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Samarqand

Location:

Samarqand is one of the most ancient cities of the world.

It lies in southern Uzbekistan southwest of Tashkent.

It remained the capital city of Transoxiana for five centuries from the Samanids until the Timurids. It was, along with Bukhara, one of the major cities in Transoxiana.

It is known for its splendid location and continental climate, characteristic of Central Asia.

Population, 371,000 (1991 estimate).

Importance:

It is one of the most important cities in Uzbekistan in the fields of agriculture, trade and industry.

Throughout its history, Samarqand was ruined three times: in 329 B.C. by Alexander the Great, in 617 A.H./1220 A.D. by Genghis Khan and in the mid 5^th century A.H. the 15^th century A.D. by the Uzbek tribes, who were not yet converted to Islam.

The Islamic Conquest:

The Islamic conquest of the region of Transoxiana was launched in 46 A.H. Qutaibah bin Muslim was appointed ruler of Khurasan. The ruler of Samarqand was called Tarkhun.

In 91 A.H./709 A.D. Tarkhun accepted to pay Jizyah to Muslims and to hand over the Muslim hostages. This outraged his people, who overthrew him and appointed Ikhshid Ghurk in his place. However, in 93 A.H./712 A.D., Qutaibah forced Ikhshid to surrender after the siege of Samarqand that lasted for a long time.

Samarqand and Bukhara remained the base from which Islamic conquests were launched and Islam was disseminated to other cities.

Afterwards, Samarqand witnessed periods of weakness, when Islam advanced to China, India and Russia. The Russian territories remained under the control of Muslims for three centuries. The Duke of Moscow used to pay annual Jizyah to the emir of Bukhara. However, the Russian Caesars soon restored the lands conquered by Muslims. The Aq Masjid Fortress was the first in Transoxiana to fall to Russians in 1852 A.D.

While the Ottoman state threatened Europe and advanced to Africa and Asia in the mid 16^th century, Russia attacked Samarqand and other Muslim countries in the region. After the rise of the communist system in 1342 A.H./1991 A.D., Samarqand became part of the independent Republic of Uzbekistan.

Features:

The industries of paper, textile and carpet are among the most important characteristics of Samarqand.

The many schools built in Samarqand reflect how its people were interested in knowledge.

In Samarqand lies the grave of Imam Al-Bukhari, the compiler of Sahih Al-Bukhari, the most authentic book of Hadiths.

Celebrities:

Among the scholars who lived in Samarqand were: Muhammad bin `Adi Al-Samarqandi, Abu Mansur Al-Maturidi, Abu Al-Hasan Al-Maidani, Ahmad bin `Umar Abu Bakr Al-Samarqandi, Muhammad bin Mas`ud Al-Samarqandi, `Ala' Al-Din Al-Samarqandi, Najib Al-Din Al-Samarqandi, Shams Al-Din Al-Samarqandi, Abu Al-Qasim Al-Laithi Al-Samarqandi and Qadi Zadah Al-Rumi.