On the Silk Road in Samarkand

We are in Samarkand, one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Settled around the 8th century BC, it rose to prominence as a vital trading hub on the Great Silk Road.

Skip forward to the mid-1300s, when Turco-Mongol conqueror Amir Timur (Tamerlane) chose Samarkand as the jewel of his empire. He brought in scholars, artisans, and architects from across his conquests. He ruled over vast territories: modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. He is widely regarded as one of the most brutal and ruthless conquerors in history. Nonetheless, he is recognized as a national symbol of Uzbek statehood, strength, and cultural achievement. There are many statues of him around the country (one of the few Lenin statues was removed and replaced with Timur).

Timur’s grandson inherited the governance of the empire beginning at age 11, upon Timur’s death in 1405. While his grandfather conquered empires, Mirzo Ulugbek built a scientific renaissance, constructing a massive observatory and measuring the solar year with incredible precision.

We visited the observatory he built, as well as a cluster of three universities he founded. Ulugbek composed a star catalogue consisting of the coordinates of 1,018 stars, which is eleven fewer stars than are present in the star catalogue of Ptolemy.

We walked through the narrow avenues of Shah-i-Zinda ("Place of a Living King"), a carefully a restored complex of tiled mausoleums, holding the tombs of Timur’s family and nobles of the time. This led to a 6th century hilltop archaeological site that is still undergoing excavation (although there was no evidence of active work).

Other stops on our walking/bus tour included: mausoleums for Timur and Bibi Khanum, a wife of Timur; the Samarkand History Museum; the studio of a musical instrument craftsman (and performer); and Registan Square, the historic heart of Samarkand, and a landmark along the ancient Silk Road. It was the last day of school and the high school seniors were gathering in their dressy clothing to celebrate.Read more