Samarkand

Samarkand (Samarqand or Самарқанд in Uzbek, in Persian سمرقند) (population 400,000) is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan, capital of Samarqand Province. It is located at latitude 39° 39' 15, longitude 66° 57' 35E, at an altitude of 702 meters. The majority of the city's inhabitants are ethnically Tajik. In 2001, after several abortive attempts, UNESCO inscribed the 2700-year-old city on the World Heritage List as Samarkand - Crossroads of Cultures.

History

Samarkand (Greek: Marakanda) is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the (Silk Road) trade route between China and Europe. At times Samarkand has been the greatest city of Central Asia, and for much of its history it has been under Persian rule. Founded ca. 700BCE, it was already the capital of the Sogdian Empire when Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 BCE (see Afrasiab, Sogdiana).

Related Topics:
Silk Road - China - Europe - Central Asia - Persian - Sogdian - Alexander the Great - Afrasiab - Sogdiana

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From the 6th to 13th centuries, it grew larger and more populous than modern Samarkand, and was controlled by the Western Turks, Arabs, Persian Samanids, Karakhan Turks, Seljuk Turks, Karakitay and Khorezmshah before being sacked by the Mongols 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.

Related Topics:
Arab - Samanid - Karakhan - Seljuk Turks - Karakitay - Khorezmshah - Mongols

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In 1370, Timur (Tamerlane) decided to make Samarkand the capital of his projected world empire, which extended from India to Turkey. For the next 35 years, he built a new city, populating it with artisans and craftsmen from all of the places he had captured. Timur gained a reputation for wisdom and generosity, and Samarkand grew to become the center of the region of Transoxiana.

Related Topics:
Timur - India - Turkey

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His grandson Ulugh Beg ruled the country for 40 years. In Samarkand, Ulugh beg created a scientific school that united outstanding astronomers and mathematicians. He also ordered the construction of an observatory; it contained a gigantic but precision-made marble sextant with an arc length of 63 meters.

Related Topics:
Ulugh Beg - Sextant

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In the 16th century, the Uzbek Shaybanids moved their capital to Bukhara, and Samarkand went into decline. After an assault by the Persian warlord Nadir Shah, the city was abandoned in the 18th century. The Emir of Bukhara forcibly repopulated the town at the end of the 18th century.

Related Topics:
Shaybanids - Bukhara - Warlord - Nadir Shah

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In 1868, the city came under Russian rule, when the citadel was stormed by a force under Colonel A.K. Abramov (1836-1886). Shortly thereafter the small Russian garrison of 500 men were themselves besieged. The assault was led by the Bek of Shahrisabz, and the attack 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, of which Samarkand was the administrative centre. It 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.

Related Topics:
1868 - Russian - A.K. Abramov - Bek - Shahrisabz - Okrug - Zeravshan - Oblast - Russian Turkestan - Trans-Caspian railway - 1888 - Uzbek SSR - 1925 - Tashkent

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