Romitan (, ) is a city and seat of Romitan District in

Bukhara Region Bukhara Region is a region of Uzbekistan located in the southwest of the country. The Kyzyl Kum desert takes up a large portion of its territory. It borders Turkmenistan, Navoiy Region, Qashqadaryo Region, a small part of the Xorazm Region, a ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. The town population was 9,636 people in 1989, and 14,300 in 2016.

History

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

evidence suggests that the settlement in what is now Romitan was founded before the Arab invasion. Romitan has been mentioned in historical sources since the 10th century. It was a part of the Samanid state. The historian of the 10th century

Narshakhi Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Jafar Narshakhi (or Narshaki) (ca. 899–959), a Sogdian scholar from the village of Narshak in the Bukhara oasis is the first known historian in Central Asia. His unique ''History of Bukhara'' (''Tarikh-i Bukhara'') was wr ...

, calling it Ramtin, reports the following

data Data ( , ) are a collection of discrete or continuous values that convey information, describing the quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted for ...

Ramtin (and now exists near
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
, but is called Ramitan) has a large
fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...
; it is a fortified
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
. It is older than Bukhara and in some
books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...
it is even mentioned under the name of Bukhara. Ramtin had been the residence of tsars since ancient times, and when the city of Bukhara was founded, the tsars began to spend only winter in this village. In the Muslim era the same thing continued. Abu Muslim, — may God's mercy be upon him, — reached this place and lived in Ramtin, and this village was founded by Afrasiyab, who always stayed only in Ramtin when visiting Bukhara. Persian books say that Afrasiyab lived 2000 years and was a magician. He belonged to the offspring of King Nuh. Afrasiyab killed his son-in-law
Siyâvash Siyâvash (), also spelled Siyâvoš or Siavash (), is a major figure in the ''Shahnameh''. He is introduced by Ferdowsi as the son of Kay Kāvus, who reigns as Shah in the earliest days of Greater Iran for over a century. His name means "the o ...
, and Siyâvash had a son,
Kay Khosrow Kay Khosrow () is a legendary king of Iran of Kayanian dynasty and a character in the Persian epic book ''Shahnameh''. He was the son of the Iranian prince Siavash who married princess Farangis of Turan while in exile. Before Kay Khosrow wa ...
. In order to avenge the
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
of his father, Kay Khosrow came to the area with a large
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
. Afrasiyab hastened to fortify the village. Ramtin withstood the
siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
of the village by the
troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a Squadron (cavalry), squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section (military unit), section or platoon. Exception ...
of Kay Khosrow for two years. Against Ramtin, Kay Khosrow also built a village and named it Ramush. This name was given to this village because of the beauty of its location. This village is still inhabited. In the village of Ramush, Kay Khosrow built a temple of fire-worshippers; the magicians say that this
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
is older than the temples of Bukhara. Kay Khosrow, after a two-year siege, captured the city of Afrasiyab and killed him himself... Muhammad, son of Jafar, says that 3,000 years have passed since that time. God knows better!

References

Populated places in Bukhara Region Cities in Uzbekistan {{Uzbekistan-geo-stub