How Samarkand got its name

The origin of a name "Samarkand" is for certain not known till now. By the way, exact value of this word has been forgotten in XI century, as it is known, how the well-known representatives of that time, linguist – encyclopaedist Biruni and scientist Makhmud Kashgari put forward the versions in this occasion.

It is a lot of versions. All of them are based on linguistic assumptions, mentions of Samarkand in written sources of various times and people, legends. We shall result the cores from them:

Legends and national legends

Assuming, that the name of city consists of two words, people resorted to the most simple explanation, connecting these words or with two own names or with one person but then looked for the second word other value. And under prospective interpretation brought a legendary substantiation.
To local sogdial legends following legends, for example, concern:

1) Certain Samaras has dug out here a spring and has deduced from it water near to which many people soon began to live and there was a city. Grateful inhabitants began to name settlement "Samarkand" (“Samaras has dug out”).

2) The City is named  by the names scientists-magicians Samar and Êàìàr, supervised by its construction, begun, under one version certain Keykaus, Kejkubad’s son, on another Iskander Zul Karnay (Alexander the Great), and “kand” has occured from “kent” - settlement, city.

3) Under the separate version, Samar and Kamar called two brothers who have independently based city and were buried, at Chorsu near to present Registan.

4) With a name Macedonian also are connected the legend about a beloved of the commander - a beauty of Samaras in honour of whom the city (kand) has been named.
5) The City is constructed by tsar by name Samars and tsarina by name Kamar.

6) Kashgar’s tsar of Samaras-baki has intruded in valley Zarafshan, has taken costing on a place of Samarkand city and has razed its city walls. From here "Samarkand" (“Samaras has razed”).

7) The City is named by the names of two enamoured - young men of Samar and girl Kand.
A long time ago, in a region of Central Asia, there was a great and wicked king who lived in a beautiful castle. One day his wife gave birth to a beautiful daughter and they named her Kand, which means sugar in the Uzbek language.
About the same time, there was a baby boy born to a very poor family. They named him Samar, because he was handsome and strong. As he grew up, he became very famous for his bravery, and he competed in all the athletic events.
One day the princess met the young man in the garden of the castle. They were so attracted to each other, that they agreed to meet everyday in the garden. As they got to know each other their love grew stronger and stronger. One day Kand's father learned of their secret meetings and he became very angry. He did not like Samar because he was very poor, and beneath his daughter.

When Kand told her father that she wanted to wed Samar, the king decided to kill him. When the broken hearted Kand learned of his death, she threw herself from the top of the castle. All of the people of the city were sorrowful, and they renamed their city Samarkand after the two lovers.

To the legends widespread after the Arabian gain, probably developed under influence of their epic representations about the remote past of Arabia the legend that Yemen’s under leadership some Shamar (in different sources concerns is mentioned differently: that the governor the military leader the son of the governor of Yemen) destroy the main city of Sogdiana during a campaign to China. From here, “Shamar-kand” (“Shamar has destroyed” on sogdial language), in due course begun to sound "Samarkand". A little bit changed, but, as a whole, the same version support Arabian historian Balami and an-Nasafiy in "Kandia" - both speak, that Samarkand is connected with the Yemen tsar Shamir who has constructed this city of 3000 years before Alexander the Great arrival.

/ here it is necessary to note, that any of the set forth above versions while historically does not prove to be true/

Historians and Linguists assume

That "Samarkand" occurs from Turkic “Simiz kent”, that means “rich (or fat) settlement”. It is interesting, that medieval Chinese sources name Samarkand as “Si-mi-se-kan”, also explaining, that it means “corpulent city”. Armenian annalist of the XIII centuries Sumbat writes, that “Samarkand the fat or corpulent city” means. Even the Spanish ambassador to court yard of Timur’s Rui Gonsales de Klavijo, known for the description of the travel writes about Samarkand as about "Samarkand", but stipulates, that its present name - “Simiskint” that the rich settlement” means. Bobur in the “Notes” writes, that “Samarkand is based by Iskander (Alexander the Great). Mongols and Turkic name it Semizket”.
Samarkand could occur from Old Persian "Meru-êàíä" (“Sacred city”).

“Smarakanva” (so it is written in the documents which have been found out on mountain Mug in headwaters of the Zarafshan river) could occur from Old Persian “hamar” (to converge, gather, the meeting, assembly) and Sanskrit “samarya” (a place of a convergence, a place of congress), that as a whole could be appropriated “to settlement in which roads converged, gathered merchants, went the brisk trade”. It is quite probable, that Greeks could deform “Smarakanva” in “Marakanda”.

“Marakanda” could occur from Old Persian “Maurakand” (“City on the river with became overgrown with vegetation coast”) that is quite probable, considering that Samarkand is based at the river Zeravshan with overgrown tugai coast.

“Marakanda” also can mean with Old Persian “fertile city” or “city with a good climate in which it is a lot of greens and fruit”.
Two last versions offered by orientalist Rustam Mahmudov, explain also transformation “Marakanda” to "Samarkand" is could occur during the Arabian gain as “mauru” it is translated on Arabian “Samar” (one of variants of translation “a plentiful crop of fruit, vegetables”).

How many years to Samarkand?

The exact age of Samarkand is not certain and to this day. Researchers converge only on one - Samarkand - one of the most ancient cities of a planet.

Legendary legends:
- 2500-2700 years - a few Arabian historians who are guided by tradition on a birth of prophet Mohammed, in the products mark, that the city has been based " for 1000-1200 before occurrence of prophet Mohammed ", that is in  the 5 century B.C.
- 4300-4500 years - inform a number of other historians, that the city is based "3000 years prior to the prophet ".

It is interesting to note, as those and other authors, connect this event with legendary incident when Samarkand hill Hulum (Kuhak) - present Chupan-ata, in reply to prays of the Samarkand inhabitants before danger to be won, has arrived from Syria and has crushed the 150-thousand enemy army which has risen to city.
3700 years -Other Arabian historian Abu Hafs Omar ibn Mohammed an-Nesefi as-Samarkandi informs, that by time of the Arabian gain (the beginning of VIII century), the age of city already totaled 2500.

Primary sources:
- More than 2500 - “Avesto” informs that Sogdiana (which was center Samarkand) in the 5 century BC was the developed formation of farmers. It confirms both Greek annalists and the Roman biographers. So, for example, Roman annalist Kurziy informs, that in 329 year BC the city had an external wall in the extent of 70 stages (10-15 km.) that speaks about the considerable sizes of city settlement. It means, that the city by then already was well enough is rendered habitable and developed.

Archeologists:
- Not less than 2750 years are results of recent radio-nuclein analysis to which marking of the ancient sogdial  material culture have undergone, found out on a place of site of ancient settlement Afrosiab (where Samarkand earlier settled down). Archeologists assure, that it still not a limit and data will change in process of following finds and studying of below-mentioned layers.

<<<Back