There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city dating from the latePaleolithic Era. Though there is no direct evidence of when Samarkand was founded, several theories propose that it was founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Prospering from its location on theSilk Road betweenChina,Persia andEurope, at times Samarkand was one of the largest[4] cities inCentral Asia,[5] and was an important city of the empires ofGreater Iran.[6] By the time of the PersianAchaemenid Empire, it was the capital of theSogdiansatrapy. The city was conquered byAlexander the Great in 329 BC, when it was known as Markanda, which was rendered inGreek asΜαράκανδα.[7] The city was ruled by a succession ofIranian andTurkic rulers until it was conquered by theMongols underGenghis Khan in 1220.
The city is noted as a centre ofIslamicscholarly study and the birthplace of theTimurid Renaissance. In the 14th century,Timur made it the capital of his empire and the site of his mausoleum, theGur-e Amir. TheBibi-Khanym Mosque, rebuilt during theSoviet era, remains one of the city's most notable landmarks. Samarkand'sRegistan square was the city's ancient centre and is bounded by three monumental religious buildings. The city has carefully preserved the traditions of ancient crafts: embroidery, goldwork, silk weaving, copper engraving, ceramics, wood carving, and wood painting.[8] In 2001,UNESCO added the city to itsWorld Heritage List asSamarkand – Crossroads of Cultures.
Modern Samarkand is divided into two parts: the old city, which includes historical monuments, shops, and old private houses; and the new city, which was developed during the days of theRussian Empire andSoviet Union and includes administrative buildings along with cultural centres and educational institutions.[9] On 15 and 16 September 2022, the city hosted the2022 SCO summit.
The name comes from the Iranian languagesPersian andSogdiansamar "stone, rock" andkand "fort, town."[12] In this respect,Samarkand shares the same meaning as the name of the Uzbek capitalTashkent, withtash- being the Turkic term for "stone" and-kent the Turkic analogue ofkand borrowed from Iranian languages.[13]
According to 11th-century scholarMahmud al-Kashghari, the city was known inKarakhanid asSämizkänd (سَمِزْکَنْدْ), meaning "fat city."[14] 16th-century Mughal emperorBabur also mentioned the city under this name, and 15th-century Castillian travelerRuy González de Clavijo stated that Samarkand was simply a distorted form of it.[15]
Along withBukhara,[16] Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities inCentral Asia, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and Europe. There is no direct evidence of when it was founded. Researchers at the Institute of Archaeology of Samarkand date the city's founding to the 8th–7th centuries BC.
Archaeological excavations conducted within the city limits (Syob and midtown) as well as suburban areas (Hojamazgil, Sazag'on) unearthed 40,000-year-old evidence of human activity, dating back to theUpper Paleolithic. A group ofMesolithic (12th–7th millennia BC) archaeological sites were discovered in the suburbs of Sazag'on-1, Zamichatosh, and Okhalik. The Syob and Darg'omcanals, supplying the city and its suburbs with water, appeared around the 7th–5th centuries BC (earlyIron Age).
From its earliest days, Samarkand was one of the main centres ofSogdian civilization. By the time of theAchaemenid dynasty of Persia, the city had become the capital of the Sogdiansatrapy.
Alexander the Great conquered Samarkand in 329 BC. The city was known asMaracanda (Μαράκανδα) by the Greeks.[17] Written sources offer small clues as to the subsequent system of government.[18] They mention one Orepius who became ruler "not from ancestors, but as a gift of Alexander."[19]
While Samarkand suffered significant damage during Alexander's initial conquest, the city recovered rapidly and flourished under the new Hellenic influence. There were also major new construction techniques. Oblong bricks were replaced with square ones and superior methods ofmasonry andplastering were introduced.[20]
Alexander's conquests introduced classical Greek culture into Central Asia and for a time, Greek aesthetics heavily influenced local artisans. This Hellenistic legacy continued as the city became part of various successor states in the centuries following Alexander's death, the GreekSeleucid Empire,Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, andKushan Empire (even though theKushana themselves originated in Central Asia). After the Kushan state lost control of Sogdia during the 3rd century AD, Samarkand went into decline as a centre of economic, cultural, and political power. It did not significantly revive until the 5th century.
Samarkand was conquered by the PersianSassanians c. 260 AD. Under Sassanian rule, the region became an essential site forManichaeism and facilitated the dissemination of the religion throughout Central Asia.[21]
Between AD 350 and 375, Samarkand was conquered by the nomadic tribes ofXionites, the origin of which remains controversial.[22] The resettlement of nomadic groups to Samarkand confirms archaeological material from the 4th century. The culture of nomads from the MiddleSyrdarya basin is spreading in the region.[23] Between 457 and 509, Samarkand was part of theKidarite state.[24]
After theHephthalites ("White Huns") conquered Samarkand, they controlled it until theGöktürks, in an alliance with the Sassanid Persians, won it at theBattle of Bukhara, c. 560 AD.[27]
In the middle of the 6th century, a Turkic state was formed in Altai, founded by the Ashina dynasty. The new state formation was named theTurkic Khaganate after the people of the Turks, which were headed by the ruler – the Khagan. From 557 to 561, theHephthalites empire was defeated by the joint actions of the Turks and Sassanids, which led to the establishment of a common border between the two empires.[28]
In the early Middle Ages, Samarkand was surrounded by four rows of defensive walls and had four gates.[29]
An ancient Turkic burial with a horse was investigated on the territory of Samarkand. It dates back to the 6th century.[30]
During the period of the ruler of the Western Turkic Kaganate,Tong Yabghu Qaghan (618–630), family relations were established with the ruler of Samarkand – Tong Yabghu Qaghan gave him his daughter.[31]
Some parts of Samarkand have been Christian since the 4th century. In the 5th century, aNestorian chair was established in Samarkand. At the beginning of the 8th century, it was transformed into a Nestorian metropolitanate.[32] Discussions and polemics arose between the Sogdian followers ofChristianity andManichaeism, reflected in the documents.[33]
Qutayba generally did not settle Arabs in Central Asia; he forced the local rulers to pay him tribute but largely left them to their own devices. Samarkand was the major exception to this policy: Qutayba established an Arabgarrison and Arab governmental administration in the city, its Zoroastrianfire temples were razed, and amosque was built.[36] Much of the city's population converted to Islam.[37]
As a long-term result, Samarkand developed into a center of Islamic and Arabic learning.[36] At the end of the 740s, amovement of those dissatisfied with the power of theUmayyads emerged in the Arab Caliphate, led by the Abbasid commanderAbu Muslim, who, after the victory of the uprising, became the governor of Khorasan and Maverannahr (750–755). He chose Samarkand as his residence. His name is associated with the construction of a multi-kilometer defensive wall around the city and the palace.[38]
Legend has it that duringAbbasid rule,[39] the secret ofpapermaking was obtained from twoChinese prisoners from theBattle of Talas in 751, which led to the foundation of the firstpaper mill in the Islamic world at Samarkand. The invention then spread to the rest of the Islamic world and thence to Europe.[citation needed]
Abbasidcontrol of Samarkand soon dissipated and was replaced with that of theSamanids (875–999), though the Samanids were still nominal vassals of theCaliph during their control of Samarkand. Under Samanid rule the city became a capital of the Samanid dynasty and an even more important node of numerous trade routes. The Samanids were overthrown by theKarakhanids around 999. Over the next 200 years, Samarkand would be ruled by a succession ofTurkic tribes, including theSeljuqs and theKhwarazmshahs.[40]
The 10th-century Persian authorIstakhri, who travelled inTransoxiana, provides a vivid description of the natural riches of the region he calls "Smarkandian Sogd":
I know no place in it or in Samarkand itself where if one ascends some elevated ground one does not see greenery and a pleasant place, and nowhere near it are mountains lacking in trees or a dusty steppe... Samakandian Sogd... [extends] eight days travel through unbroken greenery and gardens... . The greenery of the trees and sown land extends along both sides of the river [Sogd]... and beyond these fields is pasture for flocks. Every town and settlement has a fortress... It is the most fruitful of all the countries ofAllah; in it are the best trees and fruits, in every home are gardens, cisterns and flowing water.
Karakhanid (Ilek-Khanid) period (11th–12th centuries)
Shah-i Zinda memorial complex, 11th–15th centuries
After the fall of theSamanids state in 999, it was replaced by the Qarakhanid State, where the Turkic Qarakhanid dynasty ruled.[41] After the state of the Qarakhanids split into two parts, Samarkand became a part of the WestKarakhanid Kaganate and from 1040 to 1212 was its capital.[41] The founder of the Western Qarakhanid Kaganate was Ibrahim Tamgach Khan (1040–1068).[41] For the first time, he built a madrasah in Samarkand with state funds and supported the development of culture in the region. During his reign, a public hospital (bemoristan) and a madrasah were established in Samarkand, where medicine was also taught.
The memorial complexShah-i-Zinda was founded by the rulers of the Karakhanid dynasty in the 11th century.[42]
The most striking monument of the Qarakhanid era in Samarkand was the palace of Ibrahim ibn Hussein (1178–1202), which was built in the citadel in the 12th century. During the excavations, fragments of monumental painting were discovered. On the eastern wall, a Turkic warrior was depicted, dressed in a yellow caftan and holding a bow. Horses, hunting dogs, birds and periodlike women were also depicted here.[43]
Ruins of Afrasiab – ancient Samarkand destroyed by Genghis Khan.
The Mongolsconquered Samarkand in 1220.Juvayni writes that Genghis killed all who took refuge in thecitadel and the mosque, pillaged the city completely, andconscripted 30,000 young men along with 30,000 craftsmen. Samarkand suffered at least one other Mongol sack byKhan Baraq to get treasure he needed to pay an army. It remained part of theChagatai Khanate (one of four Mongol successor realms) until 1370.
The Travels ofMarco Polo, where Polo records his journey along the Silk Road in the late 13th century, describes Samarkand as "a very large and splendid city..."[44]
TheYenisei area hada community of weavers of Chinese origin, and Samarkand andOuter Mongolia both had artisans of Chinese origin, as reported byChangchun.[45] After Genghis Khan conquered Central Asia, foreigners were chosen as governmental administrators; Chinese and Qara-Khitays (Khitans) were appointed as co-managers of gardens and fields in Samarkand, which Muslims were not permitted to manage on their own.[46][47] The khanate allowed the establishment of Christian bishoprics (see below).
Ibn Battuta, who visited in 1333, called Samarkand "one of the greatest and finest of cities, and most perfect of them in beauty." He also noted that the orchards were supplied water vianorias.[48]
In 1365, a revolt against Chagatai Mongol control occurred in Samarkand.[49] In 1370, the conquerorTimur (Tamerlane), the founder and ruler of theTimurid Empire, made Samarkand his capital. Timur used various tools for legitimisation, including urban planning in his capital, Samarkand.[50] Over the next 35 years, he rebuilt most of the city and populated it with great artisans and craftsmen from across the empire. Timur gained a reputation as a patron of the arts, and Samarkand grew to become the centre of the region ofTransoxiana. Timur's commitment to the arts is evident in how, in contrast with the ruthlessness he showed his enemies, he demonstrated mercy toward those with special artistic abilities. The lives of artists, craftsmen, andarchitects were spared so that they could improve and beautify Timur's capital.[citation needed]
Timur was also directly involved in construction projects, and his visions often exceeded the technical abilities of his workers. The city was in a state of constant construction, and Timur would often order buildings to be done and redone quickly if he was unsatisfied with the results.[51] By his orders, Samarkand could be reached only by roads; deep ditches were dug, and walls 8 km (5 mi) in circumference separated the city from its surrounding neighbors.[52] At this time, the city had a population of about 150,000.[53]
Henry III of Castile's ambassadorRuy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who was stationed at Samarkand between 1403 and 1406, attested to the never-ending construction that went on in the city. "The Mosque which Timur had built seemed to us the noblest of all those we visited in the city of Samarkand."[54]
Many prominent astronomers worked atUlugh Beg's observatory, which contained this mural sextant, constructed in Samarkand during the 15th century.
Between 1417 and 1420, Timur's grandsonUlugh Beg built amadrasah in Samarkand, which became the first building in the architectural ensemble of Registan. Ulugh Beg invited a large number of astronomers and mathematicians of the Islamic world to this madrasah. Under Ulugh Beg, Samarkand became one of the world centers of medieval science. In the first half of the 15th century, a whole scientific school arose around Ulugh Beg, uniting prominent astronomers and mathematicians includingJamshid al-Kashi,Qāḍī Zāda al-Rūmī, andAli Qushji. Ulugh Beg's main interest in science was astronomy, and he constructed an observatory in 1428. Its main instrument was thewall quadrant, which was unique in the world.[55] It was known as the "Fakhri Sextant" and had a radius of 40 meters.[56] Seen in the image on the left, the arc was finely constructed with a staircase on either side to provide access for the assistants who performed the measurements.
In 1500,nomadicUzbek warriors took control of Samarkand.[53] TheShaybanids emerged as the city's leaders at or about this time. In 1501, Samarkand was finally taken byMuhammad Shaybani from the Uzbek dynasty ofShaybanids, and the city became part of the newly formed “Bukhara Khanate”. Samarkand was chosen as the capital of this state, in which Muhammad Shaybani Khan was crowned. In Samarkand, Muhammad Shaybani Khan ordered to build a large madrasah, where he later took part in scientific and religious disputes. The first dated news about the Shaybani Khan madrasah dates back to 1504 (it was completely destroyed during the years of Soviet power). Muhammad Salikh wrote that Sheibani Khan built a madrasah in Samarkand to perpetuate the memory of his brother Mahmud Sultan.[57]
Fazlallah ibn Ruzbihan[who?] in "Mikhmon-namei Bukhara" expresses his admiration for the majestic building of the madrasah, its gilded roof, high hujras, spacious courtyard and quotes a verse praising the madrasah.[58] Zayn ad-din Vasifi, who visited the Sheibani-khan madrasah several years later, wrote in his memoirs that the veranda, hall and courtyard of the madrassah are spacious and magnificent.[57]
Abdulatif Khan, the son of Mirzo Ulugbek's grandson Kuchkunji Khan, who ruled in Samarkand from 1540 to 1551, was considered an expert in the history of Maverannahr and the Shibanid dynasty. He patronized poets and scientists. Abdulatif Khan himself wrote poetry under the literary pseudonym Khush.[59]
During the reign of the AshtarkhanidImam Quli Khan (1611–1642) famous architectural masterpieces were built in Samarkand. In 1612–1656, the governor of Samarkand, Yalangtush Bahadur, built a cathedral mosque, Tillya-Kari madrasah and Sherdor madrasah.[citation needed]
From 1756 to 1868, it was ruled by theManghud Emirs ofBukhara.[63] The revival of the city began during the reign of the founder of the Uzbek dynasty, the Mangyts, Muhammad Rakhim (1756–1758), who became famous for his strong-willed qualities and military art. Muhammad Rakhimbiy made some attempts to revive Samarkand.[64]
The city came underimperial Russian rule after the citadel had been taken by a force under ColonelKonstantin Petrovich von Kaufman in 1868. Shortly thereafter the small Russian garrison of 500 men were themselvesbesieged. The assault, which was led by Abdul Malik Tura, the rebellious elder son of theBukharan Emir, as well as BabaBeg ofShahrisabz and Jura Beg ofKitab, was repelled with heavy losses. GeneralAlexander Konstantinovich Abramov became the first Governor of the MilitaryOkrug, which the Russians established along the course of theZeravshan River with Samarkand as the administrative centre. The Russian section of the city was built after this point, largely west of the old city.
European study of the history of Samarkand began after the conquest of Samarkand by the Russian Empire in 1868. The first studies of the history of Samarkand belong to N. Veselovsky, V. Bartold and V. Vyatkin. In the Soviet period, the generalization of materials on the history of Samarkand was reflected in the two-volumeHistory of Samarkand edited by the academician of UzbekistanIbrohim Moʻminov.[67]
On the initiative of Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR I. Muminov and with the support ofSharaf Rashidov, the 2500th anniversary of Samarkand was widely celebrated in 1970. In this regard, a monument toUlugh Beg was opened, the Museum of the History of Samarkand was founded, and a two-volume history of Samarkand was prepared and published.[68][69]
After Uzbekistan gained independence, several monographs were published on the ancient and medieval history of Samarkand.[70][71]
Samarkand is located in southeastern Uzbekistan, in theZarefshan River valley, 135 km fromQarshi. Road M37 connects Samarkand toBukhara, 240 km away. Road M39 connects it toTashkent, 270 km away. TheTajikistan border is about 35 km from Samarkand; the Tajik capitalDushanbe is 210 km away from Samarkand. Road M39 connects Samarkand toMazar-i-Sharif inAfghanistan, which is 340 km away.
Samarkand has acold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification:BSk) with hot, dry summers and relatively wet, variable winters that alternate periods of warm weather with periods of cold weather. July and August are the hottest months of the year, with temperatures reaching and exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). Precipitation is sparse from June through October, but increases to a maximum from February to April. January 2008 was particularly cold; the temperature dropped to −22 °C (−8 °F).[73]
Climate data for Samarkand (1991–2020, extremes 1891–present)
According to official reports, a majority of Samarkand's inhabitants areUzbeks, while many sources refer to the city as majorityTajik,[78][79][80][81] up to 70 percent of the city's population.[82] Tajiks are especially concentrated in the eastern part of the city, where the main architectural landmarks are.
According to various independent sources, Tajiks are Samarkand's majority ethnic group. EthnicUzbeks are the second-largest group[83] and are most concentrated in the west of Samarkand. Exact demographic figures are difficult to obtain since some people in Uzbekistan identify as "Uzbek" even though they speakTajiki as their first language, often because they are registered as Uzbeks by the central government despite their Tajiki language and identity. As explained byPaul Bergne:
During the census of 1926 a significant part of the Tajik population was registered as Uzbek. Thus, for example, in the 1920 census in Samarkand city the Tajiks were recorded as numbering 44,758 and the Uzbeks only 3301. According to the 1926 census, the number of Uzbeks was recorded as 43,364 and the Tajiks as only 10,716. In a series of kishlaks [villages] in the Khojand Okrug, whose population was registered as Tajik in 1920 e.g. in Asht, Kalacha, Akjar i Tajik and others, in the 1926 census they were registered as Uzbeks. Similar facts can be adduced also with regard to Ferghana, Samarkand, and especially the Bukhara oblasts.[83]
Samarkand is also home to large ethnic communities of "Iranis" (the old,Persian-speaking,Shia population ofMerv city and oasis, deported en masse to this area in the late 18th century),Russians,Ukrainians,Belarusians,Armenians,Azeris,Tatars,Koreans,Poles, andGermans, all of whom live primarily in the centre and western neighborhoods of the city. These peoples have emigrated to Samarkand since the end of the 19th century, especially during the Soviet Era; by and large, they speak theRussian language.
In the extreme west and southwest of Samarkand is a population ofCentral Asian Arabs, who mostly speak Uzbek; only a small portion of the older generation speaksCentral Asian Arabic. In eastern Samarkand there was once a large mahallah ofBukharian (Central Asian) Jews, but starting in the 1970s, hundreds of thousands of Jews left Uzbekistan forIsrael,United States,Canada,Australia, andEurope. Only a few Jewish families are left in Samarkand today.
Also in the eastern part of Samarkand there are several quarters whereCentral Asian "Gypsies"[84] (Lyuli, Djugi,Parya, and other groups) live. These peoples began to arrive in Samarkand several centuries ago from what are nowIndia andPakistan. They mainly speak a dialect of the Tajik language, as well as their own languages, most notablyParya.
As in the rest of Uzbekistan, theRussian language is thede facto second official language in Samarkand, and about 5% of signs and inscriptions in Samarkand are in this language.Russians,Belarusians,Poles,Germans,Koreans, the majority ofUkrainians, the majority ofArmenians,Greeks, someTatars, and someAzerbaijanis in Samarkand speak Russian. Several Russian-language newspapers are published in Samarkand, the most popular of which is "Samarkandskiy vestnik" (Russian: Самаркандский вестник, lit. the Samarkand Herald). The Samarkandian TV channel STV conducts some broadcasts in Russian.
While the official stance is that Uzbek is the most common language in Samarkand, some data indicate that only about 30% of residents speak it as a native tongue. For the other 70%, Tajik is the native tongue, with Uzbek the second language and Russian the third. However, as no population census has been taken in Uzbekistan since 1989, there are no accurate data on this matter. Despite Tajik being the second most common language in Samarkand, it does not enjoy the status of an official or regional language.[85][79][80][86][81][87] Nevertheless, at Samarkand State University ten faculties offer courses in Tajiki, and the Tajik Language and Literature Department has an enrolment of over 170 students.[88] Only one newspaper in Samarkand is published in Tajiki, in theCyrillic Tajik alphabet:Ovozi Samarqand (Tajik:Овози Самарқанд —Voice of Samarkand). Local Samarkandian STV and "Samarkand" TV channels offer some broadcasts in Tajik, as does one regional radio station. In 2022 a quarterly literary magazine in Tajiki,Durdonai Sharq, was launched in Samarkand.[88]
In addition to Uzbek, Tajik, and Russian, native languages spoken in Samarkand includeUkrainian,Armenian,Azerbaijani,Tatar,Crimean Tatar,Arabic (for a very small percentage of Samarkandian Arabs), and others.
Modern Samarkand is a vibrant city, and in 2019 the city hosted the first Samarkand Half Marathon.[89] In 2022 this also included a full marathon for the first time.
Most inhabitants of Samarkand are Muslim, primarilySunni (mostlyHanafi) andSufi. Approximately 80–85% of Muslims in the city are Sunni, comprising almost allTajiks,Uzbeks, and Samarkandian Arabs living therein. Samarkand's best-known Islamic sacred lineages are the descendants of Sufi leaders such as Khodja Akhror Wali (1404–1490) and Makhdumi A’zam (1461–1542), the descendants of Sayyid Ata (first half of 14th c.) and Mirakoni Khojas (Sayyids from Mirakon, a village in Iran).[90] The liberal policy of PresidentShavkat Mirziyoyev opened up new opportunities for the expression of the religious identity. In Samarkand, since 2018, there has been an increase in the number of women wearing the hijab.[91]
TheSamarqand Vilayat is one of the two regions of Uzbekistan (along withBukhara Vilayat) that are home to a large number of Shiites. The total population of the Samarkand Vilayat is more than 3,720,000 people (2019).
There are no exact data on the number of Shiites in the city of Samarkand, but the city has several Shiite mosques and madrasas. The largest of these are the Punjabi Mosque, the Punjabi Madrassah, and the Mausoleum of Mourad Avliya. Every year, the Shiites of Samarkand celebrateAshura, as well as other memorable Shiite dates and holidays.
Shiites in Samarkand are mostlySamarkandian Iranians, who call themselvesIrani. Their ancestors began to arrive in Samarkand in the 18th century. Some migrated therein search of a better life, others were sold asslaves there byTurkmen captors, and others were soldiers who were posted to Samarkand. Mostly they came fromKhorasan,Mashhad,Sabzevar,Nishapur, andMerv; and secondarily fromIranian Azerbaijan,Zanjan,Tabriz, andArdabil. Samarkandian Shiites also includeAzerbaijanis, as well as small numbers of Tajiks and Uzbeks.
While there are no official data on the total number of Shiites in Uzbekistan, they are estimated to be "several hundred thousand." According toleaked diplomatic cables, in 2007–2008, theUS Ambassador for International Religious Freedom held a series of meetings with Sunnimullahs and Shiiteimams in Uzbekistan. During one of the talks, the imam of the Shiite mosque inBukhara said that about 300,000 Shiites live in the Bukhara Vilayat and 1 million in the Samarkand Vilayat. The Ambassador slightly doubted the authenticity of these figures, emphasizing in his report that data on the numbers of religious and ethnic minorities provided by the government of Uzbekistan were considered a very "delicate topic" due to their potential to provoke interethnic and interreligious conflicts. All the ambassadors of the ambassador tried to emphasize that traditional Islam, especiallySufism andSunnism, in the regions of Bukhara and Samarkand is characterized by great religious tolerance toward other religions and sects, including Shiism.[92][93][94]
Christianity was introduced to Samarkand when it was part of Sogdiana, long before the penetration ofIslam into Central Asia. The city then became one of the centers ofNestorianism inCentral Asia.[95] The majority of the population were thenZoroastrians, but since Samarkand was the crossroads of trade routes amongChina,Persia, andEurope, it was religiously tolerant. Under theUmayyad Caliphate, Zoroastrians and Nestorians were persecuted by theArab conquerors;[citation needed] the survivors fled to other places or converted to Islam. Several Nestorian temples were built in Samarkand, but they have not survived. Their remains were found by archeologists at the ancient site ofAfrasiyab and on the outskirts of Samarkand.
In the three decades of 1329–1359, theSamarkand eparchy of theRoman Catholic Church served several thousand Catholics who lived in the city. According toMarco Polo and Johann Elemosina, a descendant ofChaghatai Khan, the founder of theChaghatai dynasty,Eljigidey, converted to Christianity and was baptized. With the assistance of Eljigidey, the Catholic Church ofSt. John the Baptist was built in Samarkand. After a while, however, Islam completely supplanted Catholicism.
Christianity reappeared in Samarkand several centuries later, from the mid-19th century onward, after the city was seized by theRussian Empire.Russian Orthodoxy was introduced to Samarkand in 1868, and several churches and temples were built. In the early 20th century several more Orthodox cathedrals, churches, and temples were built, most of which were demolished while Samarkand was part of theUSSR.
The third largest Christian sect in Samarkand is theArmenian Apostolic Church, followed by a few tens of thousands of Armenian Samarkandians. Armenian Christians began emigrating to Samarkand at the end of the 19th century, this flow increasing especially in the Soviet era.[99] In the west of Samarkand is theArmenian Church Surb Astvatsatsin.[100]
Silk Road Samarkand is a modern multiplex which opened in early 2022 in eastern Samarkand. The complex covers 260 hectares and includes world-class business and medical hotels, eateries, recreational facilities, park grounds, an ethnographic corner and a large congress hall for hosting international events.[102]
Eternal city situated in Silk Road Samarkand complex. This site which occupies 17 hectares accurately recreates the spirit of the ancient city backed up by the history and traditions of Uzbek lands and Uzbek people for the guests of the Silk Road Samarkand. The narrow streets here house multiple shops of artists, artisans, and craftsmen. The pavilions of the Eternal City were inspired by real houses and picturesque squares described in ancient books. This is where you can plunge into a beautiful oriental fairy tale: with turquoise domes, mosaics on palaces, and high minarets that pierce the sky.
Visitors to the Eternal City can taste national dishes from different eras and regions of the country and also see authentic street performances. The Eternal City showcases a unique mix of Parthian, Hellenistic, and Islamic cultures so that the guests could imagine the versatile heritage of bygone centuries in full splendor. The project was inspired and designed by Bobur Ismoilov, a famous modern artist.[103]
Building the Great Mosque of Samarkand. Illustration byBihzad for theZafar-Nameh. Text copied inHerat in 1467–68 and illuminated the late 1480s. John Work Garret Collection, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
Timur initiated the building of Bibi Khanum after his 1398–1399 campaign in India. Bibi Khanum originally had about 450 marble columns, which were hauled there and set up with the help of 95 elephants that Timur had brought back from Hindustan. Artisans and stonemasons from India designed the mosque's dome, giving it its distinctive appearance amongst the other buildings. An 1897 earthquake destroyed the columns, which were not entirely restored in the subsequent reconstruction.[51]
The best-known landmark of Samarkand is the mausoleum known as Gur-i Amir. It exhibits the influences of many cultures, past civilizations, neighboring peoples, and religions, especially those of Islam. Despite the devastation wrought by Mongols to Samarkand's pre-Timurid Islamic architecture, under Timur these architectural styles were revived, recreated, and restored. The blueprint and layout of the mosque itself, with their precise measurements, demonstrate the Islamic passion forgeometry. The entrance to the Gur-i Amir is decorated with Arabiccalligraphy and inscriptions, the latter a common feature in Islamic architecture. Timur's meticulous attention to detail is especially obvious inside the mausoleum: the tiled walls are a marvelous example ofmosaicfaience, an Iranian technique in which each tile is cut, colored, and fit into place individually.[51] The tiles of the Gur-i Amir were also arranged so that they spell out religious words such as "Muhammad" and "Allah."[51]
The ornamentation of the Gur-i Amir's walls includes floral and vegetal motifs, which signify gardens; the floor tiles feature uninterrupted floral patterns. In Islam, gardens are symbols of paradise, and as such, they were depicted on the walls of tombs and grown in Samarkand itself.[51] Samarkand boasted two major gardens, the New Garden and the Garden of Heart's Delight, which became the central areas of entertainment for ambassadors and important guests. In 1218, a friend of Genghis Khan named Yelü Chucai reported that Samarkand was the most beautiful city of all, as "it was surrounded by numerous gardens. Every household had a garden, and all the gardens were well designed, with canals and water fountains that supplied water to round or square-shaped ponds. The landscape included rows of willows and cypress trees, and peach and plum orchards were shoulder to shoulder."[104] Persian carpets with floral patterns have also been found in some Timurid buildings.[105]
The elements of traditional Islamic architecture can be seen in traditional mud-brick Uzbek houses that are built around central courtyards with gardens.[106] Most of these houses have painted wooden ceilings and walls. By contrast, houses in the west of the city are chiefly European-style homes built in the 19th and 20th centuries.[106]
Turko-Mongol influence is also apparent in Samarkand's architecture. It is believed that the melon-shaped domes of the mausoleums were designed to echoyurts orgers, traditional Mongol tents in which the bodies of the dead were displayed before burial or other disposition. Timur built his tents from more-durable materials, such as bricks and wood, but their purposes remained largely unchanged.[51] The chamber in which Timur's own body was laid included "tugs", poles whose tops were hung with a circular arrangement of horse or yak tail hairs. These banners symbolized an ancient Turkic tradition of sacrificing horses, which were valuable commodities, to honor the dead.[51] Tugs were also a type of cavalry standard used by many nomads, up to the time of the Ottoman Turks.
Colors of buildings in Samarkand also have significant meanings. The dominant architectural color is blue, which Timur used to convey a broad range of concepts. For example, the shades of blue in the Gur-i Amir are colors of mourning; in that era, blue was the color of mourning in Central Asia, as it still is in various cultures today. Blue was also considered the color that could ward off "theevil eye" in Central Asia; this notion is evidenced by in the number of blue-painted doors in and around the city. Furthermore, blue represented water, a particularly rare resource in the Middle East and Central Asia; walls painted blue symbolized the wealth of the city.
Gold also has a strong presence in the city. Timur's fascination with vaulting explains the excessive use of gold in the Gur-i Amir, as well as the use ofembroidered gold fabric in both the city and his buildings. The Mongols had great interests in Chinese- and Persian-style golden silk textiles, as well asnasij[107] woven inIran and Transoxiana. Mongol leaders likeÖgedei Khan built textile workshops in their cities to be able to produce gold fabrics themselves.
Suburbs of the city include: Gulyakandoz, Superfosfatnyy, Bukharishlak, Ulugbek, Ravanak, Kattakishlak, Registan, Zebiniso, Kaftarkhona, Uzbankinty.[108]
Until 1950, the main forms of transport in Samarkand werecarriages and "arabas" withhorses anddonkeys. However, the city had asteam tram from 1924 to 1930, and there were more modern trams from 1947 to 1973.
Modern Samarkand is an important rail junction of Uzbekistan, and all national east–west railway routes pass through the city. The most important and longest of these isTashkent–Kungrad. High-speedTashkent–Samarkand high-speed rail line trains run between Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara. Samarkand also has international railway connections:Saratov–Samarkand,Moscow–Samarkand, andAstana–Samarkand.
Samarkand railway station
Afrasiyab (Talgo 250) high-speed train in Samarkand railway station
Between 1879 and 1891, theRussian Empire built theTrans-Caspian Railway to facilitate its expansion into Central Asia. The railway originated in Krasnovodsk (nowTurkmenbashi) on theCaspian Sea coast. Its terminus was originally Samarkand, whose station first opened in May 1888. However, a decade later, the railway was extended eastward to Tashkent andAndijan, and its name was changed to Central Asian Railways. Nonetheless, Samarkand remained one of the largest and most important stations of theUzbek SSR andSoviet Central Asia.
^NikTalab, Poopak (2019).From the Alleyways of Samarkand to the Mediterranean Coast (The Evolution of the World of Child and Adolescent Literature). Tehran, Iran: Faradid publishing. pp. 18–27.ISBN9786226606622.
^"The Persian-speaking cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, rightly considered by today’s Tajiks as the constituting the historical centres of Tajik civilization" Foltz, Richard. A History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East. I.B. Tauris, 2019. p.9
^Room, Adrian (2006).Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites (2nd ed.). London: McFarland. p. 330.ISBN978-0-7864-2248-7.Samarkand City, southeastern Uzbekistan. The city here was already namedMarakanda, when captured by Alexander the Great in 329 BCE. Its own name derives from the Sogdian wordssamar, "stone, rock", andkand, "fort, town".
^Sachau, Edward C. Alberuni’s India: an Account of the Religion. Philosophy, Literature, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Customs, Laws and Astrology of India about AD 1030, vol. 1 London: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRtJBNBR & CO. 1910. p.298.
^Vladimir Babak, Demian Vaisman, Aryeh Wasserman,Political organization in Central Asia and Azerbaijan: sources and documents, p. 374
^Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer (New York: Columbia University Press, 1972 reprint) p. 1657
^Wood, Frances (2002).The Silk Road: two thousand years in the heart of Asia. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Shichkina, G.V. (1994). "Ancient Samarkand: capital of Soghd".Bulletin of the Asia Institute.8: 83.
^Shichkina, G.V. (1994). "Ancient Samarkand: capital of Soghd".Bulletin of the Asia Institute.8: 86.
^abDumper, Stanley (2007).Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 319–320.
^Grenet Frantz, Regional interaction in Central Asia and northwest India in the Kidarite and Hephthalites periods in Indo-Iranian languages and peoples. Edited by Nicholas Sims-Williams. Oxford university press, 2003. Р.219–220
^Buryakov Y.F. Iz istorii arkheologicheskikh rabot v zonakh oroshayemogo zemledeliya Uzbekistana // Arkheologicheskiye raboty na novostroykakh Uzbekistana. Tashkent, 1990. pp. 9–10.
^Etienne de la Vaissiere, Sogdian traders. A history. Translated by James Ward. Brill. Leiden. Boston, 2005, pp. 108–111.
^Sprishevskiy V.I. Pogrebeniye s konem serediny I tysyacheletiya n.e., obnaruzhennoye okolo observatorii Ulugbeka. // Tr. Muzeya istorii narodov Uzbekistana. T.1.- Tashkent, 1951.
^Klyashtornyy S. G., Savinov D. G., Stepnyye imperii drevney Yevrazii. Sankt-Peterburg: Filologicheskiy fakul'tet SPbGU, 2005 god, s. 97
^Masson M.Ye., Proiskhozhdeniye dvukh nestorianskikh namogilnykh galek Sredney Azii // Obshchestvennyye nauki v Uzbekistane, 1978, №10, p. 53.
^Sims-Wlliams Nicholas, A Christian sogdian polemic against the manichaens // Religious themes and texts of pre-Islamic Iran and Central Asia. Edited by Carlo G. Cereti, Mauro Maggi and Elio Provasi. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 2003, pp. 399–407
^Tadjikistan : au pays des fleuves d'or. Paris: Musée Guimet. 2021. p. 152.ISBN978-9461616272.
^Dumper, Stanley (2007).Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. California.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Whitfield, Susan (1999).Life Along the Silk Road. California: University of California Press. p. 33.
^Bartold V. V., Abu Muslim//Akademik V. V. Bartol'd. Sochineniya. Tom VII. Moskva: Nauka, 1971
^Quraishi, Silim "A survey of the development of papermaking in Islamic Countries",Bookbinder, 1989 (3): 29–36.
^Dumper, Stanley (2007).Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. California. p. 320.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^abcKochnev B. D., Numizmaticheskaya istoriya Karakhanidskogo kaganata (991—1209 gg.). Moskva «Sofiya», 2006
^E. Bretschneider (1888). "The Travels of Ch'ang Ch'un to the West, 1220–1223 recorded by his disciple Li Chi Ch'ang".Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources. Barnes & Noble. pp. 37–108. Archived fromthe original on 2018-04-30. Retrieved2018-04-26.
^Battutah, Ibn (2002).The Travels of Ibn Battutah. London: Picador. p. 143.ISBN9780330418799.
^Malikov Azim, The cultural traditions of urban planning in Samarkand during the epoch of Timur. In: Baumer, C., Novák, M. and Rutishauser, S., Cultures in Contact. Central Asia as Focus of Trade, Cultural Exchange and Knowledge Transmission. Harrassowitz. 2022, p.343
^abcdefgMarefat, Roya (Summer 1992). "The Heavenly City of Samarkand".The Wilson Quarterly.16 (3):33–38.JSTOR40258334.
^Wood, Frances (2002).The Silk Roads: two thousand ears in the heart of Asia. Berkeley. pp. 136–7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Montgomery David. Samarkand taarikhi (History of Samarkand) by I.M.Muminov, The American historical review, volume 81, no.8 (October 1976), pp. 914–915
^Istoriya Samarkanda v dvukh tomakh. Pod redaktsiyey I. Muminova. Tashkent, 1970
^Montgomery David, Review of Samarkand taarikhi by I. M. Muminov et al. // The American historical review, volume 81, no. 4 (October 1976)
^Akiner, Shirin; Djalili, Mohammad-Reza; Grare, Frederic (2013). Tajikistan: The Trials of Independence. Routledge.ISBN978-1-136-10490-9 p. 78, "Bukhara and Samarkand, inhabited by a marked Tajik majority (...)"
^abLena Jonson (1976) "Tajikistan in the New Central Asia", I.B.Tauris, p. 108: "According to official Uzbek statistics there are slightly over 1 million Tajiks in Uzbekistan or about 3% of the population. The unofficial figure is over 6 million Tajiks. They are concentrated in the Sukhandarya, Samarqand and Bukhara regions."
^abPaul Bergne:The Birth of Tajikistan. National Identity and the Origins of the Republic. International Library of Central Asia Studies.I.B. Tauris. 2007. Pg. 106
^Karl Cordell, "Ethnicity and Democratisation in the New Europe", Routledge, 1998. p. 201: "Consequently, the number of citizens who regard themselves as Tajiks is difficult to determine. Tajikis within and outside of the republic, Samarkand State University (SamGU) academic and international commentators suggest that there may be between six and seven million Tajiks in Uzbekistan, constituting 30% of the republic's 22 million population, rather than the official figure of 4.7% (Foltz 1996: 213; Carlisle 1995: 88).
^Dickens, Mark "Nestorian Christianity in Central Asia. p. 17
^В. А. Нильсен. У истоков современного градостроительства Узбекистана (ΧΙΧ — начало ΧΧ веков). —Ташкент: Издательство литературы и искусства имени Гафура Гуляма, 1988. 208 с.
^Голенберг В. А. «Старинные храмы туркестанского края». Ташкент 2011 год
Azim Malikov, "Cult of saints and shrines in the Samarqand province of Uzbekistan".International Journal of Modern Anthropology. No. 4. 2010, pp. 116–123.
Azim Malikov, "The politics of memory in Samarkand in post-Soviet period".International Journal of Modern Anthropology. (2018) Vol. 2. Issue No. 11. pp. 127–145.
Azim Malikov, "Sacred lineages of Samarqand: history and identity".Anthropology of the Middle East, Volume 15, Issue 1, Summer 2020, рp. 34–49.
Alexander Morrison,Russian Rule in Samarkand 1868–1910: A Comparison with British India (Oxford, OUP, 2008) (Oxford Historical Monographs).
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