The Fountain of Tears
By Dr Syed Amir
Bethesda, MD

Built nearly four centuries ago by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the majestic Taj Mahal has stood defiantly against all adversities as an eternal embodiment of human love and undying devotion. Thousands of miles away and on a different continent, stands another testament, far less grandiose than Taj, but equally emotive, showcasing the profound grief of another king on the loss of his young beloved wife. The fountain of tears, as it has been known has stood for two-and-half centuries in the Bakhchisaray Palace that served from 1532 to 1783 as the royal residence of 48 Tartar Muslim Khans of Crimea.

Crimea was part of Ukraine until five years ago when it was seized by Russia. However, the legend of the fountain of tears dates back to the time when the peninsula was ruled by the Tartar Khans. Originally, the Khanate was part of an empire established by Genghis Khan’s grandson, Batu Khan, that flourished in the 13th century in the north western part of the Mongol Empire. Since Batu Khan on campaigns lived in a golden tent, his army was often referred to as the Golden Horde. The empire, overwhelmed by Tamerlane in 1441, splintered into several independent Khanates, which adopted Islam as their faith.

Of these, one of the principal domains was the Khanate of Crimea, under the nominal sovereignty of Ottoman Sultans, that lasted from 1441 to 1783. At one time, it became so powerful that the Russian Czars were paying tribute to the Khans. Weakened and in a reversal of fortunes, it was conquered in 1783 by the Russian Czarina, Catherine the Great, who annexed it into her empire. Her real ambition was to go on further, retake Constantinople and restore it as the capital of the Byzantine Empire. She never could achieve that goal.

The fountain of tears was built to commemorate a tragic love story that has been immortalized by Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), considered the greatest Russian lyric poet, playwright and novelist. In 1820, he visited the fountain at the palace at Bakhchisaray, the former capital of the vanished Khanate, and was powerfully moved by the love story he heard. His emotions found expression in a 3,500-word romantic poem “The fountain of Bakhchisaray” composed in 1822 that is recognized as one of his most memorable literary creations. The poem later became the theme of a popular ballet at the renowned Bolshoi Theater.

The story gleaned from Pushkin’s poem is masterfully related by Sheldon Chad, a prominent journalist and screen writer. In his scholarly essay, The Palace and the Poet, in Saudi Aramco World, he writes, “The Palace was home, a long time ago, to an imperious Lord of nations, a khan whom Pushkin names simply as Giray. In the inner court was the harem where only he was permitted entrance. There Zarema was the harems’ queen, love’s brightest star. That was the situation until the arrival of Maria Potocka, a fourteen-year old, orphaned princess snatched by arms from a castle in Poland. The Khan fell secretly and madly in love with the beautiful Maria.” The young maiden apparently did not respond to the King’s overtures, too distraught from her captivity and separation from her family. Yet, the senior queen, Zarema, became intensely jealous of her rival, the beautiful woman from Poland. Driven, she entered her apartment and murdered Maria.

The Khan, who witnessed the murder, was incensed at the loss of his beloved Maria and ordered the execution of Zarema. Having lost both, Khan was grief stricken and inconsolable. He built a giant tomb for his beloved Maria. “Tears scored his cheeks in scalding streams and ennobled by his romantic love, gave orders to an Iranian sculptor to erect a marble fountain” to symbolically immortalize his tears of sorrow flowing until eternity.

The love of Giray Khan for his young wife is described in more colorful language by the former Indian ambassador to Russia (1952-1961), Kumara Padma Sivasankara Menon, in his memoirs, The Lamp and the Lampstand. When Khan was asked by the French trainer of his army, what made him so profoundly love the young girl, the Khan supposedly replied, “Because she was wise as a serpent, brave as a lioness, strong as an eagle, tender as a child, fond as a mother and passionate as a lover.”

Pushkin, on his visit, picked up two fresh roses (symbolizing red for love and yellow for distress) and placed them on top of the fountain. Since then, it has become a tradition followed by all visitors. An estimated 250,000 tourists come every year from Russia alone to visit the charmed fountain. It has been suggested that if it was not for Pushkin’s epic poem, the storied fountain would have long been erased from the public memory.
The identity of the object of the Qirim Giray Khan’s intense passion has remained somewhat a subject of controversy. The Russian invasion of Crimea in 1736 destroyed much of the archival material about the Khanate, making it hard to place historic events in their true perspective. Some historians have argued that the woman in whose memory the foundation was erected was not Maria Potocka, the Polish princess, but a Georgian girl, named Dilara Bikech. Not much is known about her. However, it is not the identity of the woman that is important, it is the sublime emotion of love that the fountain symbolizes.
Following the Russian occupation of Crimea, the fountain of tears most likely would have been decimated like many other historic monuments in Bakhchisaray if the empress Catherine had not been moved by the legend, when she came from St Petersburg in 1787 to visit her newly acquired territory. It took her six months to cover nearly thousand miles to Crimea by horse-driven coaches. Her top commander in Crimea, Gregory Potemkin, had made every effort to ensure that her long arduous journey was secure and her stay comfortable.

The conquest of Crimea had special significance for Catherine, as the Muslim Tartars for generations had been tormenting Russia, raiding and pillaging the countryside. Now, Crimea had become part of her vast empire. For the first time, she experienced some exotic sounds and sights she had never been exposed to.
The Khan’s grand palace had been especially refurbished for her brief stay.
While in Crimea, Catherine ordered the relocation of the Fountain of Tears to the Bakhchisaray palace grounds, a grander setting than where it was originally located. Much like the attention of Viceroy Lord Curzon rescued the Taj Mahal from destitution, the interest of the Empress Catherine may have ensured the survival of the fountain of tears.
(The author is a former Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, and health science administrator, US National Institutes of Health)