Shakhrisabz

Shakhrisabz is the hometown of Temur and everything in Shakhrisabz is connected with his name. Temur was born in 1336 at the village of Hoja Ilghar, about 13 km south of Shakhrisabz. Temur’s
father Amir Taragai his spiritual adviser Shamsedin Kulyol, and his eldest sons Jahangir and Omar Sheikh were buried. The name Shakhrisabz means “green city”. The Historic Centre of Shahrisabz was declared UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.

Archaeological excavations have found traces of occupation by farming communities in the 1st milennium BC. In the Middle Ages the town was called Kesh. It became important in the 14th cent. Temur (Tamerlane) was born in a village nearby and the tribe to which he belonged controlled the city. Temur was already governor of Kesh at the age of 25. He defeated the Turkish sultan Bayezid and the Golden Horde and led triumphant campaigns in Iran, Caucasus, India and Asia Minor. At the height of his power his kingdom stretched from Egypt to Kashgar and Kiev and Moscow were its protectorates. Timur created the vast state of Movarounnahr and became its absolute emir. He made Samarkand his capital and Shakhrizabz his second capital.

Shakhrisabz is about 90 km from Samarkand over the 1.780 m high Takhzakaracha Pass. Shakhrisabz is about 280 km from Bukhara via Qarshi (Karhsi).

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