Abstract
This article analyzes the formation, development, and traditions of succession of music science in the madrasas of Samarkand based on historical sources. The Ulugh Beg, Sherdor, and Tillakori madrasas, built during the eras of Amir Timur and Mirzo Ulugh Beg, were important scientific centers where music theory was taught in harmony with mathematics, philosophy, and theology. Most Timurid rulers possessed deep knowledge of music; for example, Sultan Husayn Bayqara was known as a skilled naqqara player, Babur Mirza created the sawt “Chorgoh,” and Alisher Navoi, a virtuoso performer on the qanun, oud, tanbur, and setar, invented the piece “Qari Navo.” It is recognized that Navoi thoroughly mastered the science of music first under Khwaja Yusuf Burhan and then under Abdurrahman Jami. The article states that the treatises of Abd al-Qadir Maraghi, “Maqasid al-alhan” and “Jami al-alhan,” served as the main music textbooks in the madrasas. Through the master-student succession, music science was refined in practice, and the Samarkand Institute of Music and Choreography, established in 1928, revived this tradition on a scientific basis. Thus, the article reflects that the madrasas played a decisive role in transmitting musical-scientific knowledge and laid the foundation for modern musicology.