The ruins of Poykent

40 km from the center of Bukhara there are the ruins of the Poikent settlement, which once lived a stormy life. Known throughout Central Asia, Poikent, which was also called the “City of Merchants”, was a bourgeois commune city, without a ruler. 

The rich history of this city begins with the III century BC, when the first settlements of various communities appeared on this place. Much later, from the III century AD, a town was formed on the site of these settlements, on the territory of the 20th century, surrounded by a square citadel, archaeological excavations of which today indicate that the thickness of the walls of the citadel was about 30m. A shrine of fire was located within the walls of the citadel. So, Poikent by the III century consisted of a city citadel and shahristan (settlements inside the city walls).

Starting from the VIII – IX century, the city grew, and rabats (military camps of fighters for the faith) and rabads (artisan suburbs) began to appear outside the city walls. 

Poikent was considered a fairly rich city, a shopping center located on the Great Silk Road. 

In 706, the governor of Khorasan, Kuteiba ibn Muslim, captured Poikent. To do this, the ruler had to make a tunnel under the walls of the citadel. After the capture of the city, Kuteiba ibn Muslim was stunned by the wealth of the population of Poikent. A large number of gold and silver dishes, a silver idol weighing 4 thousand dirhams, a lot of gold and silver cups passed into the hands of the conquerors of the city. According to legends, one of the defenders of the city offered Kuteiba ibn Muslim a ransom of 1 million dirhams in exchange for his freedom. However, with this statement, he only angered the governor of Khorasan and he executed him. 

Since the IX century, under the Samanids, Poikent has become one of the centers of the Islamic religion. In Poikent, the Samanids built a large Friday cathedral mosque and a minaret, the ruins of the base of which were discovered during archaeological excavations and were 11m in diameter, which is 1m larger than the base of the largest Bukhara minaret Kalyan. The walls of the oldest pharmacy were also discovered during excavations. 

A necropolis with Zoroastrian burial structures was located to the north of the city.

Since the XI century, life in the city has been in decline, as the riverbed of the Zerafshan River, which fed the city, is changing. People were leaving their homes. The ruler, Arslan Khan, from the Karakhanid dynasty, spent a lot of money to dig a canal from the Zerafshan River to Poikent, however, this idea was not crowned with success.

To date, only archaeological excavations are being conducted on the territory of the 20ga, where Poikent was previously located. In 1914, the excavations were conducted by L.A. Zimin, secretary of the Turkestan Circle of archeology lovers. In 1939-1940, the Zarafshan expedition worked in Pokeint, and in 1981, the Bukhara Archaeological expedition was also worked there.

Of the 20ga of the Poikent area, only 15% have been investigated.

In 2003, not far from Poikent, the Museum of the History of the Poikent settlement was opened, where unique exhibits are exhibited: ceramics, jewelry, Chinese and Japanese porcelain, tableware and coins of the II-XI centuries discovered during excavations on the territory of the settlement.