Samarkand 51491 224165742 2008-07-07T16:54:27Z 129.33.49.251 /* Notable People born in Samarkand */ {{Refimprove|date=June 2007}} {{CoorHeader|39|39|15|N|66|57|35|E|type:city}} {{Infobox Settlement |official_name = Samarkand |native_name = |image_skyline = Registan - Samarkand - 15-10-2005.jpg |imagesize = 300px |image_caption = View of the Registan |image_flag = |image_seal = |image_map = |map_caption = |pushpin_map = Uzbekistan |pushpin_label_position =bottom |pushpin_mapsize = 300 |pushpin_map_caption =Location in Uzbekistan |subdivision_type = [[Countries of the world|Country]] |subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Uzbekistan|Province]] |subdivision_name =‎ {{flag|Uzbekistan}} |subdivision_name1 = [[Samarqand Province]] |subdivision_type2 = |subdivision_name2 = |established_title = |established_date = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |area_magnitude = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_land_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_urban_km2 = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |population_as_of=2005 |population_footnotes = |population_total = 412,300 |population_urban = |population_metro = |population_density_sq_mi = |population_density_km2 = |timezone = |utc_offset = |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |latd=39|latm=39|lats=15|latNS=N |longd=66|longm=57|longs=35|longEW=E |elevation_footnotes= |elevation_m = 702 |elevation_ft = |postal_code_type = |postal_code = |area_code = |website = |footnotes = }} '''Samarkand''' ({{lang-uz|Samarqand, Самарқанд}}, {{lang-ru| Самарканд}}, {{PerB|سمرقند}}, population 412,300 in [[2005]]), is the second-largest city in [[Uzbekistan]] and the capital of [[Samarqand Province]].The city is most noted for its central position on the Asian [[Shadow of the Silk Road]] between China and the west and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. The [[Bibi-Khanym Mosque]] remains one of the city's most famous landmarks. The [[Registan]] was the ancient centre of the city. It is located at the altitude of 702 meters. In [[2001]], [[UNESCO]] inscribed the 2750-year-old city on the [[World Heritage List]] as ''Samarkand - Crossroads of Cultures''. ==Etymology== [[Image:Minaret in Samarkand.jpg|thumb|left|225px|right|A minaret in Samarkand.]] Samarkand derives its name from the [[Old Persian]] ''asmara'', "stone", "rock", and [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] ''kand'', "fort", "town".<ref>{{cite book | last = Room | first = Adrian | title = Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites | edition = 2nd edition | year = 2006 | publisher = McFarland | location = London | isbn = 0786422483 | pages = p. 330 | quote ='''Samarkand'''. ''City, southeastern Uzbekistan''. The city derives its name from that of the former Greek city here of ''Marakanda'', captured by Alexander the Great in 329 B.C.. Its own name derives from the Old Persian ''asmara'', "stone", "rock", and Sogdian ''kand'', "fort", "town".}}</ref> ==History== Samarkand is one of the [[List of oldest continuously inhabited cities|oldest inhabited cities]] in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between [[China]] and [[Europe]] ([[Silk Road]]). At times Samarkand has been one of the greatest cities of [[Central Asia]]. Founded circa 700 BC it was already the capital of the [[Sogdian]] [[satrap]]y under the [[Achaemenid dynasty]] of Persia when [[Alexander the Great]] conquered it in [[329 BC]] (see [[Afrasiab]], [[Sogdiana]]). {{Infobox World Heritage Site | WHS = Samarkand – Crossroads of Culture | Image = | State Party = {{UZB}} | Type = Cultural | Criteria = i, ii, iv | ID = 603 | Region = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and Australasia|Asia-Pacific]] | Year = 2001 | Session = 25th | Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/603 }} 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'''.<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer'' (New York: Comubia University Press, 1972 reprint) p. 1657</ref> In the 6th Century it was within the domains of a [[Turkish people|Turkish]] kingdom.<ref>Encyclopedia Britannica (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984) Vol. 16, p. 204</ref> At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came under Arab control. Under [[Abbasid]] rule, the legend goes <ref>S. Quraishi, "A survey of thedevelopment of papermaking in Islamic Countries", ''Bookbinder'', 1989 (3): 29-36.</ref>, the secret of [[papermaking]] was obtained from two [[Han Chinese|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{{Fact|date=May 2007}} and was controlled by the [[Western Turkic Khaganate|Western Turks]], [[Arab]]s (who converted the area to [[Islam]]), Persian [[Samanid]]s, [[Kara-Khanid Khanate|Kara-Khanid]] Turks, [[Seljuk Turks]], [[Kara-Khitan Khanate|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 [[Baraq (Chagatai Khan)|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.<ref>''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 15th Ed., p. 204</ref> 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.<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer'', p. 1657</ref> In 1499 the Uzbek Turks took control of Samarkand.<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer'', p. 1657</ref> The Shaybanids emerged as the Uzbek leaders at or about this time. [[Image:Samarqand.jpg|thumb|225px|Downtown Samarkand with Bibi Khanym mosque.]] 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 latter.<ref>''Britannica''. 15th Ed., p. 204</ref> From 1784 Samarkand was ruled by the emirs of [[Bukhara]].<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer''. p. 1657</ref> The city came under [[Russia]]n rule after the citadel had been taken by a force under Colonel [[Alexander Konstantinovich Abramov|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 [[Emirate of Bukhara|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.<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer''. p. 1657</ref> ==Notable People born in Samarkand== *[[Babur]] Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Zahir ud-din Muhammad Jalal ud-din Babur Padshah Ghazi (first ruler of [[Mughal]] india) * Qulich Khan Siddiqi and Ghazi Uddin Khan Siddiqi, father and grand father of Nizam I ( Qamaruddin Siddiqi Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad INDIA.). *[[Ravshan Muhamadkulov]] - a proud born - more info coming soon... == In fiction == *In [[Jinyong]]'s ''wuxia'' novel ''[[The Legend of the Condor Heroes]]'' (1957), the Mongol conquest is mentioned in the story. *In ''[[The Arabian Nights]]'' (ca. AD 900) King [[Schahzaman]] is king of Samarkand. *Samarkand can appear as an archetype of romantic exoticism, notably in the work by [[James Elroy Flecker]]: ''The Golden Journey to Samarkand'' (1913). *''Samarcande'' (1988) is the title of a novel by [[Amin Maalouf]], about [[Omar Khayyám]]'s life. *Samarkand is the name of a planet in the 2001 novel [[Gridlinked]] by [[Neal Asher]]. The protagonist travels there to investigate after its teleporter explodes with enough force to destroy most of the colony. *Samarkand is one of the cities [[Audre Lorde]] describes visiting in her collection of essays and speeches, ''[[Sister Outsider]]''. *Samarqand is the center of the Islamic Renaissance in [[Kim Stanley Robinson]]'s ''[[The Years of Rice and Salt]]''. *In the science fiction setting of [[BattleTech]], there is a human-populated world named New Samarkand. *The Nightingale of Samarkand is a character in the Broadway musical ''[[Once Upon a Mattress]]''. *[[Angela Carter]]'s short story ''The Kiss'' discusses the legend of Tamburlaine's mosque in Samarkand. *In Islamic literature and discussions, Samarkand has taken on a semi-mythological status and is often cited as an ideal of Islamic philosophy and society, a place of justice, fairness, and righteous moderation. *For part of the history espoused in [[Clive Barker]]'s ''Galilee'', the city of Samarkand is held as a shining light of humanity, and one of the characters longs to go there. *The markets of Samrkand are referenced to more than once in the [[1920]] [[Edith Wharton]] novel [[The Age of Innocence]]. *''[[The Amulet of Samarkand]]'' is the first book in the [[Bartimaeus Trilogy]] written by [[Jonathan Stroud]]. *Nigerian writer [[Wole Soyinka]], winner of the 1986 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], explores the metaphysical significance of the marketplace in a volume of poetry entitle, ''Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known'', 2002. *[[Robert E. Howard]] wrote a short story in 1932 for ''Oriental Stories'' titled "Lord of Samarkand". *In the novel [[Fitzpatrick's War]], by [[Theodore Judson]], Samarkand is the site of the new capitol of a new global empire modeled after that of [[Alexander the Great]]. *In the American film classic ''It's a Wonderful Life'', the character George Bailey (played by [[James Stewart]]) shops for a suitcase, saying, "I want something for a thousand and one nights, with plenty of room for labels from Italy and Baghdad, Samarkand... a great big one." *In [[Iris Murdoch]]'s ''The Nice and The Good'', Kate Gray wants to go to Samarkand for holiday but knows nothing about it. * In the Technicolor movie ''The Golden Horde'', the main character, played by David Farrar, defends Samarkand against the Horde. He utters the memorable line, "He who comes to destroy Samarkand shall himself be destroyed." *In the Jonas Wergeland Trilogy by [[Jan Kjærstad]] Samarkand plays a significant role in the first volume ''The Seducer'' (''Forføreren'') *The second novel in author [[Janeen Webb]]'s young adult series, the Sinbad Chronicles, is called "The Silken Road to Samarkand". *In Leon Uris' novel QBVII, San Francisco is referred to America's Samarkand, a city well-known as a cultural center. *Samarkand (Maracanda) and its environs are central to the events in [[Stephen Pressfield]]s historical novel "The Afghan Campaign." *Samarkand has been cited as an inspiration for the fictional city of Zanarkand from [[Squaresoft]]'s [[Final Fantasy X]]<ref>(2001) in Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square Enix, 476. ISBN 4-88787-021-3. </ref>. == Non-fiction == *In ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo|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. *[[See No Evil (book)|See No Evil]] by [[Robert Baer]] is an autobiography about the author's experiences working for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], at one point visiting Samarkand while serving in [[Tajikistan]] in the early 1990s. *[[Robert D. Kaplan]]'s 1996 political travelogue ''The Ends Of The Earth'' has him traversing through a number of places in Africa, Europe, and Asia. In that book, one of the countries is [[Uzbekistan]], and Samarkand is one of the places in Uzbekistan he visits, along with a young translator whose namesake is [[Ulugh Beg|Ulug Beg]]. *[[Murder in Samarkand]] by [[Craig Murray]] is a book about the UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan's experiences in this role, until he resigned over human rights abused in the country in October 2004. == Sister cities == These cities were major cities of [[Greater Khorasan]]: * {{flagicon|Afghanistan}} [[Balkh]], [[Afghanistan]] * {{flagicon|Turkmenistan}} [[Merv]], [[Turkmenistan]] * {{flagicon|Uzbekistan}} [[Bukhara]], [[Uzbekistan]] * {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Neyshabur| Nishapur]], [[Iran]] === Other sister cities === * {{flagicon|Peru}} [[Cusco]], [[Peru]] * {{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Lahore]], [[Pakistan]] * {{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[Lviv]], [[Ukraine]] * {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]] * {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[İzmir]], [[Turkey]] == See also == *[[Samarkand Airport]] *[http://www.semerkanddergisi.com Semerkand] a monthly [[religious]] magazine published in [[Turkey]], named after this city because Samarkand has long been a major centre for [[Islamic]] scholars. ==References== {{reflist}} == Photo gallery == <gallery> Image:Man at Registan - Samarkand - 15-10-2005.jpg|A sitting man enjoying the scene of the Registan Image:SamarkandBibiKhanym.jpg|Façade of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque Image:SamarkandTillaKari.jpg|Decorations inside Tilla-Kari Medressa Image:SamarkandGuriAmir.jpg|Decorations inside Gur-e Amir Image:Storks samarkand.jpg|Colour photograph of a Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. 1912 by Prokudin-Gorskii. Image:Prokudin-Gorskii-52.jpg|Fields near Samarkand Image:Prokudin-Gorskii-54.jpg|Jewish Children with their teacher in Samarkand, before 1915 Image:Prokudin-Gorskii-17.jpg|Shah-e Zindah Tombs </gallery> == External links == {{commons|Samarkand}} *[http://www.visituzbekistan.eu/Samarkand.html Discover Samarkand] *[http://www.visitcentralasia.eu/uzbekistan/samarkand.htm Samarkand Facts] *[http://www.gardenvisit.com/garden_history/west_asia/golden-road-samarkand.htm The Golden Journey ('Road') to Samarkand] *[http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/cities/uz/samarkand/samarkand.html Samarkand - Silk Road Seattle Project] / Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington *[http://gallery.bittabola.com/ Photos of Samarkand and Uzbekistan] *[http://www.murder-in-samarkand.com Murder in Samarkand] by Craig Murray *[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/sup/Samarqand.html The history of Samarkand, according to Columbia University's Encyclopedia Iranica] * [http://www.virtualtravel.ru/user/3778/index.phtml?wid=622&tips=12 Samarkand in modern and old photos] *[http://www.bjews.com/ Bukharian Jewish Global Portal -- Jews from Samarkand] </br> {{Iranian Architecture}} there are photographs of bibi khanim (1890) in paul Nadar's book-l'odyssée de paul Nadar au Turkestan-édition du patrimoine [[Category:Samarkand| ]] [[Category:Persian history]] [[Category:archaeological sites in Uzbekistan]] [[Category:World Heritage Sites in Uzbekistan]] [[Category:Cities along the Silk Road]] [[Category:Cities, towns and villages in Uzbekistan]] [[Category:Cities in Central Asia]] [[ar:سمرقند]] [[az:Səmərqənd]] [[br:Samarkand]] [[bg:Самарканд]] [[ca:Samarcanda]] [[cs:Samarkand]] [[da:Samarkand]] [[de:Samarkand]] [[el:Σαμαρκάνδη]] [[es:Samarcanda]] [[eo:Samarkando]] [[fa:سمرقند]] [[fr:Samarcande]] [[gl:Samarcanda]] [[ko:사마르칸트]] [[hr:Samarkand]] [[id:Samarkand]] [[is:Samarkand]] [[it:Samarcanda]] [[he:סמרקנד]] [[kk:Самарқан]] [[lt:Samarkandas]] [[nl:Samarkand]] [[ja:サマルカンド]] [[no:Samarkand]] [[nn:Samarkand]] [[uz:Samarqand]] [[pl:Samarkanda]] [[pt:Samarcanda]] [[ro:Samarkand]] [[ru:Самарканд]] [[sk:Samarkand]] [[sl:Samarkand]] [[sr:Самарканд]] [[fi:Samarkand]] [[sv:Samarkand]] [[th:ซามาร์คันด์]] [[tg:Самарқанд]] [[tr:Semerkand]] [[zh:撒馬爾罕]]