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40-568: The region of Transoxiana was one of the satrapies (provinces) of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia under the name Sogdia . It was defined within the classical world of Persia to distinguish it from Iran proper , especially its northeastern province of Khorasan , a term originating with the Sasanians , although early Arab historians and geographers tended to subsume the region within the loosely defined term "Khorasan" designating

80-482: A much larger territory . The territories of Khwarazm , Sogdiana, Chaghaniyan , and Khuttal were located in the southern part of Transoxiana; Chach , Osrushana , and Farghana were located in the northern part. Historically known in Persian as Farā-rūd ( Persian : فرارود , [fæɾɒːˈɾuːd̪] – 'beyond the [Amu] river'), Faro-rüd ( Tajik : Фарорӯд ), and Varaz-rüd ( Tajik : Варазрӯд ),

120-640: Is aḥashdarpan אֲחַשְׁדַּרְפָּן , as found in Esther 3:12. In the Parthian (language of the Arsacid Empire ) and Middle Persian (the language of the Sassanian Empire ), it is recorded in the forms šahrab and šasab , respectively. In modern Persian the descendant of *khshathrapavan is shahrbān ( شهربان ), but the components have undergone semantic shift so

160-508: Is derived via Latin satrapes from Greek satrápes ( σατράπης ), itself borrowed from an Old Iranian *khshathra-pa . In Old Persian , which was the native language of the Achaemenids, it is recorded as khshathapavan ( 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠 , literally "protector of the province"). The Median form is reconstructed as *khshathrapavan- . Its Sanskrit cognate is kshatrapa ( क्षत्रप ). The Biblical Hebrew form

200-628: Is served by Uzbekistan Airlines with direct daily flights to and from Tashkent . Construction of the city began in the early 1960s and continued until the collapse of the USSR , 1965 is considered the official year of the city's foundation. On January 16, 1967, Zarafshon received the status of an urban-type settlement . At the time of the collapse of the USSR, the city had 12 microdistricts with typical Soviet (3-, 4-, 5-, 7- and 9-story) buildings. There were 8 comprehensive schools and 21 kindergartens in

240-561: Is the Central Mining Department, which currently includes 29 main and auxiliary divisions. The main task of the Central Mining Department is the development of precious metal deposits ( gold , silver ) and their mining. The city is situated in the central part of the Kyzylkum Desert , located 30 kilometers away from the largest gold deposit in the republic, " Muruntau ". In 2020 it was the largest gold mine in

280-570: The Kyzylkum Desert , it receives water from the Amudarya by a 220-km pipeline. Zarafshon is called "the gold capital of Uzbekistan" . It is home of the Navoi Mining & Metallurgy Combinat 's Central Mining Administration, charged with mining and processing gold from the nearby Muruntau open-pit mine. Between 1995 and 2006, the Muruntau gold mining and processing operation was run by

320-589: The Mongol Empire , invaded Transoxiana in 1219 during his conquest of Khwarezm . Before his death in 1227, he assigned the lands of Western Central Asia to his second son Chagatai , and this region became known as the Chagatai Khanate . In 1369, Timur , of the Barlas tribe, became the effective ruler and made Samarkand the capital of his future empire . Transoxiana was known to be flourishing in

360-634: The Muslim conquest of Persia . It was also ruled by Göktürks until the Arab conquest between 705 and 715, the area became known by the Arabic phrase Mā warāʼ al-Nahr "what is beyond the river", sometimes rendered as "Mavarannahr". Transoxiana's major cities and cultural centers are Samarkand and Bukhara . Both are in the southern portion of Transoxiana (though still to the north of the Amu Darya itself, on

400-606: The Olympic Games , while motocross riders have maintained leadership in national competitions. The powerlifting team has participated in many world championships, achieving significant results and winning top honors. The sailing team has been involved in numerous international competitions and consistently ranks among the leaders. The football club " FC Qizilqum " has been competing in the Uzbekistan Super League since 2000, with its highest achievement being

440-556: The Sasanian (Sassanid) Empire , it was often called Sogdia, a provincial name taken from the Achaemenid Empire , and used to distinguish it from nearby Bactria . The Chinese explorer Zhang Qian , who visited the neighbouring countries of Bactria and Parthia along with Transoxiana in 126 BCE, made the first known Chinese report on this region. Zhang Qian clearly identifies Parthia as an advanced urban civilisation that farmed grain and grapes, and made silver coins and leather goods. It

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480-531: The Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap. A satrap served as a viceroy to the king, though with considerable autonomy. The word came to suggest tyranny or ostentatious splendour, and its modern usage is a pejorative and refers to any subordinate or local ruler, usually with unfavourable connotations of corruption. The word satrap

520-753: The Umayyads from 715 to 738. The conquest was consolidated by Nasr ibn Sayyar between 738 and 740, and continued under the control of the Umayyads until 750, when it was replaced by the Abbasid Caliphate . The Tang dynasty of China also controlled the eastern part of the region until the An Lushan Rebellion broke out. In the early Islamic period, the people of Transoxania spoke Sogdian (an Iranian language) and were divided among several principalities . The Arab conquest resulted in

560-623: The Zarafshan-Newmont Joint Venture , a foreign direct investment by Newmont Mining Corporation of Denver , Colorado (at the time the largest U.S. investor in Uzbekistan - it was also the first major Western investment in the region since the breakup of the Soviet Union). Uzbekistan expropriated the company's assets in 2006 and by 2007 had taken full ownership of the mine. Zarafshan Airport ( IATA : AFS )

600-577: The 7-8th century. There were multiple figures in the Muslim world who had conquered these lands. Some include the Umayyad and Abbasid Arabs that took over lands that are now Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Apart from a presence in Kushan Bactria , Hinduism unlike Buddhism, seems to have made little inroad into Central Asia north of Bactria. Even when Brahmins are depicted in

640-452: The Great gave the satrapies a definitive organization, increased their number to thirty-six, and fixed their annual tribute ( Behistun inscription ). The satrap was in charge of the land that he owned as an administrator, and found himself surrounded by an all-but-royal court; he collected the taxes, controlled the local officials and the subject tribes and cities, and was the supreme judge of

680-547: The Parthian Empire; the semi-independent kingdoms and self-governing city states of the Parthian Empire were replaced with a system of "royal cities" which served as the seats of centrally appointed governors called shahrabs as well as the location of military garrisons. Shahrabs ruled both the city and the surrounding rural districts. Exceptionally, the Byzantine Empire also adopted the title "satrap" for

720-679: The Persians. They would ultimately be replaced by conquering empires, especially the Parthians . In the Parthian Empire , the king's power rested on the support of noble families, who ruled large estates and supplied soldiers and tribute to the king. City-states within the empire enjoyed a degree of self-government, and paid tribute to the king. Administration of the Sassanid Empire was considerably more centralized than that of

760-733: The Satraps ). The last great rebellions were put down by Artaxerxes III . The satrapic administration and title were retained—even for Greco-Macedonian incumbents—by Alexander the Great , who conquered the Achaemenid Empire, and by his successors, the Diadochi (and their dynasties) who carved it up, especially in the Seleucid Empire , where the satrap generally was designated as strategos (in other words, military generals); but their provinces were much smaller than under

800-524: The Soviet Union, and only a few left to return. Zarafshon became the third industrial city in Navoiy region , after Uchquduq and Navoiy , built due to the establishment of city-forming enterprises (Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat and Navoiyazot) in the region in the late 50s and early 60s. The largest division of Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat is located in the city of Zarafshon, it

840-412: The age of one and whose first word was "Allah." He rebelled against his father, eventually slaying him, before embarking on a series of conquests that brought Islam to all of "Transoxiana and Turkestan." Satrapies A satrap ( / ˈ s æ t r ə p / ) was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in

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880-595: The area had been known to the ancient Iranians as Turan , a term used in the Persian national epic Shahnameh . The corresponding Chinese term for the region is Hezhong ( Chinese : 河中地区 - land between rivers (Amu and Syr) ). The Arabic term Mā Warāʾ an-Nahr ( Arabic : ما وراء النهر , [ˈmaː waˈraːʔ anˈnahr] , which means "what is beyond the [Jayhūn] river") passed into Persian literary usage and stayed on until post-Mongol times. The name Transoxiana stuck in Western consciousness because of

920-639: The area of Peshawar and were possibly their overlords, and with the Satavahana , who ruled in central India to their south and east and the Kushan state to their immediate west. Zarafshan Zarafshon ( Uzbek : Zarafshon / Зарафшон , Persian : زرافشان ) is a city in the center of Uzbekistan 's Navoiy Region . Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muruntau . It has an area of 20 km (7.7 sq mi) and 85,100 inhabitants (2021). Located in

960-424: The army district, contrary to the original rule. "When his office became hereditary, the threat to the central authority could not be ignored" (Olmstead). Rebellions of satraps became frequent from the middle of the 5th   century BCE. Darius I struggled with widespread rebellions in the satrapies, and under Artaxerxes II occasionally the greater parts of Asia Minor and Syria were in open rebellion ( Revolt of

1000-599: The art of Central Asia, this is within the setting of Buddhist art, where we can even observe a tendency to present such figures as caricatures, quite in line with the criticism of them in the Buddhist scriptures. Transoxania was a great center of Muslim civilization; it was the centre of the Timurid Empire and saw influential Muslim leaders like Oghuz Khan . An excerpt from a dynastic history commissioned by Eltüzer Khan of Khwarazm: "Oghuz Khan, who could speak at

1040-500: The city features artificial vegetation and beautiful parks. Zarafshon has been the venue for numerous sports competitions, including the Asian Powerlifting Championship in 2004, an international sailing tournament among CIS countries, and many other events. In 2004 alone, Zarafshon hosted 150 sports events of various levels. Athletes from Zarafshon have excelled in various sports. Swimmers have competed in

1080-581: The city. Initially, the city was created as the residence of workers servicing industrial facilities for gold mining located at Muruntau Mine and «Bessopan» industrial site and being a part of Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat . Gold production from the Muruntau Mine deposit accounted for approximately 30% of total gold production in the USSR. During the Soviet period, the gold mine was being developed non-stop. Workers were recruited from all over

1120-508: The conquest of Media by Cyrus the Great, emperors ruled the lands they conquered through client kings and governors. The main difference was that in Persian culture the concept of kingship was indivisible from divinity: divine authority validated the divine right of kings . The twenty-six satraps established by Cyrus were never kings, but viceroys ruling in the king's name, although in political reality many took advantage of any opportunity to carve themselves an independent power base. Darius

1160-654: The exploits of Alexander the Great , who extended Greek culture into the region with his invasion in the 4th century BCE. Alexander's successors would go on to found the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , ushering in a distinct Greek cultural presence within Transoxiana that existed for over two hundred years. The city of Ai-Khanoum , situated on the Oxus in northern Afghanistan, remains the only Graeco Bactrian city to have been found and extensively excavated. During

1200-551: The governors of which were also called satraps and (by Greco-Roman authors) also called hyparchs (actually Hyparkhos in Greek, 'vice-regents'). The distribution of the great satrapies was changed repeatedly, and often two of them were given to the same man. As the provinces were the result of consecutive conquests (the homeland had a special status, exempt from provincial tribute), both primary and sub-satrapies were often defined by former states and/or ethno-religious identity. One of

1240-594: The keys to the Achaemenid success was their open attitude to the culture and religion of the conquered people, so the Persian culture was the one most affected as the Great King endeavoured to meld elements from all his subjects into a new imperial style, especially at his capital, Persepolis . Whenever central authority in the empire weakened, the satrap often enjoyed practical independence, especially as it became customary to appoint him also as general-in-chief of

Transoxiana - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-460: The mid-14th century. The historian Mark Dickens notes: Transoxiana's principal pre-Islamic religion was Zoroastrianism , albeit in local manifestations. However, Buddhism , [Nestorian] Christianity , Manichaeism , and Mazdakism also had many adherents, especially in urban areas. This initial religious diversity was gradually eroded after the Arab conquest . Muslims had conquered Transoxiana by

1320-416: The power of each satrap: besides his secretarial scribe, his chief financial official (Old Persian ganzabara ) and the general in charge of the regular army of his province and of the fortresses were independent of him and periodically reported directly to the shah , in person. The satrap was allowed to have troops in his own service. The great satrapies (provinces) were often divided into smaller districts,

1360-502: The province before whose "chair" ( Nehemiah   3:7) every civil and criminal case could be brought. He was responsible for the safety of the roads (cf.   Xenophon), and had to put down brigands and rebels. He was assisted by a council of Persians, to which also provincials were admitted and which was controlled by a royal secretary and emissaries of the king, especially the "eye of the king", who made an annual inspection and exercised permanent control. There were further checks on

1400-523: The river Zarafshan ) and Uzbekistan, and the majority of the region was dry but fertile plains. Both cities remained centres of Persian culture and civilisation after the Islamic conquest of Iran , and played a crucial role in the revival of Persian culture with establishment of the Samanid Empire . Part of this region was conquered by Qutayba ibn Muslim between 706 and 715 and loosely held by

1440-687: The semi-autonomous princes that governed one of its Armenian provinces , the Satrapiae . The Western Satraps or Kshatrapas (35–405 CE) of the Indian subcontinent were Saka rulers in the western and central part of the Sindh region of Pakistan , and the Saurashtra and Malwa regions of western India . They were contemporaneous with the Kushans , who ruled the northern part of the subcontinent from

1480-603: The spread of Arabic elite culture, and, more paradoxically, of Persian "as a spoken and eventually written language" in the region. The Arab conquest also resulted in contacts with Tang China, where fragments of the Sasanian ruling elite, including Peroz III , had taken shelter after Iran's conquest by the Arabs. However, it did not result in Transoxania having major interactions with Chinese culture. Genghis Khan , founder of

1520-459: The word now means "town keeper" ( shahr شهر meaning "town" + bān بان meaning "keeper"). Although the first large-scale use of satrapies, or provinces, originates from the inception of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great , beginning at around 530   BCE, provincial organization actually originated during the Median era from at least 648   BCE. Up to the time of

1560-676: The world The city boasts a unique water supply system sourced from the Amu Darya River (with approximately 250 kilometers of pipes under constant control). It includes 12 residential micro-districts with improved architectural planning from the Soviet era, two micro-districts under construction, cultural facilities (cultural centers, creative hubs), sports amenities (stadium, swimming pool, gyms, and sports complexes), commercial areas (shops, markets, shopping centers), healthcare institutions, and various other public facilities. Additionally,

1600-703: Was ruled successively by Seleucids , the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , the Parthian Empire and the Kushan Empire before Sassanid rule. In Sasanian times, the region became a major cultural center due to the wealth derived from the Northern Silk Road . Sassanid rule was interrupted by the Hephthalite invasion at the end of the 5th century and didn't return to the Sassanids until 565. Many Persian nobles and landlords escaped to this region after

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