Khujand Fortress

Khujand Fortress – a manufacturing, stone memorial, historical and cultural site in the center of the city of Khujand, on the left bank of the Syr Darya. Area 6.3 ha (200×320 m). The citadel (80×80 m) is located in the north‑east of the fortress. The surroundings of the fortress have been walled (partially ruined).

Gates

Khujand Fortress was studied through the expedition of the complex archaeology of northern Tajikistan under the leadership of academician Nu'mon Ne'matov (since 1964). The ancient residential layers of the settlement and the ancient citadel belong to the 8th‑5th centuries BC. The fortress (belonging to the Saka period) was built in the 8th‑5th centuries BC, its surroundings initially had a wooden fence, later a stone wall. The area of the city and that part (a component of the ancient city of Khujand) was surrounded by a separate wall and a wide, deep, water‑filled ditch. The second residential layer of Khujand Fortress belongs to the 4th‑3rd centuries BC. Under the citadel of Khujand Fortress and its western part, a ancient city settlement (area 20 ha) was discovered, which scholars attribute to the ruins of Alexander the Great’s Alexandria.

As a result of economic development, trade and population growth, the city expanded and a new Khujand fortress was built (6th‑7th centuries), which consisted of a citadel, a city and a suburb. In the years 721‑722 Arabs used catapults to break the fortress walls, but the Khujandians repelled them at the city suburb gate. During the Mongol invasion (1219‑1220) the city was captured with an army of 25 thousand and local captives of 50 thousand. Near Khujand Fortress (on the island of the Syr River) Khujand defenders, under the command of Timur Malik, broke the Mongol siege. As a result of the Mongol invasion Khujand Fortress was destroyed. According to Babur’s information, the citadel of the fortress was repaired at the end of the 15th century and became the seat of the local governor.

At the beginning of the 18th century, at the initiative of governor Okbutabek, Khujand Fortress was fortified with thick stone walls, towers, round and rectangular bastions, and reinforced doors. Also, the city's citadel was repaired and a new ruler's palace was built on the arch. In the 18th–19th centuries, the area turned into the battlefield of the Bukhara Emirate's troops and the Khujand garrison. In 1866, due to the intense uprising of the people and the local governor's troops against the Russian imperial troops, it was heavily damaged. The citadel remained a military base until 2015.

Findings

From this site, as a result of botanical excavations, various items were found: bronze and silver plates, clay and pottery fragments, copper ornaments (with hand and plant motifs), glass and crystal beads, metalwork, bronze and iron knives (dating to the Samanid, Karakhanid, Timurid periods), clay products (small and large vessels), various shaped stone and clay vessels, hand‑made bowls, jugs, apricots, black lamps, mica, shells, and others. The findings are partially kept in the Sughd Regional History Museum, the Khujand Archaeology and Fortification Museum named after academician Nu'mon Nematov. Also, the main part of the “Khujand Fortress” Historical and Cultural Complex is registered in the Historical‑Cultural Heritage Registry of Tajikistan, and the reconstruction project of Khujand Fortress has been approved by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Historical Museum

The Sughd Regional History Museum was established in 1986 on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the city of Khujand. After the reconstruction of the entrance hall and fortress walls, by a decision of the regional government in 1999, the Sughd Regional History Museum was placed inside Khujand Fortress.

In July 2003, the cornerstone of the Sughd Region Historical Museum was laid near the outskirts of the city. The construction was built with a budget of 3,800,000 somoni, of which 500,000 was allocated from the President’s Treasury. The massive building, which houses exhibition halls of the history and culture of the Tajik people and occupies an area of more than 3,365 square meters, consists of one main dome, two medium domes and four small domes.

Historical and Cultural Complex

Based on the project, the surrounding walls of “Kalat Khujand”, its arches and doors were restored, an administrative building, artisans’ workshops, a national restaurant, a model of ancient houses and baths of Khujand, a hotel and a souvenir shop, a tea house, workshops for preparing traditional Tajik dishes, various service points and other auxiliary structures were built.

In the southern part of Kalat Khujand, in accordance with today’s requirements, eight open-air artisan workshops were created, where the products of artisans such as numerous types of woven goods, painting, embroidery, wood carving, sculptures, various carpets, hand‑made mugs, men’s and women’s national costumes, address books and atlases, metalwork, jewelry and national musical instruments are displayed.

The fortress courtyard and its internal pathways were paved with Khujand sandstone over an area of 12,500 square meters, and 5,000 square meters were landscaped with greenery. Within the fortress there are two large wooden arches and four wooden pavilions, which were meticulously crafted by the master craftsmen of the city of Isfara under the guidance and advice of Usto Burhon.

Palace of Kalat Khujand

In the construction of the “Kalat Khujand” building, which has five exhibition halls, the national Tajik architectural art, such as carving, painting, embroidery, woodwork, stone work, plasterwork, tapestry, polishing and others, was extensively used.

In the banner “Scientific and Literary Area of Khujand”, which is illustrated with national architectural art, information is collected about the life and activity of Khujand scholars, notable Tajik poets and famous artists, and in the description of Khujand and its fortress there are statements of scholars and benefactors of the past and present, the speech of the respected Leader of the Nation Emomali Rahmon on the history of the fortress and other necessary materials. In this banner, the statues of four notable Khujand figures—Ziyoddin Khujandi, Shaido Khujandi, Sadroddin Khujandi and Sultan Umarov—are displayed, as well as exhibits related to science and literature, such as manuscripts, pens, inkstands, palettes, drawing boards, brushes and water containers of writers.