Silk Road - 1 June 2009 - Museum of History of Samarkand

Our next stop was the museum on the history of Samarkand. They have very few original artifacts, but they have everything laid out well and our museum guide was good. The original city named Afrasiab was destroyed by the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1220 CE. The Mongols conquered the city by cutting off its water supply. The city got its water from the river. The Russians did a lot of excavation of the ancient city which they dated to 2,750 years ago. Alexander the Great came through Samarkand around the third century BCE. The Greek influence lasted until the First Century CE. Zorastrianism was the religion of the region until Islam arrived. The Zorastrians exposed dead bodies to vultures and then stored the bones in ossuaries. Entrance to Museum of Samarkand
Museum of Samarkand
Museum of Samarkand