Shahrisabz, lit. "Green City" in Persian, is a district-level city in Qashqadaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan.
It is located approximately 80 km south of Samarkand, at an elevation of 622 m. Its population is 140,500 as of 2021.
History
Formerly known as
Kesh or
Kish ("heart-pleasing") and tentatively identified with the ancient
Nautaca, Shahrisabz is one of
Central Asia’s most ancient cities. It was founded more than 2,700 years ago and formed a part of the
Achaemenid Empire or
Persian Empire from the 6th to 4th centuries BC. Throughout this period Kesh remained an important urban center of
Sogdiana, a major province within the Empire. Documents from the late Achaemenid period speak of the renovation of the city's walls.
[Pavel Lurje, (2009), 'KEŠ' Encyclopaedia Iranica (online)] It has been known as Shahrisabz since the Timurid era.
Alexander the Great's general Ptolemy captured the satrap of Bactria and pretender to the Persian throne, Bessus, at Nautaca thus ending the once great Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great chose to spend his winters and met his wife Roxana in the area around 328–327 BC. Between 567 and 658 AD, rulers of Kesh paid taxes to of Turkic and Western Turkic khaganates. In 710 the city was conquered by the Arabs[B.F. Manz, The rise and rule of Tamerlan, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1989, p. 156–7]
As part of the Turkic Kaganate
From the 6th to 8th centuries, Kesh was a part of the Turkic and West Turkic Kaganates. In the 8th century the ruler-malik of Khuzar (Kesh) was Turk Subugra. Under Ton-Yabgu-Kagan (618–630) the power of Turks strengthened in
Sogdia. New campaigns to
Tokharistan and
Afghanistan pushed the borders of the state to northwestern
India. Ton-Yabgu Kagan carried out administrative reform and appointed his representatives - tuduns - in the regions, including Sogdia, to monitor and control the collection of tribute. It is assumed that he issued his coins with the inscription "Tun yabgu kagan".
An ancient Turkic tribe were the Khalaj people, who in the Early Middle Ages lived in Tokharistan – the modern territories of southern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan.[Бартольд В. В., Сочинения т.5.М.,1968]
The Turks of Central Asia worshiped the following deities: Tengri (sky), Umai (Mother Goddess), Yer-sub (Earth-Water) and Erklig (Lord of Hell), among which Tengri held the predominant position. Tengri was the most important.[Стеблева И. В. К реконструкции древнетюркской религиозно-мифологической системы // Тюркологический сборник 1971 года. М., 1972]
Arab conquest
Kesh was conquered by the Arabs in the 8th century. During the Arab invasion, the Kashkadarya Valley and especially Kesh was the epicenter of an anti-Arab and anti-Islamic liberation movement led by
Al-Muqanna, known in history as the "Revolt of the Men in White Clothes".
The resistance eventually led to the decline of the capital city. Around 701–704, there were battles between Turks and Arabs at Nessef and Kesh.[Табари. История. — Т., 1987 год, с. 85]
During the Samanid Empire dynasty, urban life gradually moved to the southwest of old Kesh, the site of the large village of Barknon.
Karakhanid era
In 1038, Ibrahim ibn Nasr, who also was known as Böritigin, son of the conqueror of
Transoxiana, captured
Chaghaniyan, from where he invaded central Transoxiana. In 1040 he conquered Kesh. By the 10th century, the Karakhanid state had a literary language that continued the traditions of ancient turkic written texts. The official Karakhanid language of the 10th century was based on the grammatical system of ancient
Karluk languages dialects.
[ИСТОРИЯ И КУЛЬТУРА ТЮРКОВ В ЛИТВЕ. Сборник научных статей международной конференции. Vilniaus universiteto leidykla VILNIUS 2014, с.157-160] The Islamization of the Karakhanids and their turkic subjects played a major role in the cultural development of
turkic culture. In the late 10th and early 11th centuries, for the first time in the history of the
turkic peoples, the
Tafsir, a commentary on the
Quran, was translated into the turkic language.
[Боровков, А.К. Лексика среднеазиатского тефсира: XII-XIII вв. М., 1963] The 11th century scholar Mahmud Kashgari laid the foundations of turkic linguistics. He lists the names of many turkic tribes of
Central Asia.
One of the famous scholars was the historian Majid al-Din al-Surhakati, who wrote "History of Turkestan", which outlined the history of the Karakhanid dynasty.[Introduction to The Jawami u’l-hikayat wa Lawami’ur-riwayat of Sadidu’u-din Muhammad al-Awfi by Muhammad Nizamu’d-din. London: Luzac & Co, 1929]
During the reign of the Karakhanids, the new capital of medieval Kesh was finally formed. During the hegemony of the (early 13th century), Kesh-Shahrisabz was first enclosed by defensive walls.
Modern history
During World War II, in 1942, the 6th Infantry Division of the Polish Anders' Army was stationed and organized in Shahrisabz, before it was evacuated from Uzbekistan to fight against
Nazi Germany.
There is a Polish military cemetery in the city.
[
]
The birthplace of Timur
Kesh was the birthplace of Timur in between late-1320s to 1336, to the family of a minor nobility local Barlas Confederation Chief Taraqai Barlas, and during the early years of the Timurid dynasty, the city enjoyed his considerable patronage. Timur regarded Kesh as his “home town” and planned it eventually to be the location of his tomb. However, during his reign, the center of activity shifted to Samarkand instead. In the era of Timur, masterpieces of world architecture were built: the Ak-Saray palace, the Dorusiodat memorial complex.[Golombek, L. Wilber, D. The Timurid Architecture of Iran and Turan. Vol 1. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. 1988]
The city struggled for autonomy under Bukharan rule and the Russians helped the Bukharan emir conquering the city in 1870.
Historical sites
Several remaining impressive monuments from the Timurid dynasty have enabled the old part of the city to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, destruction of vast areas of the medieval townscape in 2015 to create a park and tourist facilities have led to concern from UNESCO. It is possible that the listing could be lost.
Timur's Summer Palace, the “White Palace” was planned as the most grandiose of all Timur's constructions. It was started in 1380 by artisans deported by Timur from the recently conquered Khwarezm. Unfortunately, only parts of its gigantic 65 m gate-towers survive, with blue, white and gold mosaics. Above the entry of the Ak-Saray are big letters saying: "If you challenge our power – look at our buildings!"
A Friday mosque built in 1437 by Ulugh Beg in honor of his father Shahrukh Mirza, its name meaning “Blue Dome”. Located immediately behind the Kok Gumbaz Mosque is the so-called “House of Meditation”, a mausoleum built by Ulugh Beg in 1438 but apparently never used for burials.
East of the Kok Gumbaz is another mausoleum complex called Dorus-Saodat (Seat of Power and Might), which contains the Tomb of Jehangir, Timur's eldest and favorite son. The adjacent mosque is said to house the tomb of a revered 8th century imam Amir Kulal.
Behind the Hazrat-i Imam Emsemble is a bunker with a door leading to an underground chamber, discovered by archaeologists in 1943. The room is nearly filled with a single stone casket, on which inscriptions indicate that it was intended for Timur. However, the conqueror was buried in Samarkand, not at Shahrisabz, and mysteriously, his tomb in Shahrisabz contained two unidentified corpses.
Also of interest are medieval baths and an 18th-century bazaar.
-
Shahrisabz Museum of History and Material Culture
Further external sites
To the north of the small village of Kumyrtepa in the Kitob District of the Kashkadarya Region, along the left bank of the small, low-water Shurabsay River, which originates from the Zarafshan Mountains, there are three hills of varying configurations running from north to south. Together, they constitute three parts of the ancient capital city of Nautaka (Padayaktepa, Uzunkyr, and Sangirtepa).
In the mid-1980s, archaeological sites in the Shurabsay micro-oasis, which are scattered within 5 kilometers of each other, were first surveyed by N.I. Krasheninnikova, a member of the KATE (Kesh Archaeological and Topographical Expedition). At that time, these three hills were identified as a citadel, the actual city, and the temple of Nautaka.
The citadel of the city measures 270x74 meters and is located in the northern part on a high, rugged bank of the Shurabsay River.
Remnants of the fortification wall of the city are visible near the village of Kumyrtepa in the form of a low mound measuring more than 650 meters in length and 20 meters in width. At one time, this wall encircled the entire city, covering an area of more than 70 hectares.
A standalone hill, located beyond the city walls, is situated about 650 meters to the southwest of Uzunkyr.
Economy
The city's economy is primarily focused on the processing of agricultural raw materials, including cotton cleaning and canning, among other activities. Additionally, traditional and cottage industries are well-developed in the area.
Climate
Shahrisabz has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with chilly winters and very hot, dry summers.
In music
Shahrisabz was celebrated in the well-known eponymous song by the Uzbek VIA "Yalla," with music by Farrukh Zokirov and lyrics by Yevgeny Berezikov.
See also
-
List of World Heritage Sites in Uzbekistan
Notes
External links
