Samarcand

Samarcand, a city of western Turkestan, stands in the valley of the Zerafshan, about 4 miles S. of that river, and amongst the western spurs of the Tian-Shan Mountains, 130 miles E. by S. of Bokhara and 150 miles N. by E. of Balkh in Afghanistan. It is the ancient Marcanda, the capital of Sogdiana, which was taken and destroyed by Alexander the Great. It was again captured in 712 A.D. by the Arabs, who supplanted the Greco-Bactrian civilisation, of which it was the centre, by the creed and customs of Islam. Ever since that time it has been a sacred city in the eyes of the Moslems, especially after the conqueror Timur made it the capital of his kingdom in the 14th century. It had, however, suffered terribly from Genghis Khan, who took it (1219) and destroyed three-fourths of its half a million inhabitants. In Timur's time it had a population of 150,000. Its best and handsomest buildings, as the Ulug-beg madrasa or College, the tomb of Timur, the tombs of his wives, the gigantic stone he used as a throne from which to dispense justice, and his audience-hall, date from the reign of the great conqueror or his immediate successors. The Ulug-beg, the graves of Timur and his wives, as well as the tomb of one of the Prophet's companions, and two other colleges, the Tilla-Kari and Shir-dar, both dating from the beginning of the 17th century, are magnificent structures, grandly decorated with arabesques, enamelled tiles of different colours, marble pavements, inscriptions in gold, and similar rich ornamentation. In the 15th century Samarcand was renowned as a school of astronomy and mathematics. After the decay of Timur's empire the city had a chequered history, figuring in most of the wars that raged in that region, until at last it fell into the hands of the emirs of Bokhara, from whom it was taken by the Russians in 1868. They have established themselves in the citadel, built on a steep hill 4 miles in circuit, and have laid out a new town, with broad and handsome streets, to the west of it. On the other side of the citadel is the old city, walled, with dark and narrow streets, and dirty houses. The ruins of still more ancient Samarcands extend for 3 miles or more to the west and north of both the Russian and the native town. Since 1888 Samarcand has been connected by rail with Merv and the Caspian Sea, and by telegraph with Bokhara. Pop. of the city (1897) 54,900, mostly Tajiks and Uzbegs (Sarts), with a strong garrison of Russians. The people carry on gardening, their gardens being irrigated by water drawn off from the Zerafshan, and the manufacture of textiles, harness, gold and silver wares, leather, pottery, boots, &c., and conduct a brisk trade in cotton, silk, fruits, wheat, rice, salt, and horses.