Historical places of Uzbekistan Plan

part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region. Iranian Soghdians inhabited the area and some centuries later the Persian language became dominant among them.
Encyclopedia Iranica mentions that the name Bukhara is possibly derived from the Soghdian "Buxarak" ("lucky place"). Another possible source of the name Bukhara may be from "Vihara", the Sanskrit word for monastery and may be linked to the pre-Islamic presence of Buddhism (especially strong at the time of the Kushan empire) originating from the Indian sub-continent. Admittedly, the city was founded in 500 BC in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before, since 3000 BC an advanced Bronze Age culture called the Sapalli Culture thrived at such sites as Varakhsha, Vardan, Paykend, and Ramitan. In 1500 BC a combination of factors: climatic drying, iron technology, and the arrival of Indo-Iraninan nomads triggered a population shift to the oasis from outlying areas. By 1000 BC, two groups, the Sapalli and Aryan people, had merged into a distinctive culture. Around 800 BC this new culture called Soghdian flourished in city-states along the Zaravshan Valley. By this time, three small fortified settlements at the place of present-day Bukhara had been built. By 500 BC these settlements had grown together and were enclosed by a wall, thus Bukhara has born. ukhara entered history in about 500 BC as vassal state in the Persian Empire. Later it passed into the hands of the Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrians, and the Kushan Empire.
During this time Bukhara functioned as a cult center for the worship of Sin (Nanna also called Suen) the god of the moon. The two chief seats of Sin's worship were Ur in the south and Harran to the north of Mesopotamia. The cult of Sin spread to other centers, and temples of the moon-god are found in all the large cities of Babylonia and Assyria. The moon-god is by excellence the god of nomadic peoples, since the moon is their guide and protector at night when they undertake their wanderings. Therefore, the cult most likely arose at the place of Bukhara from the very outset of the first settlements because of inter-nomadic connections.
Approximately once a lunar cycle, the inhabitants of the Zaravshan Valley exchanged their old idols of Sin for new ones. The trade festival took place in front of the Moon (Mokh) Temple. This festival was important in assuring the fertility of land on which all inhabitants of the delta of Zaravshan depended. Because of the trade festivals, Bukhara became a center of commerce.
As trade picked up along the Silk Road, the already prosperous city of Bukhara then became the logical choice for a market. The silk trade itself created a growth boom in the city, which ended around 350 BC. After the fall of the Kushan Empire Bukhara passed into the hands of Hua tribes from Mongolia and entered a steep decline.
In the period of the 6-th and 7-th centuries A.D. of feudal Sogdiana there was an active process of town formation, when ancient settlements surrounding Bukhara became the towns of Varakhsha, Vardanzi (Vardan), Ramish (Ramitan), Kermine, Paikend. Archaeological excavations of the 20-th century in Varakhsha discovered a palace of the Bukhar Khudas with exquisite mural paintings, purely comparable with the famous murals of 5th-8th century A.D. in Pendjikent (western Tajikistan).
All these towns had more or less similar structural pattern including ark - citadel, shakhristan – the city itself, and necropolis beyond the town limits with crypts. The purpose of these crypts was the accommodation of ceramic urns with the bones of the dead. Two crossing main streets divided the rectangular shakhristan into four sections. These streets led to gates opening out to four sides of the world. This traditional layout of plains cities reflected ancient eastern worldview, symbolizing structure of the Universe and order of things in nature and society.
Bukhara of the early feudal period also followed this pattern of development. It sprawled over an area of 98,84 acres (98,8 acres). Since then in the north western (superior) section of Bukhara stands out the Ark - the palace fortress of local rulers - Bukhar Khudas. Beyond walls of the Ark and the shakhristan sprawled business quarters and artisan's areas - the rabad, with its residential neighborhoods of adobe-clay houses. Bukhara was one of main crossroads of ancient trade paths that linked China, Iran and India. The trade was a main factor, which stimulated the development of the rabad.
At the western gates of citadel were divans - state offices, and palaces of nobles. Christian temple stood at the eastern gates. Prior to the Arabic Invasion Bukhara was a stronghold for followers of persecuted religious movements within the theocratic Sassanian Empire, Manicheans and Nestorian Christianity.
When the Islamic armies arrived in 650 A.D., they found a multiethnic, multireligous and decentralized collection of petty feudal principalities. The lack of any central power meant that while the Arabs could gain an easy victory in battle or raiding they could never hold territory in central Asia. In fact Bukhara along with other cities in the Sogdian federation played the Caliphate against the Tang Empire. The Arabs did not truly conquer Bukhara until after the Battle of Talas in 751 A.D.. The vassalage of Bukhara from the Caliphate lasted even after the Samanid dynasty – the local dynasty of rulers - seized power in the region at the end of the 9th century.
Islam became the dominant religion at this time and remains the dominant religion to the present day. Until soviet times Bukhara was one of major cultural and religious centers of the Islamic world. Its honorable name was "The dome of Islam". The Balyand MosqueAn excellent example of a quarter ritual center is the Balyand Mosque in the western part of old Bukhara. The mosque belongs to the beginning of the 16-th century. It has a cube-shaped structure with adjoining colonnade. The Balyand Mosque is famous for its refined interior. Especially the paneling made of hexahedral glazed tiles painted with gold, which goes round the hall. The mosque took its name ("balyand" means "lofty") because of raised stone bed, on which rests the construction. The Khoja-Gaukushan EnsembleOne of the major ensembles in the center Bukhara is Khoja-Gaukushan . The madrasah was built in 1570 by order of Abdullah-khan II (1561-1598). He came to power with the help of Khoja Islam Juibariy - the powerful leader of local clan of Khoja(s). This clan - often identified as "Juibariya". Abdullah-khan was a disciple (murid) of Khoja Islam, therefore he always gave support to the clan. He built many religious and civil installations for them.