20140930_Uzbekistan_0604 Samarkand
The restored Tilya-Kori (Gilded) Madrasa at the back of the Registan (main square) includes a mosque decorated with gold to proclaim Samarkand’s wealth at the time. The madrasa (Islamic school) dates from 1660.
Samarkand was probably founded in the 5th century BCE. In 329 BCE it was conquered by 27-year-old Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE). Beginning in the 6th century CE it became a central Silk Road trading point growing even more populous than it is today before its destruction in 1220 by the Mongols led by Ghengis Khan. In 1370 Tamerlane (Timur the Lame; 1336-1405) made Samarkand his capital which blossomed into an economic, cultural, and intellectual center. At the start of the 16th century the Uzbek Shaybanids gained control of the region and moved the capital to Bukhara sending Samarkand into decline, culminating in virtual abandonment after a series of earthquakes in the 18th century. Forced repopulation by the Emir of Bukhara began a recovery that greatly accelerated with the takeover by the Russians in 1868. In 1888 the Trans-Caspian Railway linked Samarkand to the Russian Empire. Samarkand became the capital of the Uzbek SSR in 1925 but was replaced by Tashkent in 1930. In August 1991 Uzbekistan declared its independence.
Samarkand–Crossroads of Cultures became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
[The term ‘Silk Road’ was coined in 1877 by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. The Silk Road contributed not only to the exchange of goods and technologies, but also to the mutual enrichment of cultures and traditions of different peoples. Direct maritime trade between Europe and the Far East ultimately supplanted the overland route.]
On Google Earth:
Tilya-Kori (Gilded) Madrasa 39°39'19.36"N, 66°58'32.16"E
20140930_Uzbekistan_0604 Samarkand
The restored Tilya-Kori (Gilded) Madrasa at the back of the Registan (main square) includes a mosque decorated with gold to proclaim Samarkand’s wealth at the time. The madrasa (Islamic school) dates from 1660.
Samarkand was probably founded in the 5th century BCE. In 329 BCE it was conquered by 27-year-old Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE). Beginning in the 6th century CE it became a central Silk Road trading point growing even more populous than it is today before its destruction in 1220 by the Mongols led by Ghengis Khan. In 1370 Tamerlane (Timur the Lame; 1336-1405) made Samarkand his capital which blossomed into an economic, cultural, and intellectual center. At the start of the 16th century the Uzbek Shaybanids gained control of the region and moved the capital to Bukhara sending Samarkand into decline, culminating in virtual abandonment after a series of earthquakes in the 18th century. Forced repopulation by the Emir of Bukhara began a recovery that greatly accelerated with the takeover by the Russians in 1868. In 1888 the Trans-Caspian Railway linked Samarkand to the Russian Empire. Samarkand became the capital of the Uzbek SSR in 1925 but was replaced by Tashkent in 1930. In August 1991 Uzbekistan declared its independence.
Samarkand–Crossroads of Cultures became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
[The term ‘Silk Road’ was coined in 1877 by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. The Silk Road contributed not only to the exchange of goods and technologies, but also to the mutual enrichment of cultures and traditions of different peoples. Direct maritime trade between Europe and the Far East ultimately supplanted the overland route.]
On Google Earth:
Tilya-Kori (Gilded) Madrasa 39°39'19.36"N, 66°58'32.16"E