Samaraqand+Paper

During the Postclassical Era, trade cities were very influential. These cities not only exchanged goods, they exchanged people, ideas, traditions, inventions, religions, and even disease. The great level of interaction that occurred here made trade cities very significant during this time. Samaraqand, located in modern-day Uzbekistan, qualifies as one of these cities. Samarqand was strong politically – through the rule of Timur, economically – through the extensive trade that occurred in the city, and socially – through the influence of the surrounding empires.

The city of Samarkand had been ruled by many great leaders during the time period between 600 CE and 1450 CE. Samamarkand had experienced many different leaders with different styles of leading the city and these leaders made many impacts on the city of Samarkand. One of the first rulers in the time period between 600 CE and 1450 CE was the Turkic Kingdom of the Gokturks. The Gokturks were many nomadic tribes that became unified and ruled over the area that contained the city of Samarkand. The Gokturks ruled over the area surrounding Samarkand from the sixth century until the middle of the ninth century. In the late 700’s and early 800’s the Arabs under the Abbasid Empire took control of the area surrounding Samarkand and the Abbasid rulers introduced the religion of Islam to the city. During the Battle of Talas in 751 against the Chinese the Abbasid Empire captured two Chinese prisoners who taught the people how to make paper. The first paper mill of the Muslim World was then constructed in Samarkand. The Persian Samanid Empire was the next to take control of the area in the late 800’s to the late 900’s. The Samanids were vassals of the Baghdad Caliph, Saman Khoda, who gave his grandson Nuh control over the city of Samarkand in 875 as a reward for being faithful to him. The last Samanid ruler was Montasir who assassinated in 1005.

The next group to take control of Samarkand and the surrounding region were the Muslim Turks. The Muslim Turks were under the Kara Khanid state. The area was controlled by Harun Bughra Khan who had taken over the area that had previously been controlled by the Samanid Empire. During the Kara Khanid ruling of Samarkand many Kara Khanid citizens were being converted to the Islamic faith. One of the Kara Khanid rulers was Ali Tigin Bughra Khan who ruled from approximately 1020 to 1034 and was know as the Great Qaghan in Samarkand. When the Seljuk Turks, who were named after their leader Seljluk, were beginning to rise in power the Kara Khanid state was gradually losing power and became vassals who were loyal to the Seljuk Turks who began to rule the region in the early 1000’s. The next to rule this area was the Khwarezmian dynasty. The Khwarezmian Dynasty was at first vassals to the Seljuk Turks but became independent rulers as they grew in power.

The successor to the Muslim Turks was the very powerful ruler Genghis Khan who conquered the Khwarezmian Dynasty. Genghis Khan united many Mongolian nomadic clans and created the greatest army at that time. Genghis Khan had conquered a region stretching from Korea to the Caspian Sea. During his conquests he sacked and took over many important cities, including the city of Samarkand. Samarkand was said to have been left in ruins because of the attack by Genghis Khan and his army. Samarkand like many other cities was then absorbed into the Mongol Confederation. Genghis Khan's capture of Samarkand helped him in his conquest of central Asia and also was able to keep some of his troops stationed in the city.

Genghis Khan's replacement was also a very powerful leader. Timur was the leader of another Mongolian Empire. Timur was responsible for the expansion and beautification of the city of Samarkand. Timur was born in one of the surrounding towns near Samarkand and invaded it in 1361. After the invasion Timur made his son llyas Khoja the ruler. In 1364 though, Timur overthrew llyas Khoja after the death of Tughluq Temur. In 1369 or 1370 Samarkand became the center of Timur’s new Mongolian Empire which ruled over lands stretching from the Arial Sea to the Persian Gulf. He had begun his conquests from Samarkand and gradually defeated the areas surrounding the city and gave his sons or generals rule over the newly conquered lands. Timur said that he would recreate the empire of Genghis Khan and Timur, like Khan, also had a very strong military which consisted of cavalry, infantry, and engineers.

Timur’s son Shah Rukh and his grandson Ulugh Beg was the next ruler of Samarkand and the rest of the Timurid Empire. Shah Rukh was actually the ruler of the Timurid Empire and moved the capital from Samarkand to Herat. But, he named his oldest son Ulugh Beg as the governor of Samarkand. Ulugh Beg turned the city into a place of learning. One of Ulugh Beg’s greatest accomplishments would be his giant observatory which is located in Samarkand. After the assassination of Ulugh Beg the ruler was Abul Khayr. But near the decline of the Timurid Empire in the early 1400’s the nomadic tribal groups the Orda, Shiban, and the Manghit unified to create what was known as the Uzbek Confederation. The leaders of the Uzbek Confederation decided to rebel against Abul Khayr and eventually killed him. The Uzbek Confederation later called themselves the Qazaqs and were the last rulers over Samarkand in the period between 600 CE and 1450 CE.

Xuan zang, a great Buddhist monk, travelled to Samarqand and described it as “…the center of the blossoming land with plentiful crops, the most valuable goods from different countries and the numerous population, surpassing the other lands in crafts and arts.” Samarqand could not have been this successful if it wasn’t for its economy. The economy of Samarqand was controlled almost entirely by the flow of trade within the city’s markets. Samarqand was located on the crossroads of major trade routes, and thus, the wealth generated by the city was tremendous. Merchants brought silk and porcelain from the east, fur and amber from the North, spices and gems from the south and perfumes and ivory from the west. Some of these items, such as silk, furs, gems and spices, were quite luxurious, and therefore contributed greatly to the economy of the city. The merchant community was quite immense due to the trade taking place in the city. Samarqand was Muslim city. Muslims believe in Mohammed, Allah’s only prophet. Because Mohammed was born into a merchant family and was a merchant himself, merchants are very well respected in the Islamic faith. This was another contributing factor to the economic prosperity of Samarqand.

Another contributing factor to the economic prosperity enjoyed by Samarqand was the valuable work of the local craftsmen. Craftsmen fashioned glazed pottery, with intricate geometric or floral designs. Deep cherry-colored velvet was also manufactured here, which was a great accomplishment for that era. Other famous goods traded in the city included jewelry, carved stones, and seals. Also, Samarqand was home to one of the first paper mills west of the Great Wall. Samarqand was also successful in the way of agriculture. Because of their plentiful harvest, the city was able to focus not on survival only but also on other trades. An additional contributing element was the initiation of civilian projects. These were created by the government to help create jobs. These projects included irrigation systems and roads within the city and its outskirts. Without a successful economy, the government of Timur would not be financially stable, and things would start to crumble. Furthermore, without the markets, no merchants would be passing through the city, spreading many different ideologies. For these reasons, the economy of Samarqand was vital to its prosperity as a whole.

Samarkand has achieved many different titles throughout history, such as “The City of the Earth”, “Rome of the East”, and “Pearl of the Muslim World”, but the most important of these titles is “The Crossroad of Cultures”. Being centrally located to the other postclassical empires, Samarkand was influenced by the cultures of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. These influences played a large part in shaping the art, literature, education, religion, and architecture of Samarkand. Although Samarkand was influenced by many different religions, the most popular and most common religion there was Islam. Eventually, Samarkand became one of the largest religious cities in Eurasia. In 629 AD the Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, preached there. Another preacher, Kusam ibn Abbas, cousin of the prophet Muhammud, also visited Samarkand for some time. The presence of these two famous preachers, along with others, attracted many people to the city of Samarkand. The city’s architecture was mostly made up of religious mosques and madrasahs. Madrasahs, or religious schools, had lecture rooms, galleries, and student dormitories. The greatest madrasah in Samarkand was the Ulugh Beg Madrasah. This was located in Registan Square, which was also the home of two more madrasahs by the late 17th century. Many mosques, or Islamic places of worship, could also be found in Samarkand. Among these was the Bibi-Khanum Mosque, home of the largest dome in Islamic architecture. The 15th century was known as the “Golden Age” of architecture in Samarkand. The architecture reflects the strong Islamic influences on the culture of the city. Some of their most remarkable architectural achievements include the Bibi-Khanum Mosque, Registan Square, the Ulugh Beg Madrasah, Shah-i-Zinda, and Gur-Emir Mausoleum. The outside of the Bibi Khanum Mosque was decorated with gold inscriptions and mosaics, as well as multiple minarets and small domes. Another incredible architectural achievement was the Ulugh Beg Madrasah. Similar to the mosque, it featured arches, domes, and minarets, typical features of the architecture in Samarkand. Burial places were also popular architectural sites. Shah-i-Zinda was a large burial complex where the preacher, and cousin of Muhammad, Kusam ibn Abbas, was buried. The architectural features of this religious site included tiled domes, arched passageways, and patterned brickwork. Another famous burial place is the Gur-Emir Mausoleum. This is where the greatest leader of Samarkand, Timur Lang, is buried. The mausoleum was constructed out of clay and decorated with a light-blue dome and blue mosaics. Similar to architecture, the art of Samarkand was also widely influenced by Islam. Common features of Islamic art included mosaics, geometric shapes, decorative writing, and bold colors. Mosaics could be found throughout all of Samarkand on the cupolas of buildings, in mosques, and even on their ceramics. Unlike the typical mosaics of Islam, however, which featured mostly bold, darker colors, the mosaics in Samarkand were often in shades of bright blue and green. The dome located on the Bibi-Khanum mosque, for example, was bright turquoise. As Islam became more popular throughout Samarkand, artists inscribed their artwork and architecture with decorative writing, often with sayings from the Quran. For example, the Gur-Emir mausoleum displayed a large inscription of the prophet Muhammad’s name in golden letters. Ceramics were very popular among the artisans there, and often had special designs on them. The style of ceramics that they made was similar to that of the Greco-Romans. Samarkand ceramics had thin walls and were painted in colors such as black and red. Another influential culture, East Asia, can also be noticed through the analysis of Samarkand’s art, especially sculpting. Terracotta sculptures were common, and resembled those found in East Asia. Education flourished under the reign of Timur’s grandson, Ulugh Beg. He was not only an emperor, but a mathematician and an astronomer as well. In 1424 CE Ulugh Beg built a three-story observatory. His research included a study of the movement of the planets and the sun, as well as the locations of more than a thousand stars. His research may have been influenced by Ptolemy who was the last astronomer to catalogue the stars as Ulugh Beg did. Despite these new developments in astronomy and science, religion remained the most important part of education. The most famous madrasah was the Ulugh Beg Madrasah, named after its founder and one of the greatest minds of the 15th century. The education that was taught in these madrasahs had a strong Islamic and South Asian influence, but through the work of Ulugh Beg we can also see tones of Greco-Roman influence. The introduction of Islam to Samarkand also impacted literature. The Quran contained the religious scriptures of the Islamic faith, and Muslims were required to read it as one of their five pillars of faith. Artists often wrote passages and quotes from the Quran in symbolic texts. This made it more accessible to all people in the city. Most of the literature that has been discovered is written in Sogdian script, Kufic, or the Tadzhik language. This literature has been preserved on artwork, coins, and architecture for many centuries.