Shahriston

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Shahriston
аҳристон
Basic data
State : TajikistanTajikistan Tajikistan
Province : Sughd
Coordinates : 39 ° 46 '  N , 68 ° 49'  E Coordinates: 39 ° 46 '28 "  N , 68 ° 48' 33"  E
Height : 1438  m
Structure and administration
Community type: Village
Shahriston (Tajikistan)
Shahriston
Shahriston

Shahriston ( Tajik Шаҳристон , Russian Шахристан ), saddle Christan , also flock Istan, fire Riston , English transcriptions Shahristan, Shakhristan , is a village and the capital of the sub-district of the same name ( dschamoat ) within the same district ( nohija ) in the province ( vilojat ) Sughd in the north of Tajikistan . The small market town is known for the nearby ruins of the Sogdian city Bundschikat , which was inhabited between the 6th and 9th centuries.

location

Via Shahriston to the northeast with the Shahristonsai River

Schahriston is located north of the 4000 meter high Turkestan chain on the Schahristonsai (Schachristan-sai) river, which is fed by small streams from side valleys and flows in a northeastern direction. It is the first larger town beyond the top of the pass in the plain on the only road (M34) that leads from the state capital Dushanbe to the capital of the province of Sughd, Khujand . Since the Schahriston tunnel was opened to traffic in 2012 , this route has been open all year round. The expressway bypasses Schahriston in a wide arc on the east side. Coming from the south, an unpaved access road branches off to the left two kilometers before the town center from the M34. At the junction, a gravel road begins, which leads through the dry river bed to the village of Tscharkutan, 500 meters away, with the Sogdian palace ruins of Tschilchudschra . The one-kilometer access road to Schahriston from the north is paved. The larger city of Istaravshan to the north-east is 27 kilometers away, and it is 105 kilometers to Khujand. The fields in the valley floor are irrigated through channels from the river, which is why its wide gravel bed is largely dry from Tscharkutan. The surrounding hills are treeless and only sparsely overgrown with grass.

history

Townscape

Central roundabout at the market

The population for the sub- district ( jamoat ) Shahriston is given for 2009 as 16,295. In addition to the Jangikurghon sub-district, it forms the eastern half of the Shahriston district. This in turn borders on the Ghontschi district in the east, the Istaravshan district in the north and Uzbekistan in the west . The southern border is formed by the ridge of the Turkestan chain. The area south of it belongs to the Aini district .

In 2003 the entire district of Shahriston had around 30,000 inhabitants. With an area of ​​294 square kilometers, the population is 102 per square kilometer. An estimated three quarters of the population are Uzbeks , a quarter Tajiks and all live in rural areas. The main occupation is agriculture, whereby there are practically no food processing companies. In addition to the cultivation of potatoes, the focus is on raising cattle, sheep and goats.

Homesteads west of the river

The frequently occurring place name is derived from the Persian schahristān ( schahr , "city") and denotes the inner living area in the medieval Iranian city - comparable to the Arabic madīna - in contrast to the higher-lying citadel ( quhandiz ) and the outskirts ( rabaḍ ). The Shahristonsai divides the village into two roughly equal halves. The town center in the east of the river is formed by the market, where vegetables, fruit and household goods are sold every day. There are a few grocery stores and one or two small restaurants at the central roundabout. Most of the populated area consists of farmsteads with single-storey houses, the walls of which are made of gravel or rubble stones and plastered with clay. Winter fodder for the animals is stored under the gables covered with corrugated iron.

200 meters northwest of the roundabout, a road bridge leads across the river to the district on the other side. A few hundred meters south, on the west side of the river, the remains of the early medieval town of Bundschikat were uncovered on a steep, looming mud hill.

literature

  • Robert Middleton, Huw Thomas: Tajikistan and the High Pamirs. Odyssey Books & Guides, Hong Kong 2012, pp. 167f

Web links

Commons : Schahriston  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Firuz Saidov: Children's Voices. A Qualitative Study of Poverty in Tajikistan. Unicef ​​study, p. 21
  2. Hugh Kennedy: From Shahristan to Medina . In: Studia Islamica, No. 102/103, 2006, pp. 5–34, here p. 19