Samarkand in Islamic History

Overview

Samarkand (سمرقند), located in modern-day Uzbekistan, was one of the most important cities in the Islamic world. It served as a center of learning, trade, and culture for over a millennium, connecting the Muslim East with Central Asia and China along the Silk Road.

Islamic Conquest

Samarkand was conquered by the Muslim general Qutayba ibn Muslim in 712 CE during the Umayyad expansion into Central Asia (Transoxiana, known as Ma wara' al-Nahr). The region quickly became a major center of Islamic scholarship. The famous hadith scholar Imam al-Bukhari (d. 870 CE) was from Bukhara, near Samarkand, and Imam al-Tirmidhi was from Termez in the same region.

Intellectual Center

Samarkand produced or hosted some of the greatest minds in Islamic history: al-Khwarizmi (the father of algebra), al-Biruni (the polymath), Ulugh Beg (the astronomer who built the famous observatory), al-Maturidi (the theologian who founded the Maturidi school of creed), and many hadith scholars. The city was known for its madrasas, libraries, and paper-making industry (which it learned from Chinese craftsmen and spread throughout the Islamic world).

Timurid Renaissance

Under the Timurid dynasty (14th-15th century), Samarkand experienced a cultural renaissance. Timur (Tamerlane) made it his capital and built the magnificent Registan complex, the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, and the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis. His grandson Ulugh Beg established an observatory that produced the most accurate astronomical tables of the pre-telescopic era.