Samarkand

The city was known as Marakanda when captured by Alexander the Great in 329 BC.

Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia, with evidence of human activity dating back 40,000 years.

Samarkand was a diverse religious community during the Umayyad Caliphate, home to Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Manichaeism, Judaism, and Nestorian Christianity.

Timur, the founder of the Timurid Empire, made Samarkand his capital and rebuilt much of the city, attracting artisans from across the empire.

The Tajiks are often referred to as the majority ethnic group in Samarkand, despite official reports stating that Uzbeks are the majority.