Samarqand

Overview

Samarqand, also Samarkand is perhaps the most famous city of modern Uzbekistan. The city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Registan square, reportedly the age old intersection of the trade roads, is the reason why people come to Samarkand. And with good reason. It is one of the most beautiful examples of Islamic architecture you will ever see, right up there with the Alhambra in Spain and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. But there are a lot more monuments in Samarakand and around it. Although the old center has not really survived into modern times, you can find reminders of the greatness of the rulers of Samarkand, especially Ulughbek and Tamerlane, all over town. If one wants to enjoy Central Asian nightlife, Samarkand is the place to do it. The city offers most of the options of Tashkent, but at prices that will make one feel like one is still enjoying the budget of Central Asia.

History

The site of Samarkand was settled about 2000 BC. In times of old the city was also known as Afrosiab, and also Maracanda by the Greeks. The city was the capital of Sogdiana, an ancient Persian province, and was conquered by Alexander the Great in 329 BC. It subsequently grew as a trade center on the Silk Road, the great trading route between China and the Mediterranean region. In the early 8th century AD, it was conquered by the Arabs and soon became an important center of Muslim culture. In 1220 Samarkand was almost completely destroyed by the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan. It flourished again when Tamerlane (known as Timur locally) made it the capital of his empire in 1369. As his capital Timur put Samarkand on the world map and much of the architecture visible today was built by him or his descendants. The empire declined in the 15th century, and nomadic Uzbeks (Shaybanids) took Samarkand in 1500. In 1784 the emirate of Bukhara conquered it. The city was taken by Russia in 1868 and once again began to assume importance. From 1924 to 1930, Samarqand was the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).