Samarkand – Crossroad of Cultures

Samarkand – Crossroad of Cultures is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site in Uzbekistan. The World Heritage Site includes the historic city core (Shahrestan) of the city Samarqand.

Background

Afrasiab, the predecessor of Samarqand, was founded around 750 BC and was the main settlement of the historic region Sogdia. Through trade with the northern and eastern regions and its location on the Silk Road it became prosperous, the city was conquered and destroyed in 1220 by the troops of Genghis Khan. No building from the period before the Mongol invasion has survived, but excavations have revealed parts of old structures.

Only in the 14th century was the city rebuilt under the name Samarqand, but not on the old site, rather about 1 km southwest of the old settlement hill. The Mongol ruler Timur made Samarqand the capital of his empire in 1369.

Inscription

Samarkand – Crossroad of Cultures was inscribed in 2001, following a decision of the 25th session of the World Heritage Committee, as the fourth World Heritage Site in Uzbekistan on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The World Heritage Site covers an area of 1 123 hectares and is surrounded by a buffer zone of 1 369 hectares. The actual protected area consists of five separate zones: the archaeological excavation site Afrasiab (229 ha), the medieval and early modern city area (841.5 ha), Ulug Beg’s Observatory (19.5 ha), the ensembles Abdi‑Darun and Ishrat‑Khona (26.3 ha) and the Namazgoh Mosque (6.7 ha).

In the justification for the inscription it states, among other things:

The inscription was made on the basis of criteria (i), (ii) and (iv).

Even though the inscription as a World Heritage Site was not based on individual buildings, but on the overall significance of the city as a crossroads of ancient cultures, the summary of the decision for inscription highlights several individual structures and architectural ensembles.

Among them are especially the Registan with its madrasas, the Ulugbek Madrasa, the Sher-Dor Madrasa and the Tilya-Kori Madrasa, as well as the complex of Bibi-Chanum Mosque and Bibi-Chanum Mausoleum. Also mentioned are the Shohizinda necropolis, the Gur-Emir ensemble and the Rukhabad ensemble as well as the remains of Ulug Beg's observatory.