Seismic Deformations in Khudoyar Khan Palace, Kokand, Fergana Valley
Annotatsiya
We have carried out historical and macroseismic studies of Khudoyar Khan Palace in Kokand (Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan). Inclinations of walls and colonnades, damaged upper parts of walls and minarets, and architectural oddities in the arcades of the outer facade of the eastern wall of the palace were revealed. We assume that the palace was largely built by the time of the Kokand earthquake of 1822–1823, and a strong seismic event severely damaged its solid buildings. This may explain the significant gap between the initial stage of construction and its final phase of 40 years. The epicentral zone of this earthquake was located southwest of the palace. The Kokand earthquake stopped construction and, while memory of the earthquake and its victims was strong, the unfinished and dilapidated palace stood without attention. Time passed, the generation changed, memory of the tragic event was obscured, and the new khan needed a headquarters. The unfinished palace was completed, but traces of the strong Kokand seismic event remained, visible even to the present. As for the major Chatkal earthquake of 1946, its dynamic impact in Kokand was apparently underestimated. The local intensity of seismic oscillations of Il = 5.5, of course, could not have tilted the well-built brick wall of the Palace Chancellery to the east. This requires oscillations with an intensity of at least Il ≥ 6.5. Additional studies of the macroseismic field during this earthquake in the Fergana Valley should be carried out.