Samarkand

Samarkand
View of the Registan
Samarkand Location in Uzbekistan
Coordinates: {{#invoke:Coordinates|coord}}{{#coordinates:39|39|15|N|66|57|35|E|type:city
	name= }}
Country	‎  Uzbekistan
Province	Samarqand Province
Elevation	702 m (2,303 ft)
Population (2005)
- Total	412,300

Samarkand (Uzbek: Samarqand, Самарқанд), 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. The Bibi-Khanym Mosque remains one of the city's most famous landmarks. The Registan was the ancient centre of the city. In Islamic literature, 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. In other literature, Samarkand can appear as an archetype of romantic exoticism. In 2001, UNESCO inscribed the 2750-year-old city on the World Heritage List as Samarkand - Crossroads of Cultures.

Geography

Downtown Samarkand with Bibi Khanym mosque.

Samarkand derives its name from the Old Persian asmara, "stone", "rock", and Sogdian kand, "fort", "town".

Samarkand is located in the valley of the Zeravshan River, at an elevation of 2375 feet (724 meters) above sea level. The land surrounding Samarkand is arid and windswept.

Samarkand has a mostly midlatitude desert climate, with long, hot summers, and mild winters. The average maximum daytime temperature in January is 44°F (6°C), rising to an average maximum of around 92°F (33°C) in July. Mean annual precipitation is 9.2 inches (236mm).

Environmental issues relate to the heavy use of agrochemicals during the era under the Soviet Union, when diversion of huge amounts of irrigation water from the two rivers that feed Uzbekistan, and the chronic lack of water treatment plants, have caused health and environmental problems on an enormous scale.

Samarkand comprises an old medieval city and a new area built after the Russian conquest in the 19th century.

History

Samarkand – Crossroads of Culture*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
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.

A minaret in Samarkand.

xxx In 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. xxx Samarkand is one of the 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 B.C.E. it was already the capital of the Sogdian satrapy under the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia when Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 B.C.E. (see Afrasiab, Sogdiana).

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. In the 6th Century it was within the domains of a Turkish kingdom.

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 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^{[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 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.

In 1365 a revolt against Mongol control occurred in Samarkand.

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.

In 1499 the Uzbek Turks took control of Samarkand. The Shaybanids emerged as the Uzbek leaders at or about this time.

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.

From 1784 Samarkand was ruled by the emirs of Bukhara.

The city came under Russian rule after the citadel had been taken by a force under Colonel 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 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.

Government

Uzbekistan is a republic noted for authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch. Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces (viloyatlar). Samarkand is the capital of the Samarqand Viloyati, which is divided into 14 administrative districts. Uzbekistan has issues with terrorism by Islamic militants, economic stagnation, and the curtailment, of human rights.

Economy

File:Prokudin-Gorskii-52.jpg

Fields near Samarkand.

Uzbekistan in 2008 was the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer, relying heavily on cotton for export earnings, along with gold, natural gas, and oil. Uzbekistan's per capita gross domestic product was estimated at $US2400 in 2007. Samarkand is the second largest center for economy, science, and culture in Uzbekistan, after Tashkent.

The courtyards of Registan and Shahi Zindah should be swarming with tourists, but there are just a few groups of foreigners armed with guidebooks and cameras gaping at the marvels. In a country where statistics are a state secret, it is unclear how many foreign tourists visit and what revenues they bring in.

Samarkand Province has significant natural resources, including marble, granite, limestone, carbonate, and chalk. Main agricultural activities include cotton and cereal growing, winemaking and sericulture. Industry involves manufacturing spare parts for automobiles and combines, food processing, textiles, and ceramics.

Demographics

Bibi Khanym Mosque façade.

Ulugh Beg's observatory in Samarkand. In Ulugh Beg's time, these walls were lined with polished marble.

The population in 2005 was 412,300 people. Dark-haired Uzbeks make up 80 percent of Uzbekistan's population, while Russians make up 5.5 percent, Tajiks 5 percent, Kazakhs 3 percent, Karakalpak 2.5 percent, Tatar 1.5 percent, other 2.5 percent. Most speak Uzbek (74.3 percent), while 14.2 percent speak Russian, 4.4 percent Tajik, and 7.1 percent speak other languages. Most (88 percent) are Sunni Muslims, 9 percent are Eastern Orthodox, and the remainder adhere to other religions. The Institute of Archeology at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan is based at Samarqand.

Of interest

The Registan square, the age old intersection of the Silk Road trade routes, is the reason why people come to Samarkand. It is the centerpiece of the city is one of the most important monuments of Islamic arts. Although the old center has not really survived, you can find reminders of the greatness of the rulers of Samarkand, especially Ulughbek and Tamerlane, all over town. There is the Khodja Abdi Darun Shrine, the Chupan Ata Shrine, and a central bazaar street market. Other buildings and sites of interest include:

• Bibi Khanym Mosque, which was built between 1399 and 1404 by Timur using precious stones captured during his conquest of India, was one of the Islamic world's biggest mosques which crumbled for centuries before collapsing in an 1897 earthquake.

• Ulugh Beg Observatory, which is a small museum of astronomy that stands on the remains of the observatory of Ulugh-Beg, a Timurid ruler and astronomer.

• The Shahr-i-Zindar Monuments, which are tombs belonging to Timur and his family and favorites that are decorated with the city's finest majolica tilework.

• The Sher Dor, Ulugbek, and Tillya Kori Madrasahs, which are the three Muslim clergy academies surrounding the Registan.

• The Afrasiab, which is the site of an ancient settlement that existed more than two thousand years ago.

• The Gur Emir Mausoleum, which is the grave of Timur, built in 1404.

Notable People born in Samarkand include 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.), and Islom Karimov, President of Uzbekistan.

Looking to the future

While Uzbekistan struggles with under-employment and poverty, Samarkand's famous buildings could attract a steady flow international visitors each year, which could be a goldmine for the city's economy.

Photo gallery

• Man at Registan - Samarkand - 15-10-2005.jpg

  A sitting man enjoying the scene of the Registan

• 

  Decorations inside Tilla-Kari Medressa

• SamarkandGuriAmir.jpg

  Decorations inside Gur-e Amir

• 

  Colour photograph of a Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. 1912 by Prokudin-Gorskii.

• Prokudin-Gorskii-54.jpg

  Jewish Children with their teacher in Samarkand, before 1915

Further reading

• Allworth, Edward. 1990. The modern Uzbeks: from the fourteenth century to the present: a cultural history. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University. ISBN 0817987312
• Clanchy, Kate. 1999. Samarkand. London: Picador. ISBN 9780330371940
• Nedvetsky, Andrei G. 1992. Samarkand. Reading: Garnet. ISBN 9781873938423
• Rall, Ted. 2006. Silk road to ruin: is Central Asia the new Middle East? New York: NBM. ISBN 1561634549

External links

• World Fact Book 2008 Uzbekistan Retrieved October 9, 2008.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Samarkand Retrieved October 9, 2008.
• Encyclopedia Iranica The history of Samarkand Retrieved October 11, 2008.
• Samarkand visit uzbekistan.eu, retrieved October 11, 2008.
• Samarkand Facts Retrieved October 11, 2008.
• Photos of Samarkand and Uzbekistan Retrieved October 11, 2008.
• Murder in Samarkand by Craig Murray, retrieved October 11, 2008.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Samarkand  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Samarkand"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.