, image_skyline = Pajakent Bazaar1.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Panjakent Bazaar , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Tajikistan#West Asia , pushpin_relief = yes , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_mapsize = , pushpin_map_caption = Location of Panjakent , subdivision_type =

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

, subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 =

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

, subdivision_name1 =

Sughd Region Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...

, subdivision_type2 = , subdivision_name2 = , established_title = , established_date = , government_type = , leader_title = , leader_name = , area_magnitude = , area_total_sq_mi = , area_total_km2 = , area_land_sq_mi = , area_land_km2 = , area_urban_sq_mi = , area_urban_km2 = , area_metro_km2 = , area_metro_sq_mi = , population_as_of=2020 , population_footnotes = , population_total = 303,000 , population_urban = 52,500 , population_metro = , population_density_sq_mi = , population_density_km2 = , timezone = UTC+5 , utc_offset = , timezone_DST = , utc_offset_DST = , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 996 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , blank1_name_sec2 = , blank1_info_sec2 = , area_code = , website = , footnotes = Panjakent ( tg, Панҷакент), or Penjikent (russian: Пенджикент) is a city in the

Sughd Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...

province of

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

on the river Zeravshan, with a population of 52,500 (2020 estimate). It was once an ancient town in

Sogdiana Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empi ...

. The ruins of the old town are on the outskirts of the modern city. The

Sarazm Important Bird Area The Sarazm Important Bird Area is a 43 km2 tract of land in south-western Sughd Province, in northwestern Tajikistan, not far from the border with Uzbekistan. It lies on the left bank of the Zeravshan River and overlaps the Zeravshansky Zaka ...

lies downstream of the city on the

tugay Tugay is a form of riparian forest or woodland associated with fluvial and floodplain areas in arid climates. These wetlands are subject to periodic inundation, and largely dependent on floods and groundwater rather than directly from rainfall ...

-vegetated

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the river.

History

Ancient Panjakent was a small but flourishing town of the

Sogdians :''This category lists articles related to historical Iranian peoples'' Historical Peoples Iranian Iranian Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples ...

in pre-Islamic Central Asia. It was known as Panchekanth. It means five towns (villages) in Persian. The ethnic and territorial name "Soghd/Soghdian" or Sughd/Sughdian was mentioned in history as early as the Iranian

Achaemenid dynasty The Achaemenid dynasty (Old Persian: ; Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) was an ancient Persian royal dynasty that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, an Iranian empire that stretched from Egypt and Southeastern Europe in the west to the Ind ...

(6th century BC). The Achaemenids founded several city-states, as well as cities along the ancient

Silk road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

and in the

Zarafshan Zarafshon ( uz, Zarafshon / Зарафшон, fa, 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 and it h ...

valley.

The town grew in the 5th century AD and many professionals such as established businessmen and landowners made their livelihoods in Panjakent. In AD 722,

Arab Muslims Arab Muslims ( ar, العرب المسلمون) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Arabs. Arab Muslims greatly outnumber other ethnoreligious groups in the Middle East and North Africa. Arab M ...

forces besieged and took the town. The last ruler of the town Divashtich fled into upper Zarafshan but he was captured and sentenced to death. For around 50 years, ancient Panjakent was ruled by new administrators but towards the end of the 8th century the town on the upper terraces was depopulated and relocated. Many ancient ruins of the old city, particularly the city architecture and works of art remain today. Numerous records of a Penjikent rulership, written in Sogdian, were located not far of Penjikent on Mount Mug. Through their reading of these texts, the public of Central Asia in the 8th century will judge on social, economic and political life. Penjikent in Tajikistan

According to Arab geographers, Panjakent in the 10th century had a formal Friday

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

that distinguished the place as a town from a village. It was the easternmost city of Soghd, and became well known for its

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

s. Russian archaeologist

Boris Marshak Boris Ilich Marshak (russian: Бори́с Ильи́ч Марша́к) (July 9, 1933 – 28 July 2006) was an archeologist who spent more than fifty years excavating the Sogdian ruins at Panjakent, Tajikistan. Biography Boris Ilich Marshak ...

spent more than fifty years excavating the ruins at Panjakent. He remained there even after Tajik independence as director of the excavation of the Panjakent ruins, during the years of

Civil War in Tajikistan The Tajikistani Civil War ( tg, Ҷанги шаҳрвандии Тоҷикистон, translit=Jangi shahrvandiyi Tojikiston / Çangi shahrvandiji Toçikiston; russian: Гражданская война в Таджикистане), also known ...

from 1992 to 1997. Through close cooperation with the government of Tajikistan, Marshak ensured the protection and continued excavation of the Panjakent ruins.

Ancient murals and artifacts

Numerous murals were recovered from the site of Panjikent, and many of them are now on display in the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the larges ...

and in the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan in

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...

. A great variety influences are visible in the paintings, which show details of dress and daily life: Greek decorative styles encounter the Iranian narratives of the

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 5 ...

and the epic cycle of

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a w ...

, scenes of festivities alternate with depictions of combats, local cults mix with Iranian and Indian deities.

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

was popular in Sogdiana and Eastern Turkestan as found from the wall painting from Penjikent on the river Zervashan. In this depiction,

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

is portrayed with a sacred halo and a sacred thread ("Yajnopavita"). He is clad in a tigerskin while his attendants are wearing Sogdian dress. There is a depiction of him four-legged seated cross-legged on a cushioned seat supported by two bulls. The production of paintings started in the 5th century AD and stopped in 722 AD with the invasion of the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttal ...

, and many works of art were damaged or destroyed at that time. File:Chinese-style coinage of the rulers of Penjikent, Tajikistan, 7-8th century CE.jpg, Chinese-style coinage of the rulers of Penjikent, Tajikistan, 7-8th century CE File:Bracteate_she-wolf_NMAT_KP208-243_(cropped).jpg, She-wolf suckling two infants ("

Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf sucklin ...

"), Penjikent, 5th century CE, National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan (KP 208–243). File:Uma-Maheshvara, Shiva with spouse Uma riding the bull Nandi, Penjikent Temple II, 690-722 CE, Tajikistan National Museum of Antiquities (60).jpg, ''Uma-Maheshvara'':

ithyphallic A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisel ...

with spouse

Uma Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

riding the bull

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afric ...

, Penjikent Temple II, 690-722 CE, National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan (60). File:Penjikent, figures with halos.jpg, Penjikent, figures with halos,

File:Hommes au banquet, pigment sur plâtre, Penjikent, Tadjikistan.jpg, Men banquet, pigment on plaster. Pendjikent, Tajikistan File:Panjikent mural (6th-7th century CE).jpg, Panjikent mural (6th-7th century AD).

File:Panjakent (Panjīkant) mural , 6th-8th Centuries (2).jpg, Panjakent (Panjīkant) mural, 6th-8th centuries AD.

File:Panjakent (Panjīkant) mural , 6th-8th Centuries.jpg, Panjakent (Panjīkant) mural, 6th-8th centuries AD. National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan File:Panjakent (Panjīkant) mural, 6th-8th Centuries (3).jpg, Panjakent (Panjīkant) mural, 6th-8th centuries AD File:Shiva with Trisula Panjikent 7th–8th century CE Hermitage Museum.jpg,

with

Trisula The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism. In Nepal and Thailand, the term also often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a ''daṇḍa'' "staff". Unlike ...

. Penjikent 7th–8th century AD.

File:Dushanbe - National Museum of Antiquities - Lion and Goddess Anahita - Penjikent, 6th-8th c AD.jpg, Lion and Goddess

Anahita Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associate ...

, Penjikent, 6th-8th c AD File:Dushanbe - National Museum of Antiquities - Wall Painting.jpg, Multi-armed deity in armour

Geography

Climate

Panjakent has a hot summer humid continental climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Dsa''). The average annual temperature is 10.7 °C (51.3 °F). The warmest month is July with an average temperature of 22.8 °C (73 °F) and the coolest month is January with an average temperature of −1.6 °C (29.1 °F). The average annual precipitation is 468.5mm (18.4") and has an average of 87.9 days with precipitation. The wettest month is April with an average of 94mm (3.7") of precipitation and the driest month is August with an average of 2.6mm (0.1") of precipitation.

Subdivisions

Before ca. 2018, Panjakent was the seat of Panjakent District, which covered the rural part of the present city of Panjakent. The city of Panjakent covers Panjakent proper and fourteen jamoats. These are as follows:Jamoat-level basic indicators
United Nations Development Programme in Tajikistan, accessed 3 October 2020

Notable people

* Nigina Amonkulova, folk singer * Khayrinisso Yusufi, vice-premier of Tajikistan, member of the Assembly of Representatives. *

Otakhon Latifi Otakhon Latifi ( Tajik:Отахон Латифи) (March 18, 1936 – September 22, 1998) was a noted journalist and politician from Tajikistan. He was born in the town of Pendjikent. Under the Soviet Union, he was both ''Pravda'' and ''Izve ...

( tg, Отахон Латифи) (1936–1998), was a noted journalist and politician *

Yaqub Beg Muhammad Yaqub Bek (محمد یعقوب بیگ; uz, Яъқуб-бек, ''Ya’qub-bek''; ; 182030 May 1877) was a Khoqandi ruler of Yettishar (Kashgaria) during his invasion of Xinjiang from 1865 to 1877. He held the title of Atalik Ghazi (" ...

, leader of Uighur state of Yettishar during the Dungan Revolt against the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

in years 1865–1877

Notes

References

External links

* {{Central Asian history Populated places in Sughd Region Achaemenid cities Former populated places in Tajikistan Samarkand Oblast Sogdian cities