The Shashmaqam: Uzbekistan's Lost Court Music

In this episode of The Story of Uzbekistan, Lucas and Luna explore the rich tradition of Shashmaqam, the classical court music of Central Asia that flourished in Bukhara, Samarkand, and Khiva. They trace its origins to the 10th-century scholar Abu Nasr al-Farabi, its golden age under the Bukharan Emirate, and its near-erasure during Soviet times when religious and courtly arts were suppressed. Lucas explains how the maqam system, with its six melodic modes, was preserved orally by Jewish and Muslim musicians, and why the Soviet regime allowed a sanitized version to survive as 'national heritage' while purging its Sufi and Persian roots. He tells the story of the great 19th-century court musician Shokh Burkhan, the revival efforts of the 20th-century maestros like Yunus Rajabi, and the modern challenges of keeping this UNESCO-recognized tradition alive in independent Uzbekistan. Luna asks about the instruments and the eerie beauty of the music, drawing out details on the tanbur, dutar, and doira. Together they reflect on how Shashmaqam is a living archive of Uzbekistan's multicultural past, and why its survival matters today.

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