Samarkand is one of the oldest continuously inhabited
cities in Central Asia and is the site of many wonderful examples of Islamic architecture. It was founded between the 8th and 7th
centuries BC. Prospering from its location on the Silk Road between China and
the Mediterranean by the time of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, it was the
capital of the Sogdian satrapy. The city was taken by Alexander the Great in
329 BC, who called it in Greek Marakanda. The city was ruled by a succession
of Iranian and Turkic rulers until the Mongols under Genghis Khan conquered
Samarkand in 1220. In the 14th century it became the capital of the empire of
Timur (Tamerlane) His grandson, Ulugh Beg, took the throne after Timur’s death and made Samarkand into one of the most important scientific centers of the Middle Ages. Ulugh Beg built a unique observatory, where many important mathematicians and astronomers from all over the Islamic world gathered to study the heavens. The astronomical research that was carried out there was still being used by Europeans in the 17th century. After the collapse of the Timurids the importance of Samarkand decreased and the capital moved to Bukhara. Rising again to prominence after the annexation by the Tsarist empire in the mid 19th century, today Samarkand is the second city of Uzbekistan and draws large numbers of visitors each year to see its architectural wonders.
Samarkand was noted for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study, three important Madrasas are situated around Registan square at the heart of
the city these include:
- Madrasa of Ulugh Beg (1417–1420)
- Sher-Dor Madrasa (Lions Gate) (1619–1635/36)
- Tilla-Kori Madrasa (1647–1659/60)
Ulugh Beg Madrasa’s façade is decorated with geometrical stylised forms centres on four imposing iwans (rectangular vaulted halls walled on three sides, with one end entirely open framed by minarets). The square courtyard within includes a mosque and lecture rooms fringed by dormitory cells for students. The 17th-century ruler, Yalangtush Bakhodur, constructed of the Sher-Dor Madrasa opposite the Ulugh Beg Madrasa and the Tilla-Kori Madrasa at right angles to it to form the present monumental complex. Tiger motif mosaics in the spandrels of the Sher-Dor’s facade flout Islam’s proscription of the depiction of living beings on religious buildings. The Tilya-Kori acted not only as a madrasa but also a grand mosque. It has a two-storied main façade and a vast courtyard fringed by dormitory cells, with the usual four iwans on its axes. The mosque whose main hall is abundantly gilded, occupies the western flank of the building.
The huge Bibi Hanum Mosque is, one of the largest mosques in the
Islamic world. Its construction started in 1339, after Temur’s victorious campaign to India, and lasted up to 1404. The best architects, craftsmen, stonemasons and artists from Samarkand as well as from the countries Temur had subdued, laboured at the construction of the Mosque. Ninety Indian elephants were used to do the hard work at the site. During his stays in the capital between his military campaigns, Timur personally supervised the construction works. In his long absences, its construction was watched over by his wife Sarai-Mulk-Khanum, who had the title Bibi-Khanum, or ‘Senior Wife’ hence its name. It was neglected during the Shaybanid Dynasty and much of it collapsed over time. It is orientated on an axis between
a vast entrance portal and a huge domed prayer hall and has recently been restored
with the aid of UNESCO. Its vast scale gives a vivid impression of Timur’s
great vision. Situated next to the mosque is the busy Siyob
Bazaar which is well worth a visit. 
An important pilgrimage site in Samarkand is home of the An important pilgrimage site in Samarkand is home of the Shahr-i-Zindar, a mausoleum complex dating from the 7th century. Shahr-i-Zindar stands for 'The Living King' and refers to the grave of Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed, who is said to have first introduced Islam to Central Asia in 676. Under the Abbasids his tomb was venerated and the legend developed that he did not die but was miraculously engulfed in a cliff, hence the name. According to the great Islamic traveler Ibn Battuta, the shrine was so famous that it was not destroyed during the Mongol invasions. Today the shrine is in a much-dilapidated condition but is still visited by many hundreds of pilgrims each day. Other nearby tombs, dating mostly to the 14thand 15th centuries, belong to the family and friends of Timur (Tamerlane) and Ulugh Beg. The Shah-i Zinda cemetery is one of
the most resplendent necropolis in the Islamic world, its intense and unified architecture
inspires visions of worldly wealth and of paradise. Its most important feature
is the tile work that covers many of the tomb façades, arguably the greatest
single collection of architectural ceramics in the world. The predominant
colour is blue, worked in myriad gorgeous hues by the craftsmen whom Timur collected
during his conquests and transported to his capital.
The Afrasiyab Museum and the Ulugh Beg Observatory. The remains
of the earlier Sogdian city of Afrasiyab, which is now a huge mound on
Samarkand’s outskirts. The Sogdians had been renowned traders along the Silk Road
and consequently their culture absorbed motifs from as far apart as Persia
and China. Although little remains of the former city, one corpus of wall
paintings has survived, preserved in a purpose-built museum. It depicts
processions of courtiers and merchants wearing fabulously rich textiles, many
of them obviously silks of the highest quality giving an insight into early culture that
produced and traded them. Nearby is the Ulugh Beg Observatory built in the 1420s, it is considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world. Some of the famous Islamic astronomers who worked at the observatory include Al-Kashi, Ali Qushji, and Ulugh Beg himself. Ulugh Beg observatory was destroyed by fundamentalists (including his own nephew) in 1449 and was only rediscovered in 1908.
In the Samarkand region there are two other famous pilgrimage shrines called Khodja Abdi Darun and Chupan Ata. Situated on the outskirts of Samarkand, among rolling hills and bordered by a quiet stream, the Mausoleum of Khodja Daniar is a much-visited holy place for Islamic, Christian and Jewish pilgrims, the crypt is believed to contain the arm of Prophet Daniel brought by Timur from Mecca. Twelve kilometres north of Samarkand stands the recently renovated shrine complex of the 9th century Islamic saint Muhammad Ibn Ismail al-Bukhari. Born in Bukhara in 810 AD, he made a pilgrimage to Mecca as a teenage boy, spent 12 years living there and then travelled widely throughout the Muslim world collecting Hadith, these being the traditional sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Nearly 3000 of these were compiled into a book known as Al-Jami al-sahih, which is considered by many Sunni Muslims to be the most authoritative collection of Hadith and a religious book second only to the Koran. Al-Bukhari died in 870 and his tomb became a celebrated place of pilgrimage for Muslims from throughout Central Asia.
Sources: Wikipedia
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