Since Uzbekistan became independent, the names of many Central Asian ancestors has been glorified, and their legacies has begun to be highly valued. They contributed much to the development of Uzbek culture. Kamoliddin Behzod, one of the greatest painters of the East, is among them.

Kamoliddin Behzod was born in the city of Herat (Afghanistan) in the family of a handicraftsman. He liked painting from his childhood. Having known about the young and gifted Behzod, Mirak Naqqosh (Naqqosh is the title of Mirak, which means a master in ornamental painting), the head of the Sultan Husain Boyqaro's library, became his patron. The forthcoming painter, young Behzod, received his initial knowledge from his teachers Jahongir, a painter, and Naqqosh Pir Said Ahmad Tabrizey, who was also a well known painter in Bukhara (his title was "Umdat al-Musaweer").

A widely known calligrapher, Sultonali Mashhadey trained him in artistic decoration of manuscripts. Behzod became the incarnation of the best art schools' traditions of Azerbajan, Khorasan and Maverannahr. After Alisher Navoi, the greatest Uzbek poet, and Sultan Husain Boyqaro, the ruler, died, a great number of artists left Herat for other countries, except for Behzod. He stayed there and continued his creative work. In the beginning of 1520 A.D , Shah Ismail the First called him to the city of Tabriz and appointed him head of all painters and calligraphers and also of those masters who were engaged in the process of gilding books Less attention drawn to the art in the country later caused Behzod's refusal of this position and his leaving Tabris for Baghdad.

Initially, Behzod followed a long and complicated road. At first, he made miniatures for Sheikh Saadey's book entitled "Buston" in 1476. Then he created eight miniatures for "Zafamoma', a oook written by Sharafiddin Ali Yazdey. The episodes of military actions, the heroic deeds of soldiers and also the fragments of the building construction process were depicted in these miniatures.

As a lyric painter, Kamoliddin Behzod was very famous during the second term of his creative activity The works created by him in this period were permeated with poetry, and they are rich ir human sufferings. His miniatures created mainly for Nizomey Ganjavey's books, such as "Hamsa", "Layli and Majnoon" and "Iskandamoma" and also the illustrations for Hisrav Dehlavey's book (also titled "Layli and Majnoon") relate to such works. Behzod created some of his works in the portrait genre, a complicated form of painting. As a skilled professional Behzod described the spiritual and inner worlds and the natural intellect of Alisher Navoi, Husain Boyqaro, Sheybanikhan, Khotamey and Jomey through their portraits.

When he was alive, Behzod's creative activity reached its height and became an art institution. Darvi'sh Muhammad, MullaYusuf, Qosim Ali, Mahmud Muzahhib and other famous masters of art were the students of that institution.

Behzod raised miniature art to the highest standard. His creative works became not only masterpieces of the East, but they became pieces of the priceless world art treasury. At present, his works have been preserved in the British Museum and the Chester Beatty Library in London, in the national libraries and museums of Egypt and Iran and also in the Saltikiv-Shchedrin Library in Saint-Petersburg.

Much attention has been drawn in our republic to the legacy of Behzod, the great Uzbek painter. A special division of students was instituted in the republican art college in order to teach students the miniatures and paintings created by Kamoliddin Behzod and his followers. Students' work, incarnated with the spirit of past traditions and also with the traditions of the historical Behzod art school, has been demonstrated in various exhibitions and competitions and was honoured in the best places.

Islam K.arimov, the President of Uzbekistan, and the Uzbek Government took measures to glorify Behzod's name and to study his creative activity. Particularly after the Academy of Art of Uzbekistan was established, the painting faculty of the Tashkent State Art Institute, named after Mannon Uyghur, and the Republican Art Institute served as a basis for the foundation c' the National Art of Design Institute, named after Kamoliddin Behzod. The State Kamoliddin Behzod Prize was instituted by a special decree of the Uzbek President in order to property estimate and render spiritual and material support to those painters who create the best works in the sphere of design, applied art and handicrafts.

In 1999, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a special resolution "On the Celebration of the 545^th anniversary of Kamoliddin Behzod" in Uzbekistan in the year 2000. It was adopted in order to more widely publicize Behzod's unique legacy, to create conditions to build in the young generation feelings of pride in the national history and patriotism.