Samarkand is the second largest city of Uzbekistan and is of the same age as Rome, Athens and Babylon- more than 25 centuries old. Ancient Arab manuscripts refer to it as the “Gem of the East”, Europeans called it the “The Land of Scientists”. A majestic and beautiful city, Samarkand is the city of legends. When Alexander the Great first saw Samarkand, he exclaimed “ I heard that the city was beautiful but never thought that it could be so beautiful and majestic”.

Yes, by any standards the city has an astonishing collection of ancient monuments. The turquoise domes of Samarkand are among the world’s most evocative architectural symbols. The most magnificent landmark in this old city is Registan Square- a traditional center of the city.

The square is lined on the three sides by sparkling and turquoise tiled buildings- Ulugbek Madrasah, Sherdor and Tilla Qori. Madrasah in Arabic means - The medieval universities. Interior and exterior facades of the madrassah are decorated with ornament of glazed brick, mosaic and carved marble. The Square is considered an architectural gem representing the finest in Islamic Art.

The Other Historical site is Mausoleum of Tamerlane, one of the imposing conquerors in history, who made Samarkand beloved by poets and travelers. The majesty of architectural forms and lines and colorful mosaic designs make this mausoleum a unique monument of medieval architecture. the famous blue ribbed cantaloupe dome of mausoleum rises over the tin roof-tops in central Samarkand. A massive slab of green jade, under which Tamerlane was laid is said to be the largest such stone in the world.

Samarkand’s importance to the history and culture mankind is now being recognized by UN, UNESCO and WTO, which are helping to promote tourism to the region. As the government, who has made tourism a priority sector for development is continuing to invest hotels, airports, transportation and leisure facilities, service is becoming yet another of the country’s attractions.

As one the ancient poets said:

You can travel through the whole world, have a look at the pyramids and admire the smile of the Sphinx;

You can listen to the soft singing of the wind at the Adriatic Sea and kneel down reverently at the ruins of the Acropolis, be dazzled by Rome with its Forum and Coliseum, be charmed by Notre Dame in Paris or by old domes of Milan;

But if you have seen buildings of Samarkanda, you will be enchanted by its magic forever.

 

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History

Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and the Mediterranean (Silk Road). At times Samarkand has been one of the greatest cities of Central Asia. Founded circa 700 BC by the Persians it was already the capital of the Sogdian satrapy under the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia when Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 BC (see Afrasiab, Sogdiana). Samarkand has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days.

Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran between the times of Alexander and the Arab conquest. The Greeks referred to Samarkand as Maracanda.  In the 6th Century it was within the domains of a Turkish kingdom.

At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came under Arab control. Under Abbasid rule, the legend goes, the secret of papermaking was obtained from two Chinese prisoners from the Battle of Talas in 751, which led to the first paper mill in the Islamic world to be founded in Samarkand. The invention then spread to the rest of the Islamic world, and from there to Europe.

From the 6th to the 13th century it grew larger and more populous than modern Samarkand^{[citation needed]} and was controlled by the Western Turks, Arabs (who converted the area to Islam), Persian Samanids, Kara-Khanid Turks, Seljuk Turks, Kara-Khitan, and Khorezmshah before being sacked by the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1220 . A small part of the population survived, but Samarkand suffered at least another Mongol sack by Khan Baraq to get treasure he needed to pay an army with. The town took many decades to recover from these disasters.

In 1365 a revolt against Mongol control occurred in Samarkand.

In 1370, Timur the Lame, or Tamerlane, decided to make Samarkand the capital of his empire, which extended from India to Turkey. During the next 35 years he built a new city and populated it with artisans and craftsmen from all of the places he had conquered. Timur gained a reputation as a patron of the arts and Samarkand grew to become the centre of the region of Transoxiana. During this time the city had a population of about 150,000.^[6]

In 1499 the Uzbek Turks took control of Samarkand. The Shaybanids emerged as the Uzbek leaders at or about this time.

In the 16th century, the Shaybanids moved their capital to Bukhara and Samarkand went into decline. After an assault by the Persian king, Nadir Shah, the city was abandoned in the 18th century, about 1720 or a few years later.

From 1784 Samarkand was ruled by the emirs of Bukhara.

The city came under Russian rule after the citadel had been taken by a force under Colonel Alexander Abramov in 1868. Shortly thereafter the small Russian garrison of 500 men were themselves besieged. The assault, which was led by Abdul Malik Tura, the rebellious elder son of the Bukharan Emir, and Bek of Shahrisabz, was beaten off with heavy losses. Abramov, now a general, became the first Governor of the Military Okrug which the Russians established along the course of the River Zeravshan, with Samarkand as the administrative centre. The Russian section of the city was built after this point, largely to the west of the old city.

The city later became the capital of the Samarkand Oblast of Russian Turkestan and grew in importance still further when the Trans-Caspian railway reached the city in 1888 . It became the capital of the Uzbek SSR in 1925 before being replaced by Tashkent in 1930.

In 1939 Samarkand had a population of 134,346.






Amoghavajra, an 8th century Buddhist monk who translated Vajrayana scripture, became a powerful figure in the Tang court, and is remembered one of the three founders of Chinese esoteric Buddhism, was born in Samarkand.

In The Travels of Marco Polo, where Polo records his journey along the Silk Roads, Samarkand is described as a "a very large and splendid city..." Here also is related the story of Christian church in Samarkand, which miraculously remained standing after a portion of its central supporting column was removed.

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Stork nests on the Ulugh Beg Madrasa in Samarkand.

Early color photograph from Russia, created by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii as part of his work to document the Russian Empire from 1909 to 1915.

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