziz Margilani) is given. It is also reported here that “Khozroti Imom Kozihon” was a judge in Bukhara and wrote several books.
In Bukhara a very interesting legend has been preserved about him. Hulagu Khan approached Bukhara with his troops. He announced his intention to destroy Bukhara, in the event that he was not correctly answered the question of who brought him to the heads of the Bukharians.
Bukharians asked for forty days to think, but could not think of anything satisfactory. Finally, there was a boy in one maktab, who undertook to answer Hulagu Khan. Since the deadline had expired and no more respectable respondent was found, they decided to send this boy to Hulagu Khan.
The boy asked for a camel and a big white goat, and he himself would be sent to Hulagu Khan in a palanquin (maof). When Hulagu Khan saw a boy in front of him, he became angry and said: “Didn’t they have any more, didn’t they have white-bearded old men, that they sent a child to me?”
The boy answered: “If you need someone big then here is the camel. If you need someone with a white beard, this is a goat. If you need an answer, then I will answer. Who brought you to our heads? You were led by our bad deeds.”
Hulagu Khan was surprised at the boy’s wisdom and said: “I passed many countries, and to whom I asked this question, no one could answer correctly, but you found a good answer to which nothing can be objected. Ask for anything you wish.”
The boy asked to give him as much land as he would take a camel hide. Having ordered to slaughter a camel and divide his skin into thin, hair-like straps, the boy surrounded the city with them. So he received from Hulagu Khan Bukhara.
Where the straps were, he ordered the construction of a wall. The wall began to build, and at that time he was in the absence. Out of anticipation, the builders took the clay for the wall from the side of the city, and therefore the city ended up in a lowland, and outside there was no moat.
When the boy returned, he was very annoyed with himself that he did not indicate where the land should be taken from: “If you took the land from the outside, you would get an impregnable fortress”. This boy achieved holiness and became famous under the name of Imom Kozi-hon.
His mazar was considered to help with the disease. Mazar Imom Kozi-hon enjoyed great veneration, they never drove past him. Record of this mazar (a holy tomb) is contained in the "Mullo-zoda" book. This book mentions also full name of Imam Kozi-hon. It is Imam Khasan ben Mansur ben Mahmud ben Abdulazis Margilani.
The record also mentions that Kozi-hon was a judge in Bukhara and he is an author of several books. People of Bukhara still remember an interesting narrative about him.

The story about the Mazar Imam Kozihon.

When Hulagu-khan with his army laid siege to Bukhara, he sent defenders his ultimatum. He asked a question that put Bukhara people to confusion. The question was: "What brought me on your heads?"
He warned them that if they will not answer the question correctly, he would level Bukhara to the ground. He gave them 40 days for deliberation. But they couldn't make up their mind to find a proper answer.
Luckily in one "maktab" - a school - there was a boy who stated that he knows what to say. As time constraints were expired they decided to send the boy to Hulagu-khan. 
He took a camel and a big white he-goat with him. Bukharian took the boy to Hulagu-khan with great honor in a palanquin (moafa).
When Hulagu saw that an envoy is a boy, he became angry and said, "Don't they have someone bigger than this boy, or don't they have white-beard old men?" But the boy said to him, "If you prefer to talk with someone who is bigger than me, I have a camel with me; if you want to talk with someone who has a white beard, I have a he-goat.
If you want an answer, then listen, our bad deeds brought you on our heads". Hulagu was astonished by his wisdom therefore he said to the boy, " I was in many countries, but no one answered on my question correctly.
And nothing can be said against that. Ask what I shall do for you." And the boy said, "Please, give me a piece of earth measuring with camel's hide." Then he told to kill the camel, to flay him and to cut his hide into thin, hair like strips.
With these strips he surrounded Bukhara. Thereby he saved Bukhara. The boy gave the order to build a wall on the perimeter of Bukhara how it was marked with strips. Then he left Bukhara for a while. Slow-witted builders began to dig on the inside.
Therefore at the city site had appeared a deformed trench; at the same time around the city there was no fortification ditch. When the boy returned home he stopped the construction. He told to builders, "If you will take clay on the outside, you can build ditch and wall at the same time.
By this way we will make Bukhara an impregnable stronghold". The boy went on, and grew great. He continued to learn more and more. People liked him, because they regarded him as their judge, who can deliver them out of the hands of their enemies. 
He became widely known as Imam Kozi-hon. When Imam Kozi-hon died, people started a tradition to pray at his grave for a healing especially from guinea worm disease. People of Bukhara revered his memory.
In the past no one could even rode past his tomb on horseback. Though the narrative is undoubtedly very interesting, a simple comparison of dates greatly disharmonizes it. If Imam Kozi-hon was born in 1132 - as it is written on his tomb - it was 85 years previously Hulagu's birth.
Thus, the dating of Kozi-hon's life is not correct, or the narrative is not based on historical event. Whatever the case, the story takes ones fancy as evidence that Bukhara was an eyewitness of Hulagu's crusade.

Authority and photos:
Dmitriy Page. The Guide to Bukhara. History and sights. http://www.buxara.org