The history of Bukhara Called the Ark Golden age of the Samanids

Called the Ark
Officially the city was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabited long before. The Russian archaeologist E. E. Kuzmina links the Zaman-Baba culture found in the Bukhara Oasis in the third millennium BCE to the spread of Indo-Aryans across Central Asia. Since 3000 BCE an advanced Bronze Age culture called the Sapalli Culture thrived at such sites as Varakhsha, Vardan, Paykend, and Ramitan. In 1500 BCE a combination of factors—climatic drying, iron technology, and the arrival of Aryan nomads—triggered a population shift to the oasis from outlying areas. Together both the Sapalli and Aryan people lived in villages along the shores of a dense lake and wetland area in the Zeravshan Fan (the Zeravshan (Zarafshan) River had ceased draining to the Oxus). By 1000 BC both groups had merged into a distinctive culture. Around 700 BCE this new culture, called Sogdian, flourished in city-states along the Zeravshan Valley. By this time, the lake had silted up and three small fortified settlements had been built. By 500 BCE these settlements had grown together and were enclosed by a wall, thus Bukhara was born.
Bukhara entered history in 500 BCE as a vassal state or satrapy[citation needed] in the Persian Empire. Later it passed into the hands of theAlexander the Great, the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrians, and the Kushan Empire. During this time, Bukhara functioned as a cult center for the worship of Anahita, and her associated temple economy. Approximately once a lunar cycle, the inhabitants of the Zeravshan Fan exchanged their old idols of the goddess for new ones. The trade festival took place in front of the Mokh Temple. This festival was important in assuring the fertility of land on which all inhabitants of the delta depended. As a result of the trade festivals, Bukhara became a center of commerce. The gold 20-stater of the Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides (170-145 BC), the largest gold coin ever minted in antiquity weighing 169.2 grams was found in Bukhara. It was later acquired by Napoleon III. Cabinet des Médailles, Paris.
As trade accelerated along the silk road after the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) pushed back the northern tribes to secure this key trading route, the already prosperous city of Bukhara then became the logical choice for a market. The silk trade itself created a growth boom in the city which ended around 350 CE.[citation needed] After the fall of the Kushan Empire, Bukhara passed into the hands of Hua tribes from Mongoliaand entered a steep decline. However, already the 5th century saw an unprecedented growth in urban and rural settlements throughout the entire oasis. Around this time the whole oasis territory was surrounded by a more than 400 km long wall.
Prior to the Arab invasion, Bukhara was a stronghold for followers of two persecuted religious movements within the Sassanian Empire, that is,Manicheanism and Nestorian Christianity. In and around Bukhara many coins have been discovered with Christian symbols such as crosses, dating around the late seventh or early eighth centuries. Scholars have suggested that due to the large amount of coins Christianity may have been the official religion of the ruling caste. More coins with crosses have been found around Bukhara than anywhere else in Central Asia.
When the Islamic armies arrived in 650 AD, they found a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and decentralized collection of peoples; nevertheless, after a century many of the subjects of the Caliphate had not converted to Islam, but retained their previous religion.[9] The lack of any central power meant that while the Arabs could gain an easy victory in battle or raiding, they could never hold territory in Central Asia. In fact, Bukhara, along with other cities in the Sogdian federation, played the Caliphate against the Tang Empire. The Arabs did not truly conquer Bukhara until after the Battle of Talas in 751 AD. Islam gradually became the dominant religion at this time and remains the dominant religion to the present day.
However, scholars like Richard Nelson Frye pointed out that Qutaiba ibn Muslim didn't live at the time of Umayyad Caliph Mu'awiya, as this story suggest, but rather much much later. Hence, the authenticity of this story is questionable.
For a century after the Battle of Talas, Islam slowly took root in Bukhara. In 850 AD Bukhara became the capital of the Samanid Empire, which brought about a revival of Iranian language and culture after the period of Arab domination. While under Samanid control, Bukhara was a rival to Baghdad in its glory. Scholars note that the Samanids revived Persian more than the Buyids and the Saffarids, while continuing to patronize Arabic to a significant degree. Nevertheless, in a famous edict, Samanid authorities declared that "here, in this region, the language is Persian, and the kings of this realm are Persian kings."