Afrasiyab

Afrosiyob

Uzbekistan · Samarkand

Ancient cityIntermittent excavationUNESCO · 2001
Approximate period700 BCE — 1,220 CEIron Age–Middle Ages See on the map ↓

In brief

The ancient city site north of Samarkand is dated to approximately the 7th century BCE in UNESCO's description and flourished until the Mongol destruction in 1220. Known for its palace paintings and urban architecture, the site lies within the Samarkand World Heritage property inscribed in 2001.

What was found?

  • 1Hall of the Ambassadors wall paintings

    These are Sogdian paintings dating to the 7th century CE; they also depict groups of gift-bearing envoys. The clothing and scenes are an important source for studying Semerkant's relations with different societies.

  • 2Early city wall

    This is a thick defensive wall built from large mudbricks. It reveals the boundaries and defensive layout of the early city.

  • 3Marked mudbricks

    The mudbricks of the early wall bear marks distinguishing construction teams. They shed light on how labor was organized for a major construction project.

  • 4Abbasid-period palace

    These are the remains of a palace east of the citadel, known for its regular plan and monumental colonnades. According to researchers, the building is connected with the administration of Ebu Müslim.

  • 5Remains of the large mosque

    These are the remains of a mosque built on part of the early Islamic palace grounds and later expanded. It shows how the use of buildings in the city center changed over time.

What does it point to?

Afrasiab's paintings and architecture suggest an urban society engaged with different cultures. The coexistence of local Sogdian architecture and design elements from other regions in early Islamic palaces shows that this interaction was also reflected in buildings.

What did it teach us?

  1. Excavations uncovered early Islamic palaces not mentioned in written sources.
  2. Marked mudbricks showed that tasks were divided among teams during wall construction.
  3. The wall paintings provided visual evidence of pre-Islamic Semerkant's external relations.

Record

Culture
Sogdian and Islamic-period cultures of Samarkand
First modern dig
1873
Team / historical
French-Uzbek Archaeological Mission in Sogdiana
Coordinates
39.6714°, 66.9878°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. archeo.ens.fr
  3. en.wikipedia.org
  4. Encyclopaedia Iranica

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