Punjakent
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panjakent Панҷакент |
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| Basic data | |||
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| State : |
 Tajikistan
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| Province : | Sughd | ||
| Coordinates : | 39 ° 30 ' N , 67 ° 36' E | ||
| Residents : | 35,000 (2000) | ||
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Panjakent ( Tajik Панҷакент , Panǧakent , Persian پنجکنت, Russian Пенджикент , Pendschikent ) is a city in the Sughd province in northwest Tajikistan , east of Samarkand ( Uzbekistan ), with about 35,000 inhabitants.
General
Punjakent lies on a five-kilometer-wide plain in the valley of the Serafshan River and was once a trading town on the Silk Road in close connection with Samarkand, about 60 km away. The city has a university and a hospital and is the seat of several regional administrative authorities. Development aid organizations such as Welthungerhilfe also maintain offices. Close economic ties existed with neighboring Uzbekistan until independence , but these are currently interrupted by the closure of the borders.
Attractions
- Medrese Alim Dodcho : The Medrese Alim Dodcho was built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Century and is located opposite the bazaar.
- Rudakimuseum : The museum in the center shows u. a. Finds from the old Sogdian city of Punjakent and the archaeological site of Sarasm . In addition, some rooms provide information about the history of the region and the native fauna of the Serafschantal. Another room is dedicated to the life and work of the Persian poet Rudaki .
Old Punjakent
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Next to the modern site are the ruins of a Sogdian city that has been excavated since 1947 and is an important archaeological site in Tajikistan. Their area was once about 19 hectares, of which about a third have now been excavated. The old city had its heyday especially in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, when it was on the Silk Road and was the capital of a Sogdian principality. It was destroyed during the Arab conquest of the country after the revolt of the city lord Dēwāštič in 722 had failed. After that, the city was only inhabited for a short time.
The city proper was surrounded by a wall eight meters thick. Next to it was the citadel where the local rulers lived. Outside the walls was a suburb and the city of the dead. The residential town consisted of two to three-story buildings.
The excavation site is characterized by good conservation conditions. Many wooden objects (furniture, sculptures) are still in remarkable condition. The peculiarity of the site, however, are wall paintings that were found in the houses of the upper class and in the temples of the city. The name “Pompeii Tajikistan” is derived from this.
The core of the residential city are two temples, each standing on a platform and surrounded by a wide courtyard. They were richly painted. The deities worshiped here remain unknown. The center of the houses of the upper class was a ballroom, which was largely illustrated, with mostly epics being depicted here. The ballroom was often furnished with ornate wooden pillars and an ornately paneled ceiling.
Buddhist , Zoroastrian and Manichaean influences can be read from the paintings , a mixture of Eastern and Western stylistic elements that often depict the struggle of good against evil. Most of them are now in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg and in the Museum of Antiquity in Dushanbe . For the conservation of the archaeological site itself, the effort is considered too high. Artifacts are recovered and the ruins are left to their own devices.
Surroundings of Punjakent
- Sarasm : The archaeological site of Sarasm is located 15 kilometers west of the city. In 1976, the remains of a prehistoric settlement from the 3rd or 2nd millennium BC were found here. Discovered. The settlement covers a size of approx. 130 hectares and consisted of adobe houses. Numerous tools, knives, axes and weights were found during the excavations led by the archaeologist Isakov. The origin of these pieces from India, Afghanistan and Iran indicates that the former residents had trade contacts. The most remarkable find is the "Princess of Sarasm", in whose grave there were pearls made of lazurite and various pieces of jewelry. Today these finds are in the Museum of Antiquity in Dushanbe .
- Seven lakes : According to legend, the seven lakes (Marguzorskie Ozera) that were created by the enchantment of seven beautiful farmers' daughters are located in the Šingtal at an altitude of 1598 to 2400 m and are the result of an earthquake. Their names are Midžgon ("eyelash"), Soja , Chuš´er , Nofin , Churdak , Marguzor and Hazorčašma ("thousand springs"). The latter also feeds all other lakes in the valley. In Soviet times the Šingtal was a popular attraction for vacationers. After a rest home was destroyed by a landslide, tourism declined. In addition, several villages had to be evacuated. Since independence, attempts have been made to reduce the risk of avalanches with the help of international development aid organizations by creating terraces and planting endangered slopes.
Market in the city center
literature
- Sonja Bill: Tajikistan , Trescher Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-89794-160-1
- Boris J. Stawiskij: The peoples of Central Asia in the light of their art monuments , Bonn 1982, ISBN 3-921591-23-6 , pp. 173-186
