Городище Афрасиаб

Городище Афрасиаб

Афрасиаб - это имя легендарного царя Турана. В свою очередь, Туран - название огромной территории, занимающей почти всю Центральную Азию. Как столица Согдианы, Афрасиаб был завоеван Александром Македонским в 329 г. до нашей эры. В начале 8-го века нашей эры он был завоеван арабами и вскоре стал важным центром Мусульманской культуры. В 1220 году был почти полностью разрушен Монгольским Правителем Чингиз-ханом. Сегодня там ведутся археологические раскопки и расположен исторический музей.

Archaeological research in Afrasiab began in the late 19th century. Archaeological research confirmed that several centuries before the beginning of our era Samarkand was one of the largest shopping and cultural centers of Central Asia. Samples of clay ornamented dishes, terracotta figurines, fragments of ossuaries, glassware, various tools, women’s jewelry, coins were found at the site. It was found that the city was intersected by straight paved streets and divided into blocks – Guzary, was surrounded by powerful defensive walls, inside of which there was a citadel – Shahristan, temples, apartment houses and craft workshops. For example, in the opened buildings dating from the 6th and 7th centuries, the walls were decorated with a highly artistic painting executed by bright glue paints on clay plaster. In one of the premises were found original genre paintings, which are located on the walls in three tiers. They depicted the procession of men and women in festive elegant costumes, accompanied by real and fantastic animals, bearing rich gifts. On the walls of the palace of the ruler of the city was found a large composition depicting a procession, led by a figure on a white elephant, which, apparently, portrayed a princess or a queen. Apparently, this is portrayed a wedding procession, and on the elephant to her groom, the princess is sent to the palace accompanied by her friends and important dignitaries.

Also on Afrosiab was found a large hall, decorated with wooden sculptures, charred from a fire that destroyed the city thirteen centuries ago. During the excavations, bas-reliefs of a landscape character were also found. In the 9th-10th centuries, when Samarkand became one of the cultural centers of the Islamic East and the first capital of the Samanid dynasty, a magnificent royal palace was built in the western part of Afrasiab. By the 10th century, the inner part of the city had reached 220 hectares. To the south of it was located a suburb with bazaars, mosques, baths and caravanserais. A water pipe from lead pipes “Arsis” was built in the city and paper production was arranged. In the 11th-13th centuries Samarkand became the capital of the Karakhanid state and was surrounded by new defensive walls. In the citadel the palace of the Karakhanids was erected. At the beginning of the 13th century Khorezmshah Muhammad seized Samarkand and built a new palace on the site of the Karakhanid palace. In the 13th century, the state of Khorezmshah was conquered by Genghis Khan, Samarkand was captured by the Mongols. During the internecine wars of the second half of the 13th century, Samarkand suffered greatly, and this led to the complete desolation of the ancient settlement on Afrasiab. Later, Samarkand already developed on the site of the former “rabad” – the urban suburb.

The Museum of the history of the city, located on the site of the ancient settlement Afrosiab, contains exhibits from different periods of the ancient history of Samarkand – ossuaries, remains of ancient blades, knives, arrows, coins, ceramics, and unique frescos discovered during excavations on the site.

After visiting the Museum, you can also wander through Afrosiab, from the height of the hills admire the panorama of the old city, its blue domes and minarets. Here, to the sound of the winds and the rustle of the grass, your thoughts will pass unnoticed into the past …