Samarkand

Samarkand Самарқанд / Samarqand (Uzbek) سمرقند (Persian) Самарканд
City
Clockwise from the top: Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, Sher-Dor Madrasah in Registan, Timur's Mausoleum Gur-e-Amir.
Seal
Samarkand Location in Uzbekistan Show map of Uzbekistan Samarkand Samarkand (West and Central Asia) Show map of West and Central Asia Samarkand Samarkand (Asia) Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 39°39′17″N 66°58′33″E / 39.65472°N 66.97583°E / 39.65472; 66.97583
Country	Uzbekistan
Vilayat	Samarqand Vilayat
Settled	8th century BCE
Government
• Type	City Administration
• Body	Hakim (Mayor)
Area
• City	120 km2 (50 sq mi)
Elevation	705 m (2,313 ft)
Population  (1 January 2019)
• City	513,572[1]
• Metro	950,000
Demonym	Samarqandian / Samarqandi
Time zone	UTC+5
Postal code	140100
Website	samarkand.uz
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Samarqand – Crossroads of Cultures
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, iv
Reference	603
Inscription	2001 (25th Session)
Area	1,123 ha
Buffer zone	1,369 ha

Samarkand or Samarqand (/ˈsæmərkænd/ SAM-ər-kand; Uzbek and Tajik: Самарқанд, pronounced [sæmærqænd, -ænt]; Persian: سمرقند) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Samarqand is the capital of Samarqand Region and a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlements Kimyogarlar, Farhod and Khishrav.^[2] With 551,700 inhabitants (2021),^[3] it is the third-largest city of Uzbekistan.

There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city dating from the late Paleolithic Era. Though there is no direct evidence of when Samarqand was founded, several theories propose that it was founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. Prospering from its location on the Silk Road between China, Persia and Europe, at times Samarqand was one of the largest^[4] cities in Central Asia,^[5] and was an important city of the empires of Greater Iran.^[6] By the time of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, it was the capital of the Sogdian satrapy. The city was conquered by Alexander the Great in 329 BCE, when it was known as Markanda, which was rendered in Greek as Μαράκανδα.^[7] The city was ruled by a succession of Iranian and Turkic rulers until it was conquered by the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1220.

The city is noted as a centre of Islamic scholarly study and the birthplace of the Timurid Renaissance. In the 14th century, Timur made it the capital of his empire and the site of his mausoleum, the Gur-e Amir. The Bibi-Khanym Mosque, rebuilt during the Soviet era, remains one of the city's most notable landmarks. Samarqand's Registan square was the city's ancient centre and is bounded by three monumental religious buildings. The city has carefully preserved the traditions of ancient crafts: embroidery, goldwork, silk weaving, copper engraving, ceramics, wood carving, and wood painting.^[8] In 2001, UNESCO added the city to its World Heritage List as Samarqand – Crossroads of Cultures.

Modern Samarqand is divided into two parts: the old city, and the new city, which was developed during the days of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. The old city includes historical monuments, shops, and old private houses; the new city includes administrative buildings along with cultural centres and educational institutions.^[9] On September 15–16, 2022, the city hosted the 2022 SCO summit.

Samarkand has a rich multicultural and plurilingual history that was significantly modified by the process of national delimitation in Central Asia. Many inhabitants of the city are native or bilingual speakers of the Tajik language,^[10][11] whereas Uzbek is the official language and Russian is also widely used in the public sphere, as per Uzbekistan's language policy.