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समरक़न्द({{lang-uz|Samarqand, Самарқанд}}, {{lang-fa|سمرقند}}, [[UniPers]]: "Samarqand") उज्बेकिस्तान का दूसरा सबसे प्रमुख नगर है । केन्द्रीय एशिया में स्थित एक नगर है जो ऐतिहासिक और भौगोलिक दृष्टि से एक महत्वपूर्ण नगर रहा है । इस नगर का महत्व रेशम मार्ग पर पश्चिम और चीन के मध्य स्थित होने के कारण बहुत अधिक है । भारत के इतिहास में भी इस नगर का महत्व है क्योंकि बाबर इसी स्थान के शासक बनने की चेष्टा करता रहा था । बाद में बज वो विफल हो गया तो भाग कर काबुल आया था जिसके बाद वो दिल्ली पर कब्जा करने में कामयाब हो गया था । बीबी ख़ानिम की मस्जिद इस शहर की सबसे प्रसिद्ध इमारत है । २००१ में यूनेस्को ने इस २७५० साल पुरान शहर को विश्व धरोहर स्थलों की सूची में शामिल किया । इसका उस सूची मा नाम है: ''"समरकन्द - संस्कृति का चौराहा"'' ।
== Etymology ==
[[चित्र:Minaret in Samarkand.jpg|thumb|left|225px|right|A minaret in Samarkand.]]
Samarkand derives its name from the [[Old Persian]] ''asmara'', "stone", "rock", and [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] ''kand'', "fort", "town".<ref>{{cite book | last = Room | first = Adrian | title = Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites | edition = 2nd edition | year = 2006 | publisher = McFarland | location = London | isbn = 0786422483 | pages = 330 | quote ='''Samarkand'''. ''City, southeastern Uzbekistan''. The city derives its name from that of the former Greek city here of ''Marakanda'', captured by Alexander the Great in 329 B.C.. Its own name derives from the Old Persian ''asmara'', "stone", "rock", and Sogdian ''kand'', "fort", "town".}}</ref>
== Historyस्रोत ==
Samarkand is one of the [[List of oldest continuously inhabited cities|oldest inhabited cities]] in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between [[China]] and [[Mediterranean region|the Mediterranean]] ([[Silk Road]]). At times Samarkand has been one of the greatest cities of [[Central Asia]]. Founded circa 700 BC by the Persians it was already the capital of the [[Sogdian]] [[satrap]]y under the [[Achaemenid dynasty]] of Persia when [[Alexander the Great]] conquered it in [[329 BC]] (see [[Afrasiab]], [[Sogdiana]]). Samarkand has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days.
{{Infobox World Heritage Site
| WHS = Samarkand – Crossroads of Culture
| Image =
| State Party = {{UZB}}
| Type = Cultural
| Criteria = i, ii, iv
| ID = 603
| Region = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and Australasia|Asia-Pacific]]
| Year = 2001
| Session = 25th
| Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/603
}}
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran between the times of Alexander and the Arab conquest. The Greeks referred to Samarkand as '''Maracanda'''.<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer'' (New York: Comubia University Press, 1972 reprint) p. 1657</ref> In the 6th Century it was within the domains of a [[Turkish people|Turkish]] kingdom.<ref>Encyclopedia Britannica (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984) Vol. 16, p. 204</ref>
At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came under Arab control.
Under [[Abbasid]] rule, the legend goes <ref>S. Quraishi, "A survey of thedevelopment of papermaking in Islamic Countries", ''Bookbinder'', 1989 (3): 29-36.</ref>, the secret of [[papermaking]] was obtained from two [[Han Chinese|Chinese]] prisoners from the [[Battle of Talas]] in 751, which led to the first [[paper mill]] in the Islamic world to be founded in Samarkand. The invention then spread to the rest of the Islamic world, and from there to Europe.
From the 6th to the 13th century it grew larger and more populous than modern Samarkand{{Fact|date=May 2007}} and was controlled by the [[Western Turkic Khaganate|Western Turks]], [[Arab]]s (who converted the area to [[Islam]]), Persian [[Samanid]]s, [[Kara-Khanid Khanate|Kara-Khanid]] Turks, [[Seljuk Turks]], [[Kara-Khitan Khanate|Kara-Khitan]], and [[Khorezmshah]] before being sacked by the [[Mongols]] under [[Genghis Khan]] in 1220 . A small part of the population survived, but Samarkand suffered at least another Mongol sack by [[Baraq (Chagatai Khan)|Khan Baraq]] to get treasure he needed to pay an army with. The town took many decades to recover from these disasters.
In 1365 a revolt against Mongol control occurred in Samarkand.<ref>''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 15th Ed., p. 204</ref>
In 1370, [[Timur]] the Lame, or Tamerlane, decided to make Samarkand the capital of his empire, which extended from [[India]] to [[Turkey]]. During the next 35 years he built a new city and populated it with artisans and craftsmen from all of the places he had conquered. Timur gained a reputation as a patron of the arts and Samarkand grew to become the centre of the region of [[Transoxiana]]. During this time the city had a population of about 150,000.<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer'', p. 1657</ref>
In 1499 the Uzbek Turks took control of Samarkand.<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer'', p. 1657</ref> The Shaybanids emerged as the Uzbek leaders at or about this time.
[[चित्र:Samarqand.jpg|thumb|225px|Downtown Samarkand with Bibi Khanym mosque.]]
In the 16th century, the [[Shaybanids]] moved their capital to [[Bukhara]] and Samarkand went into decline. After an assault by the Persian king, [[Nadir Shah]], the city was abandoned in the 18th century, about 1720 or a few years later.<ref>''Britannica''. 15th Ed., p. 204</ref>
From 1784 Samarkand was ruled by the emirs of [[Bukhara]].<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer''. p. 1657</ref>
The city came under [[Russia]]n rule after the citadel had been taken by a force under Colonel [[Alexander Konstantinovich Abramov|Alexander Abramov]] in 1868. Shortly thereafter the small Russian garrison of 500 men were themselves besieged. The assault, which was led by Abdul Malik Tura, the rebellious elder son of the [[Emirate of Bukhara|Bukharan Emir]], and ''[[Bek]]'' of [[Shahrisabz]], was beaten off with heavy losses. Abramov, now a general, became the first Governor of the Military [[Okrug]] which the Russians established along the course of the River [[Zeravshan]], with Samarkand as the administrative centre. The Russian section of the city was built after this point, largely to the west of the old city.
The city later became the capital of the Samarkand [[Oblast]] of [[Russian Turkestan]] and grew in importance still further when the [[Trans-Caspian railway]] reached the city in 1888 . It became the capital of the [[Uzbek SSR]] in 1925 before being replaced by [[Tashkent]] in 1930.
In 1939 Samarkand had a population of 134,346.<ref>''Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer''. p. 1657</ref>
== Notable People born in Samarkand ==
* [[Amoghavajra]], an 8th century Buddhist monk who translated [[Vajrayana]] scripture, became a powerful figure in the Tang court, and is remembered one of the three founders of Chinese esoteric Buddhism.
* [[Babur]] Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Zahir ud-din Muhammad Jalal ud-din Babur Padshah Ghazi, founder of the [[Mughal Empire]].
* Qulich Khan Siddiqi (Nawab Khwaja Abid Siddiqi) and Ghazi Uddin Khan Siddiqi, father and grand father of [[Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I]] (Nizam I). Nizam I founded the dynasty that ruled Hyderabad (India) for over 200 years.
* [[Islom Karimov]], President of Uzbekistan.
== In fiction ==
* In [[Jinyong]]'s ''wuxia'' novel ''[[The Legend of the Condor Heroes]]'' (1957), the Mongol conquest is mentioned in the story.
* In ''[[The Arabian Nights]]'' (ca. AD 900) King [[Shah Zaman]] is king of Samarkand.
* Samarkand can appear as an archetype of romantic exoticism, notably in the work by [[James Elroy Flecker]]: ''The Golden Journey to Samarkand'' (1913).
* ''Samarcande'' (1988) is the title of a novel by [[Amin Maalouf]], about [[Omar Khayyám]]'s life.
* Samarkand is the name of a planet in the 2001 novel [[Gridlinked]] by [[Neal Asher]]. The protagonist travels there to investigate after its teleporter explodes with enough force to destroy most of the colony.
* Samarkand is one of the cities [[Audre Lorde]] describes visiting in her collection of essays and speeches, ''[[Sister Outsider]]''.
* Samarqand is the center of the Islamic Renaissance in [[Kim Stanley Robinson]]'s ''[[The Years of Rice and Salt]]''.
* In the science fiction setting of [[BattleTech]], there is a human-populated world named New Samarkand.
* The flowers of Samarkand are mentioned in the Douglas Fairbanks Jr. movie, "Sinbad the Sailor"
* The Nightingale of Samarkand is a character in the Broadway musical ''[[Once Upon a Mattress]]''.
* [[Angela Carter]]'s short story ''The Kiss'' discusses the legend of Tamburlaine's mosque in Samarkand.
* In Islamic literature and discussions, Samarkand has taken on a semi-mythological status and is often cited as an ideal of Islamic philosophy and society, a place of justice, fairness, and righteous moderation.
* For part of the history espoused in [[Clive Barker]]'s ''Galilee'', the city of Samarkand is held as a shining light of humanity, and one of the characters longs to go there.
* The markets of Samrkand are referenced to more than once in the 1920 [[Edith Wharton]] novel [[The Age of Innocence]].
* ''[[The Amulet of Samarkand]]'' is the first book in the [[Bartimaeus Trilogy]] written by [[Jonathan Stroud]].
* Nigerian writer [[Wole Soyinka]], winner of the 1986 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], explores the metaphysical significance of the marketplace in a volume of poetry entitle, ''Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known'', 2002.
* From [[W. Somerset Maugham]]'s classic novel [[Of Human Bondage]]: "O, my uncle, this cloth knew not the weavers of Samarkand, and those colours were never made in the vats of [[Bokhara]]."
* [[Robert E. Howard]] wrote a short story in 1932 for ''Oriental Stories'' titled "Lord of Samarkand".
* In the novel [[Fitzpatrick's War]], by [[Theodore Judson]], Samarkand is the site of the new capital of a new global empire modeled after that of [[Alexander the Great]].
* In the American film classic ''It's a Wonderful Life'', the character George Bailey (played by [[James Stewart]]) shops for a suitcase, saying, "I want something for a thousand and one nights, with plenty of room for labels from Italy and Baghdad, Samarkand... a great big one."
* In [[Iris Murdoch]]'s ''The Nice and The Good'', Kate Gray wants to go to Samarkand for holiday but knows nothing about it.
* In the Technicolor movie ''The Golden Horde'', the main character, played by David Farrar, defends Samarkand against the Horde. He utters the memorable line, "He who comes to destroy Samarkand shall himself be destroyed."
* In the Jonas Wergeland Trilogy by [[Jan Kjærstad]] Samarkand plays a significant role in the first volume ''The Seducer'' (''Forføreren'')
* The second novel in author [[Janeen Webb]]'s young adult series, the Sinbad Chronicles, is called "The Silken Road to Samarkand".
* In [[Leon Uris]]' novel [[QB VII]], San Francisco is referred to America's Samarkand, a city well-known as a cultural center.
* Samarkand (Maracanda) and its environs are central to the events in [[Stephen Pressfield]]s historical novel "The Afghan Campaign."
* Samarkand has been cited as an inspiration for the fictional city of Zanarkand from [[Squaresoft]]'s [[Final Fantasy X]]<ref>(2001) in Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square Enix, 476. ISBN 4-88787-021-3. </ref>.
* ''[[The Road to Samarcand]]'' is one of [[Patrick O'Brian]]'s early novels (1954) about an American teenage boy, the son of recently deceased missionary parents, who travels from China with a small party on the Silk Road ''en route'' to the West.
* In the song "Sheherazade," on his 1988 album ''One More Story'', Peter Cetera refers to the "Sultan of Samarkand" as the enchanted king of the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' tale.
* In the Video Game series Fable and Fable 2 made by Peter Molyneux of Lionhead, [[wikia:fable:Samarkand|Samarkand]] is a place outside Albion (The land in which the games take place). It seems to be similar to the Middle East and Africa in that it is described as a desert land, from where the Negro population of Albion originated. Literature from both games describes Samarkand in greater detail.
* In ''Dnevnoy dozor'' aka ''[[Daywatch]]'' (2006), [[Timur Bekmambetov|Timur Bekmambetov's]] epic tale of Good versus Evil, one of the main characters, Anton, sets himself on a mission to find the Chalk of Destiny which he believes is hidden in Timerlane's grave at the city of Samarkand.
* In ''[[Corto Maltese]]'' graphical novels by [[Hugo Pratt]] one episode is titled ''The Golden House of Samarkand.''
* In ''[[The Venetian Betrayal]]'' suspense novel by [[Steve Berry]], the much of the plot involves a fictional Central Asian Federation composed of a united Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan and the threat its despotic ruler poses to the area fueled by biological weapons and the mysterious final resting place of Alexander the Great.
== Non-fiction ==
* In ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo|The Travels]]'' of [[Marco Polo]], where Polo records his journey along the Silk Roads, Samarkand is described as a "a very large and splendid city..." Here also is related the story of Christian church in Samarkand, which miraculously remained standing after a portion of its central supporting [[column]] was removed.
* [[See No Evil (book)|See No Evil]] by [[Robert Baer]] is an autobiography about the author's experiences working for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], at one point visiting Samarkand while serving in [[Tajikistan]] in the early 1990s.
* [[Robert D. Kaplan]]'s 1996 political travelogue ''The Ends Of The Earth'' has him traversing through a number of places in Africa, Europe, and Asia. In that book, one of the countries is [[Uzbekistan]], and Samarkand is one of the places in Uzbekistan he visits, along with a young translator whose namesake is [[Ulugh Beg|Ulug Beg]].
* [[Murder in Samarkand]] by [[Craig Murray]] is a book about the UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan's experiences in this role, until he resigned over human rights abuses in the country in October 2004.
== Music ==
* In 1987, dance music group [[The Beyond]], signed to [[Midnight Music Records]], released the album [[Episcense]] which includes the song [[Samarkand Sunrise]].
* In 1994, the Spanish rock band [[La Frontera]] released the album [[La rueda de las armas afiladas]] which includes the song [[Arenas de Samarkanda]]. It was released as a single.
== Sister cities ==
These cities were major cities of [[Greater Khorasan]]:
* {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Neyshabur|Nishapur]], [[Iran]]
* {{flagicon|Uzbekistan}} [[Bukhara]], [[Uzbekistan]]
* {{flagicon|Afghanistan}} [[Balkh]], [[Afghanistan]]
* {{flagicon|Turkmenistan}} [[Merv]], [[Turkmenistan]]
=== Other sister cities ===
* {{flagicon|Peru}} [[Cuzco]], [[Peru]]
* {{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Lahore]], [[Pakistan]]
* {{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[Lviv]], [[Ukraine]]
* {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]
* {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[İzmir]], [[Turkey]]
* {{flagicon|Tunisia}} [[Kairouan]], [[Tunisia]]
== See also ==
* [[Samarkand Airport]]
* [http://www.semerkanddergisi.com Semerkand] a monthly [[religious]] magazine published in [[Turkey]], named after this city because Samarkand has long been a major centre for [[Islamic]] scholars.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Photo gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Man at Registan - Samarkand - 15-10-2005.jpg|A sitting man enjoying the scene of the Registan
Image:SamarkandBibiKhanym.jpg|Façade of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque
Image:SamarkandTillaKari.jpg|Decorations inside Tilla-Kari Medressa
Image:SamarkandGuriAmir.jpg|Decorations inside Gur-e Amir
Image:Storks samarkand.jpg|Colour photograph of a Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. 1912 by Prokudin-Gorskii.
Image:Gorskii_04439u.jpg|Fields near Samarkand
Image:Jewish_Children_with_their_Teacher_in_Samarkand.jpg|Jewish Children with their teacher in Samarkand, before 1915
Image:Prokudin-Gorskii-17.jpg|Shah-e Zindah Tombs
</gallery>
== External links ==
{{external links}}
{{commons|Samarkand|समरकन्द}}
* [http://www.visituzbekistan.eu/Samarkand.html Discover Samarkand]
* [http://www.visitcentralasia.eu/uzbekistan/samarkand.htm Samarkand Facts]
* [http://www.gardenvisit.com/garden_history/west_asia/golden-road-samarkand.htm The Golden Journey ('Road') to Samarkand]
* [http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/cities/uz/samarkand/samarkand.html Samarkand - Silk Road Seattle Project] / Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington
* [http://gallery.bittabola.com/ Photos of Samarkand and Uzbekistan]
* [http://www.murder-in-samarkand.com Murder in Samarkand] by Craig Murray
* [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/sup/Samarqand.html The history of Samarkand, according to Columbia University's Encyclopedia Iranica]
* [http://www.virtualtravel.ru/user/3778/index.phtml?wid=622&tips=12 Samarkand in modern and old photos]
* [http://www.bjews.com/ Bukharian Jewish Global Portal -- Jews from Samarkand]
* [http://www.east-site.com/samarkand-pictures Pictures of historical monuments in Samarkand]
</br>
{{Iranian Architecture}}
there are photographs of bibi khanim (1890) in paul Nadar's book-l'odyssée de paul Nadar au Turkestan-édition du patrimoine
[[श्रेणी:Samarkand| उज़्बेकिस्तान]]
[[श्रेणी:Persian history]]
[[श्रेणी:Archaeological sites in Uzbekistan]]
[[श्रेणी:World Heritage Sites in Uzbekistan]]
[[श्रेणी:Cities along the Silk Road]]
[[श्रेणी:Cities, towns and villages in Uzbekistan]]
[[श्रेणी:Cities in Central Asia]]
[[af:Samarkand]]
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