Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities of Central Asia. Most of the historic buildings in this romantic Eastern city, which attracts tourists from all over the world, belong to period of the late Middle Ages. Nevertheless, numerous archaeological excavations have revealed thick cultural layers, i.e. traces of ancient settlements in locations providing favorable conditions of life. Hence, Bukhara never changed its location but grew vertically. In archaeological trenches at a depth of 20 metres the remnants of dwellings, public buildings, and fortifications have been discovered. The age of these historical constructions have been evaluated on the basis of the artifacts associated with them: ceramic pottery, fireplaces, coins bearing images and inscriptions, antique jewellery, tools of artisan, i.e. everything that is associated with the activities and culture of human society. The most deep-seated layers, which belong to the period of antiquity from the 3d century B.C. till the 4th century A.D., are also most thick. The upper layers belong the period of the city from the 9th century till the beginning of the 20th centuries. This proves that Bukhara is at least 2,500 years old, just like Samarkand.

In the ancient past the Bukhara oasis was a part of Soghdiana a vast region of Central Asia, which had been conquered by Alexander the Great. After seizing Samarkand, Alexander had set forward his army into the depth of the Bukhara oasis.
In the period of the 6th and 7th centuries of feudal Sogdiana there was marked an active process of town formation, when ancient settlements surrounding Bukhara became the towns of Varakhsha, Vardanzi, Ramish (Ramitan), Kermine, Paikend. Archaeological excavations in Varakhsha have discovered a palace of the Bukharkhudats with exquisite mural paintings that is in no way worse in comparison with the famous murals of Pendjikent.

All these towns had more or less a similar structural pattern: the ark (citadel), the shakhristan - well-planned residential core, and a necropolis beyond the town limits where crypts were built to accommodate ceramic urns with the bones of the dead. Bukhara of the early feudal period also followed this pattern of development. It sprawled over an area of 40 hectares (98,8 acres).
The rectangular shakhristan was cut into four sections by two crossing main streets which led to gates opening out on all four sides of the world. This traditional layout of lowland cities reflected the ancient world outlook principles of the East. It symbolized the structure of the Universe and reflected the cosmogony in the order of things in nature and society.

In the north western section of the city (considered to be a place of honour) rose the Ark — the palace fortress of the Bukharkhudats. Beyond the walls of the Ark and the shakhristan sprawled the business quarters and artisan's areas - the rabad with its residential neighborhoods of adobe-clay houses. The rabad was stimulated in its growth by the development of caravan trade: Bukhara was on the crossroads of ancient trade routes linking up China, Iran and India. At the western gates of the citadel were the divans - the state offices, and the palaces of the nobles. At the eastern gates stood a Christian church.

Such was Bukhara at the time of its conquest by the Arab caliphate. Finally it happened in 708, though incursions, diplomatic talks, siege and battles have begun already in 673 A.D. The country's vassalage from the caliphate was not destroyed, even after power in the region was taken over by the Samanides - a local dynasty of rulers - in the end of the 9th century. The Samanides minted coins bearing the names of the ruling caliphs and paid taxes to the caliphate treasury irrespective of their almost complete political and economic independence. At the turn of the century Bukhara has developed into a major cultural and religious center of the Islamic world. It became known as the "dome of Islam", although the city was the asylum of numerous religions and cults.

Indeed, in the place-name of Bukhara it's quite possibly reflected the former location here of pre-Islamic temples such as Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Manicheans, Christian's churches and pagan temples. According to one of the versions the name of the city is derived from "vihara", which means Buddhist monastery, Haflzi Tanish, a sixteenth-century annalist of Bukhara wrote that the word 'Bukhara' is derived from "bukhar", which amidst the Zoroastrian means "source of knowledge". Also the Uigur and Chinese heathens named their pagan temples "Bukhar". The real name of the city was Lumdjikat.

By L. Mankovskaya
(Abbreviated edition).