Afrasiab Museum in Samarkand
Afrasiab Museum, Samarkand
The famous ancient settlement Afrasiab, which is located in the north of modern Samarkand, has preserved cultural monuments dating back to the 6th century. In order to understand the intricacies of the history of Samarkand, complex and intricate, like a delicate, elaborate pattern on an oriental rug, you should definitely visit the famous Afrasiab Museum.
The museum is located near the ancient settlement and named after him - Afrasiab. This is truly a landmark and very important place for Samarkand. The ancient settlement extends over about 200 hectares, and according to some researchers, the Sogdian capital Marakanda was located here.
The first archaeological excavations at this site began in 1894, when the city became part of the Russian Empire. And the studies immediately yielded amazing results that proved that even in the period of 6-7 centuries these places were inhabited by peoples with a high level of culture. The proof of this is the numerous murals of buildings, fragments of tools, various household utensils and many other artifacts.
The view in which we see the Afrasiab museum today, it acquired in 1970. Then, at the site of archaeological excavations, a container of priceless finds was built according to the project of the Armenian architect Baghdasar Arzumanyan. The museum was opened in connection with a round and very impressive date: Samarkand turned 2500 years old.
It’s not hard to guess, the collection of this wonderful museum tells us about the daily life, life, culture and traditions of the people who have been living in these places since the appearance of the person here. As already mentioned above, the finds that were made during archaeological research, thanks to the painstaking work of scientists, can well recreate the ancient appearance of the city, both physical and mental.
On the museum’s stands are fragments of blades, knives, arrowheads and spears exuded by sand, sun and time, coins that once ringed here, without stopping for a moment, a beautiful view of terracotta and clay products, jewelry that decorated without that beautiful local beauties.
One of the main gems of the collection is, of course, the famous fragments of the frescoes of the Samarkand palace. The palace belonged to representatives of the Ikhshid dynasty, who ruled these lands in the distant 7-8 centuries.
Surprisingly, when in 1956 archaeologists, somewhat stunned by their find, unearthed the remains of the building, then almost completely preserved wall paintings, depicting the life of reigning persons, appeared before their eyes. For example, the wall, which was located on the south side, is dedicated to the wedding embassy, which arrived at Varhuman.
At the head of this colorful and colorful procession, you can see the bride - the daughter of Chaganian, who rides on a snow-white elephant. From all sides it is surrounded by dignitaries, courtly and oriental beauties moving on hardy "ships of the desert" and on graceful horses.
The opposite wall, or rather its artful painting, tells us about a bloody battle in which horsemen and, on the other hand, wild animals are ready to tear to pieces anyone whose hand trembles. On it are painted boats and the people sitting in them.
On the eastern wall we see images of the sea and people floating in the water, beautiful birds and animals. And on the wall that was once behind the throne of the ruler, we can see the scene of the ceremonial reception of envoys from Chach, China and East Turkestan.
