Paykend or Poykent (Uzbek : Poykend), an ancient city in Uzbekistan, is located in the lower stream of Zarafshan River and was one of the largest cities of the Bukhara oasis. The city consisted of a citadel, two settlements, and a rabod (suburb). Paykend is currently under consideration for inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
According to the archaeological research, Poykent was founded as a small village in the 4th century B.C., and was later transformed into a fortress. During that period, it was a trade center, as the city connected Southern countries (Bactria, India, Iran) with Northern countries (Front of Ural, Coast of Volga, Northern Caucus). Poykent was one of the important military and trade centers of the Western borders of the Sogd. Due to the development of the Great Silk Road and joining with Poykent fortress have been founded first and second sites of ancient settlement. Hence the city Poykent was founded.
According to Chinese chronicles, this city was under the "An" (安, Bukhara) kingdom and was the centre of the "Bi" (毕) khanate. It has also been noted that in Poykent there was no khokim (governor), the city was ruled by traders' council, and in the full sense of the word the city was a republic in the 6th-7th century. The scientists of Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan have carried out scientific research in the ruins of the city for a long time. As a result, Zoroastrian temples, a palace, and a mosque, built in the 9th century, and remnants of a tower were found in citadel. In the inner part of city were discovered defensive walls, a gate, roads, and the remains of [living] quarters (makhallas), while on the outside rabads (suburbs) of the city - there are pottery centers and caravanserais. According to the researcher, due to the inaccessibility of the lower flaw of Zarafshon River, the city ceased to exist in the middle of the 9th century. [2]
 | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010) |
This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 18 January 2008, in the Cultural category.
Bukhara is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents as of 1 January 2020. It is the capital of Bukhara Region. The mother tongue of the majority of people of Bukhara is the Tajik dialect of the Persian language, although Uzbek is spoken as a second language by most residents.
The Kara-Khanid Khanate, also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids, was a Karluk Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia from the 9th to the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek Khanids refer to royal titles with Kara Khagan being the most important Turkic title up until the end of the dynasty.
Merv, also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria, Antiochia in Margiana and Marw al-Shāhijān, was a major Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium BC until the 18th century AD. It changed hands repeatedly throughout history. Under the Achaemenid Empire, it was the center of the satrapy of Margiana. It was subsequently ruled by the ancient Macedonians, Seleucids, Parthians, Sasanians, Arabs, Ghaznavids, Seljuqs, Khwarazmians and Timurids, among others.
Konye-Urgench, also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants in north Turkmenistan, just south from its border with Uzbekistan. It is the site of the ancient town of Gurgānj, which contains the ruins of the capital of Khwarazm. Its inhabitants deserted the town in the early eighteenth century in order to develop a new settlement, and Konye-Urgench has remained undisturbed ever since. In 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
The Ark of Bukhara is a massive fortress located in the city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, that was initially built and occupied around the 5th century AD. In addition to being a military structure, the Ark encompassed what was essentially a town that, during much of the fortress's history, was inhabited by the various royal courts that held sway over the region surrounding Bukhara. The Ark was used as a fortress until it fell to Russia in 1920. Currently, the Ark is a tourist attraction and houses museums covering its history. The museums and other restored areas include an archaeological museum, the throne room, the reception and coronation court, a local history museum, and the court mosque.
Dalverzin Tepe is an ancient archaeological site founded by the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom and located near to the modern city of Denau in the Surxondaryo Region of Uzbekistan. The city was founded in the 3rd century BC and rose to prominence in the Kushan period when two important Buddhist temples were built here. Dalverzin Tepe was excavated by the famed Soviet archeologist Galina Pugachenkova.
Tushpa was the 9th-century BC capital of Urartu, later becoming known as Van which is derived from Biainili, the native name of Urartu. The ancient ruins are located just west of Van and east of Lake Van in the Van Province of Turkey. In 2016 it was inscribed in the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey.
Khalchayan is an archaeological site, thought to be a small palace or a reception hall, located near the modern town of Denov in Surxondaryo Region of southern Uzbekistan. It is located in the valley of the Surkhan Darya, a northern tributary of the Oxus.
Shahrukhiya is a site of ancient settlement located 88 km to the southwest of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on the right coast of Syrdarya River. It is the first large city of the Tashkent oases, situated on the Great Silk Road through Yaksart (Syrdarya). In the oriental sources, it was famous under the name Benaket, and the portion of the Great Silk Road direction called by its name.
The site of ancient settlement at Kanka, Uzbekistan, is located in 80 km southeast of Tashkent, in the southeastern outskirts of the Eltamgali settlement. It is one of the large, ancient city centers of the Tashkent oasis. Kanka is the first capital of the Chach state, a small estate of Kanguy.
Jondor is an urban-type settlement in Bukhara Region in Uzbekistan. It is the seat of Jondor District.
The history of Bukhara stretches back millennia. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region. The city itself, currently the capital of the Bukhara Region (viloyat) of Uzbekistan, is about two and a half thousand years old. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a centre of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. During the Golden age of Islam, under the rule of Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual centre of the Islamic world. In medieval times, Bukhara served as the capital of the Khanate of Bukhara and was the birthplace of Imam Bukhari.
Quva is the capital of Quva District in eastern Uzbekistan. Quva is about 450 km east of Tashkent, about 46 km west of Andijan, and less than 17 km from the Kyrgyzstan border. Its population is 46,400 (2016).
Kafir-kala is an ancient fortress 12 kilometers south of the city center of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, protecting the southern border of the Samarkand oasis. It consists in a central citadel built in mud-bricks and measuring 75 × 75 meters at its base has six towers and is surrounded by a moat, still visible today. Living quarters were located outside the citadel.
The State Museum of Culture History of Uzbekistan is a museum of history and culture in Samarkand.
The Desert castles of ancient Khorezm, traditionally known as Elliq Qala, are a collection of desert fortresses in Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan. They are included on UNESCO’s Tentative List for World Heritage Site status as the Desert Castles of Ancient Khorezm.
The crystal seal of Mani, also known as the crystal sealstone of Mani or the Manichean Rock-Crystal Seal, is a crystal stone seal with intaglio busts of three Manichean elect. There is a circle of Syriac writing around the intaglio, which could have been a personal seal used by Mani, the founder of Manichaeism. It is the oldest surviving piece of Manichaean art, and the only piece from Sassanid Mesopotamia. It is now in the collection of the National Library of France in Paris.
Uthman ibn Ibrahim was a Karakhanid ruler in Transoxiana from 1204 to 1212.
Weshparkar was the Sogdian god of the Atmosphere and the Wind. He corresponds to the Avestan god Vayu. In Central Asia, Weshparkar has also been associated to the Indian god Shiva.
Bukhara Oasis is a fertile area in the south-eastern part of Uzbekistan formed by the Zerafshan River. The oasis is heavily populated and Bukhara is the largest city.
https://journals.openedition.org/asiecentrale/pdf/1841
