Uzbekistan cities

History of Iran

see also Kings of Persia · Timeline of IranBefore Common Era

Prehistory

Sajid dynasty 889/890–929

Saffarid dynasty 861–1003

Samanid dynasty 875–999

Ziyarid dynasty 928–1043

Buyid dynasty 934–1062

Sallarid 942–979

Ma'munids 995-1017

Ghaznavid Empire 963–1187

Ghori dynasty 1149–1212

Seljuq dynasty 1037–1194

Khwarezmid dynasty 1077–1231

Samarkand (Uzbek: Samarqand; Tajik: Самарқанд; Persian: سمرقند; from Sogdian: "Stone Fort" or "Rock Town") is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. In the 14th century, it became the capital of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane), and is the site of his mausoleum (the Gur-e Amir). The Bibi-Khanym Mosque remains one of the city's most notable landmarks. The Registan was the ancient centre of the city.

Etymology

There are several theories regarding the name of Samarkand. Persian theories claim that Samarkand derives its name from the Old Persian asmara, "stone", "rock", and Sogdian kand, "fort", "town". Or more closely refers to the meaning: "SAMAR"-"Yard" and "KAND"-"Sugar Cubes" from Persian language.

Population

In 1939 Samarkand had a population of 134,346,[2] and in 2005 an urban population of 384,000, mostly Persian-speaking Tajiks. Uzbeks form a sizable minority. Along with Bukhara, Samarkand is one of the historical centers of the Tajik people in Central Asia.

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.

Early history

Founded circa 700 BC by the Sogdians, Samarkand has been one of the main centres of Iranian civilization from its early days. It was already the capital of the Sogdian satrapy under the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia when Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 BC. The Greeks referred to Samarkand as Maracanda. Samarkand – Crossroads of Culture*

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bibi-Khanym Mausoleum

State Party Uzbekistan

Type Cultural

Criteria i, ii, iv

Reference 603

Region** Asia-Pacific

Inscription history

Inscription 2001 (25th Session)

* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.

** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Downtown with Bibi Khanym mosque

View of the Registan at night

Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest (except at the time of early Sassanids, such as Shapur I). In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks

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

14th century. In 1365, a revolt against Mongol control occurred in Samarkand.

In 1370, Timur the Lame, 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.

15th century

Between 1424 and 1429, the great astronomer Ulugh Beg built the Samarkand Observatory. The sextant was 11 metres long and once rose to the top of the surrounding three storey structure although it was kept underground to protect it from earthquakes. Calibrated along its length, it was the world’s largest 90 degree quadrant at the time. However, the observatory was destroyed by religious fanatics in 1449.

Modern history

See also: Russian Turkestan

In 1500 the Uzbek Turks took control of Samarkand. The Shaybanids emerged as the Uzbek leaders at or about this time.

In the second quarter of 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 1599 to 1756, Samarkand was ruled by the Ashtarkhanid dynasty of Bukhara.

From 1756 to 1868, Samarkand was ruled by the Manghyt emirs of Bukhara.
The city came under Russian rule after the citadel had been taken by a force under Colonel Konstantinovich Petrovich Kaufman 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. Alexander Abramov, became the first Governor of the Military Okrug which the Russians established along the course of the Zeravshan River, 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.

In 1886 the city became the capital of the newly formed 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.

Urgench
Urgench (Uzbek: Urganch / Урганч; Persian: گرگانج / Gorganch; Russian: Ургенч) is a city (1999 pop. 139,100) in western Uzbekistan. It is the capital of the Khorezm Province, on the Amu Darya River and the Shavat canal. The city is situated 450 km west of Bukhara across the Kyzyl Kum Desert. It is located at latitude 41° 32' 60N longitude 60° 37' 60E, at an altitude of 91 meters.
The history of the city goes back to the second half of the 18th century. The city should not be confused with the like-named city of Konya-Urgench (also known as "Old Urgench" or "Gurgench") in Turkmenistan. The city of Old Urgench was relocated to Urgench after the Amu Darya river changed its course in the 16th century, leaving the old town high and dry and without water. New Urgench was a trade center of the Khanate of Khiva.

Modern Urgench is a Soviet-style city, with a plethora of Soviet monuments and cotton motifs adorning every object possible, from street lights to apartment houses. Of note is a monument to the twenty Komsomol members killed by Tekke basmachi on the banks of the Syr Darya in 1922, and a large statue to Muhammed al-Khwarizmi, the 9th century local mathematician who revolutionised algebra, outside the

Hotel Urgench. A flat, drab place, this hotel is the main gateway for tourists to Khiva 35 kilometres to the southeast, whose old city, known as Itchan Kala, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Qarshi

Qarshi (Uzbek: Qarshi / Қарши; Persian: نخشب; Mongolian: Харш; Russian: Карши) is a city in southern Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qashqadaryo Province and has a population of 197,600 (1999 census estimate). It is about 520 km south-southwest of Tashkent, and about 335 km north of Uzbekistan's border with Afghanistan. It is located at latitude 38° 51' 48N; longitude 65° 47' 52E at an altitude of 374 meters. The city is important in natural gas production, but Qarshi is also famous for its production of woven flat carpets.