SAMARKANDTHE SHIMMERING CITY

BUITEMS

Ehtisham Habib

Department of Civil Engineering

ehtishamhabib9@gmail.comFacebook.com/civilian9Twitter.com/EhtishamHabib

Great Golden BeaconThe fabled city of Samarkand, at the hub of the old trade routes of Central Asia, has attracted poets, pilgrims and plunderers across deserts and mountains for more than 2000 years. As the sunlight reflects off its richly decorated mosques and minarets, the city gleams like a great golden beacon that can be seen for miles over the surrounding plains.

Junction of the Silk RoadIn ancient and medieval times, Samarkand stood at the junction of the Silk Road leading from China to the Mediterranean and the trade route from India to the west.

260-BCSassanians

329-BCAlexander

III

712-ADUmayyad Caliphate

1000Turkish Era

1221Changaiz

Khan

1367Tamerlane

1405Ulugh Beg

1505Mohamad Sheybani

1500Khan Uzbek

19th CenturyRussian

Rule

20th Century

Independence

Timeline of the Rulers of Samarkand

Captured By AlexandarIn 329 BC, when it was known as Maracanda and was capital of Sogdiana, a part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the city was captured by Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, while he was enroute to India. Samarkand suffered significant damage during Alexander's initial conquest

Invasion by Changaiz KhanThe Mongols were superb horsemen, and under Changaiz Khan’s inspired leadership proved an unstoppable force. After laying waste to Beijing in 1215, Changaiz Khan took control of the Silk Road and in 1220 besieged Samarkand.

Tamerlane (The leader of Samarkand)The second nomadic leader of importance to Samarkand, Tamerlane. He was born near Samarkand in 1336. By 1367 the Mongol Empire was in decline and Tamer was determined to become the leader who would restore it to its former glory. He proceeded to launch a succession of military campaigns from the Black Sea to the Indus Valley, ransacking towns and villages, massacring whole populations and building pyramids with their skulls.

Ulugh BegUnder Ulugh Beg, Samarkand became a cultural and intellectual center of the age. The ruler built a grand two-storeyed madrasa, or theological college, decorated with a beautifully carved facade, that occupied the whole of the west side of the central square.

1900 - Population: 58,194.1914 - Population: 90,000.2001 – Population: 361,339.

Uzbekistan’s children, teenagers and young people under the age of 25 comprise approximately 60% of the total population.

Population & Education

Schools1200

Colleges50

Universities6

Polyclinics80

Renowned Personalities from Samarkand

Imam Muhammad Al-Bukhari Nizami Aruzi Jamshid Al-Kashi

Culture of Samarkand

 

• Kurash - the traditional upright jacket wrestling which originated in Uzbekistan more than 3500 years ago.

• The great oriental scientist and philosopher Avetsena writes that practicing Kurash is one the best ways to keep the human body and mind healthy and sound.

Sports

• Samarkand features a Mediterranean climate.

• Closely borders on a semi-arid climate.

• July and August are the hottest months of the year with temperatures reaching, and exceeding, 40 °C

(104 °F).

• January 2008 was particularly cold, and the temperature dropped to −22 °C (−8 °F)

Climate

Currency: Uzbekistani Som

People from Samarqand can be chiefly described as hospitable - Uzbek hospitality is something to be experienced. You will certainty find yourself as a guest in an Uzbek house. There is a short information about Uzbek national dish –Pilav.

Pilav is the most popular dish in Samarqand / Uzbekistan.

Customs & Traditions