Samarkand

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.

Did You Know?

• Samarkand was known as Marakanda when captured by Alexander the Great in 329 BC.
• The name Samarkand may come from Sogdian words meaning 'stone' and 'fort, town', sharing the same meaning as Tashkent.
• According to 11th-century scholar Mahmud al-Kashghari, the city was known in Karakhanid Turkic as 'Sämerkänd', meaning 'fat city'.
• Samarkand has a multicultural identity, with significant bilingual Tajik speakers, while Uzbek is the official language and Russian is widely used.