Samarkand

sam-ar-kand', a fortified city of Russian Turkestan. It is situated in a fertile region midway from Bokhara to Tashkent at the foot of a western spur of the Thian-Shan Mountains. Though a mere name in the mind of the casual reader, Samarkand is a city of historical and commercial importance. It was early an important center of the Asiatic caravan trade. When taken by Alexander the Great its walls were over ten miles in circumference. From 711 to 1219 the city was occupied by the Arabs who made it a brilliant center of Moslem civilization. Its schools and wise men were known widely.

The city was taken by Genghis Khan in 1219. Later the inhabitants are said to have been overwhelmed by an army of 110,000 men under the conqueror Tamerlane, who made Samarkand his capital and adorned it with magnificent buildings, many of which still remain. The city was for a time under Chinese dominion, but reverted again to the Moslems, who regard it as one of their holy cities. The colleges of their university, as we may call it, occupied three sides of a public square and are still standing. They contain a large number of lodging rooms, now occupied by people of low estate. The front elevations or facades, as they are called, contain enormous gateways and are ornamented with columns, archways, and towers. Within each college building is a spacious court decorated with enameled bricks of green, pink, gold, and turquoise blue wrought into exquisite designs. These courts are roofed by lofty bulb-shaped domes. A citadel, one of the strongest places in central Asia, occupies a space of four square miles. The most interesting feature of the present city is its large bazaars, commended by merchants for cleanliness and good order. As of old, the bazaars are the center of a brisk caravan trade. Wheat, rice, silk and cotton, fruits, cutlery, horses, harness, tapestry, tallow, soap, leather, and pottery are exported.

A chapel crowned with an elegant dome marks the burial place of Tamerlane. The interior is paved with white marble. The walls are covered with elegant turquoise arabesques and inscriptions in gold. The body rests in a crypt above which has been placed a large pyramidal piece of jade.

The city fell into the hands of the Russians in 1868. The city is surrounded by ruins. Heaps of enameled brick and stucco extend for miles in almost every direction. The present population is rated at about 60,000.