Muslims will install a monument to Queen Suyumbike of Kazan near Ryazan

20 January 2021

 

A monument to the ruler of the Kazan Khanate in the 16th century, Queen Suyumbike, will be installed in 2022 in the city of Kasimov, Ryazan Region, in honor of the 1100th anniversary of the official adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgarians, the Religious Board of Russian Muslims reported on Wednesday.


"A meeting was held at the residence of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation on the installation in the city of Kasimov, Ryazan region, of a monument to the ruler of the Kazan Khanate, Queen Suyumbike. The monument is planned to be installed in 2022," the report says.


"The project to install a monument to Queen Suyumbike in the city of Kasimov has been implemented for several years by Alfiya Rakhmatullina and Ildar Bikuyev, based on the found historical evidence that this is the city where the legendary ruler found her last resting place," the Muftiate specified.


Earlier, the Regional Government of Ryazan Oblast, the administration of Kasimov, the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation, and the local Tatar community provided funds for the preparatory work and installation of the monument.


In particular, the city square located on the bank of the Oka river and named in honor of Queen Suyumbike was reconstructed. The square is located opposite the Khan Mosque in Kasimov and in the immediate vicinity of the tekiya (the tomb) of the last husband of Queen Shah-Ali. In the center of the square, there is a pedestal for the future monument. "The pedestal is made in the form of an octagonal star with a crescent and a star on it. The model of the Suyumbike monument itself is also ready. Its author is the honored artist of the Russian Federation sculptor Veniamin Sidorenko", the organization reports.


At the same time, the Muftiate said, the work of art in full size in bronze requires additional funds, in this regard, the initiative group appealed to the Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation Ravil Gaynutdin for support. By Mufti's decision, the organization will also support the project.


Queen Suyumbike (ca. 1516 - ca. 1557) was one of the first female Muslim rulers, heads of state in the Islamic world. She was the daughter of the noble Nogai bek Yusuf and great-great-granddaughter of the founder of the Nogai Horde dynasty, Yedigei. Three times Suyumbike was married: to Kazan khans Jan Ali (1533-1535), Safa-Giray (1536-1549) and Shakh-Ali (after 1551).


After Safa-Girei died, Suyumbike became the ruler of the Kazan Khanate (1549-1551) as regent of her minor son Utyamysh-Girei. After Shah-Ali was placed on the khan's throne, he took the queen to Kasimov, where she inconspicuously lived the rest of her life and where she was buried. Suyumbike left the khanate a year before its capture by Ivan the Terrible's troops. The year 2016 marked 500 years since the queen's birth.

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Creative Commons

Based on materials from RIA Novosti