Samarkand

Lore & Background

There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city dating from the late Paleolithic. Though the exact date of founding of Samarkand remains uncertain, it has been proposed that it was established between the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Historically, Samarkand has long been one of the principal urban centers of Iranic civilization in Central Asia and played a major role in the cultural and commercial networks of the Silk Road. By the time of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, it was the capital of the satrapy of Sogdiana. The city was conquered by Alexander the Great in 329 BC; at that time it was known as Markanda. Islam got introduced to the region in the 8th century AD following the Umayyad campaigns. It was one of the principal cities in the Samanid Empire, under which New Persian gradually replaced Sogdian as the dominant language of the region. In the late 10th century it became a part of the Turkic Karakhanid Khanate. Thereafter Samarkand was ruled by Turkic or Turko-Mongol dynasties until the Russian annexation in the 19th century, even though the city's culture and literary language remained Persian. Samarkand prospered from its location on the Silk Road between China, Persia and Europe. At times it was one of the largest cities in Central Asia. The city was conquered by the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan in 1220, which saw widespread destruction. In the 14th century, Timur made it the capital of Timurid Empire, and Samarkand became a noted centre of Islamic scholarly study and the birthplace of the Timurid Renaissance. The Timurid and the later Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara period made most important architectural contributions to the urban landscape of the city, including the Registan Square, the Gur-i Amir Mausoleum, the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, and the Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis, immortalising the identity of the city as defined by their well-known cobalt and turquoise majolica tilework. In 2001, UNESCO added the city to its World Heritage List as Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures. Samarkand has a multicultural and plurilingual identity and history that was significantly modified by the process of national delimitation in Central Asia. Significant population of the city consists of the bilingual Tajik speakers, whereas Uzbek is the official language and Russian is also widely used in the public sphere, as per the language policy of Uzbekistan. Modern Sa

In Their Own Story

Dust from the Silk Road settles over the Registan as twilight deepens the sky to bruised purple. The air carries scents of roasting lamb and dried apricots drifting from the bazaar. Above, the azure tiles of the Ulugh Beg Madrasa catch a ghostly glow. An old merchant pauses by the fountain, tracing geometric patterns that have watched empires rise and fall for six hundred years. In this quiet moment, the memory of camel caravans whispers through the arches; here, history does not fade, it accumulates in the stone.

Reader's Guide

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 the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and includes administrative buildings along with cultural centres and educational institutions.

Did You Know?

• Samarkand was known as Markanda when conquered by Alexander the Great in 329 BC.
• The city served as the initial capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic from 1925 until 1930.
• Samarkand was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2001 as Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures.
• The city hosted the 2022 SCO summit on 15 and 16 September 2022.