ANTIQUITY
2nd century BC - 1st century AD
9th-11th centuries AD
9th-11th centuries AD
Afrasiab archaeological site
The monument is located north of the modern city of Samarkand on the banks of the Siab
River. The early settlement on the site of Afrasiab arose about 2,750 years ago. This was supported
by archaeological research, during which construction materials and clay vessels typical of that
time were found, and confirmed by recent radiocarbon dating. The city was formed through merging of
several large human settlements, where various crafts and irrigation-based farming flourished. It
thus can be considered one of the oldest cities in the world.
Long-term excavations have made it possible to trace the history of the urban centre in the
Zeravshan valley from its formation to its defeat by Genghis Khan’s hordes in 1220, after which
life in Afrasiab stopped. For a few years (1969-1972), the «Problematic laboratory for the
historical and archaeological study of the Afrasiab site» at the Faculty of History, Samarkand
State University, headed by M. D. Jurakulov and Ya. K. Krikis, carried out fruitful archaeological
work in the western part of the monument, which preserves the historical memory of Sogdiana in the
9th to the 12th centuries AD.
The results of the study of Afrasiab – the ancient Samarkand, which has been one of the most
important Central Asian cultural centres for thousands of years, are reflected in three
exhibition departments of the museum.
River. The early settlement on the site of Afrasiab arose about 2,750 years ago. This was supported
by archaeological research, during which construction materials and clay vessels typical of that
time were found, and confirmed by recent radiocarbon dating. The city was formed through merging of
several large human settlements, where various crafts and irrigation-based farming flourished. It
thus can be considered one of the oldest cities in the world.
Long-term excavations have made it possible to trace the history of the urban centre in the
Zeravshan valley from its formation to its defeat by Genghis Khan’s hordes in 1220, after which
life in Afrasiab stopped. For a few years (1969-1972), the «Problematic laboratory for the
historical and archaeological study of the Afrasiab site» at the Faculty of History, Samarkand
State University, headed by M. D. Jurakulov and Ya. K. Krikis, carried out fruitful archaeological
work in the western part of the monument, which preserves the historical memory of Sogdiana in the
9th to the 12th centuries AD.
The results of the study of Afrasiab – the ancient Samarkand, which has been one of the most
important Central Asian cultural centres for thousands of years, are reflected in three
exhibition departments of the museum.
- Jurakulov, M. D., Krikis, Ya. K. Archaeological research by the Samarkand State University in the western part of the Afrasiab site in 1968 [Arkheologicheskiye issledovaniya Samarkandskogo gosuniversiteta na zapadnoy chasti gorodishcha Afrasiab v 1968 godu] // Proceedings of the Navoi Samarkand State University. New series. Issue 182. Samarkand: SamSU, 1970, PP. 32-51.
- Shishkin, V. A. Afrasiab – a treasure trove of ancient culture [Afrasiab – sokrovishchnitsa drevney kultury]. Tashkent: Fan, 1966. 36 pages.
