Located in the middle of Central Asia, Samarkand has always been a major socio-political entity of ancient Sogdiana. Despite its fame connected to the rich trade along the Great Silk Road and its monumental Timurid architecture, historically Samarkand developed in a close association with its hinterland. This paper presents the results of the activities of the “Samarkand and Its Territory” Project, which unveiled a more complex relationship between the urban landscape of the city and its regional connections. Started in 2001, the joint Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Expedition conducted research at both regional and local scales, based on a multidisciplinary approach and a specific focus on the study of the ancient irrigation system. According to the information available from Afrasiab (the ancient Samarkand), the major urbanization of this region is usually dated as early as the Achaemenid period (7th-6th centuries BC). However, data from regional surveys and stratigraphic excavations of targeted sites, suggest that this process took place later, during the Hellenistic and post-Hellenistic centuries (4th century BCE-1st century CE), and it can be explained as the result of the symbiotic relationship between the settled farmers and the semi-nomadic pastoralists.
Urbanscape vs. Landscape or Urbanscape as Landscape? A case from ancient Samarkand (Sogdiana)
Simone Mantellini
In corso di stampa
Abstract
Located in the middle of Central Asia, Samarkand has always been a major socio-political entity of ancient Sogdiana. Despite its fame connected to the rich trade along the Great Silk Road and its monumental Timurid architecture, historically Samarkand developed in a close association with its hinterland. This paper presents the results of the activities of the “Samarkand and Its Territory” Project, which unveiled a more complex relationship between the urban landscape of the city and its regional connections. Started in 2001, the joint Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Expedition conducted research at both regional and local scales, based on a multidisciplinary approach and a specific focus on the study of the ancient irrigation system. According to the information available from Afrasiab (the ancient Samarkand), the major urbanization of this region is usually dated as early as the Achaemenid period (7th-6th centuries BC). However, data from regional surveys and stratigraphic excavations of targeted sites, suggest that this process took place later, during the Hellenistic and post-Hellenistic centuries (4th century BCE-1st century CE), and it can be explained as the result of the symbiotic relationship between the settled farmers and the semi-nomadic pastoralists.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
