Ancient Panjakent

Ancient Panjakent lies on a terrace above the Zeravshan river in western Tajikistan, on the edge of the modern town of the same name, some sixty kilometres east of Samarkand. From the fifth to the eighth century it was a city of the Sogdians, the Iranian-speaking merchants whose caravans linked China with Iran and Byzantium along the Silk Road.

Soviet archaeologists began systematic excavations here in 1946, and work has continued ever since. They uncovered temples, a citadel, a bazaar and whole streets of two-storey houses. The most famous finds are wall paintings from the reception rooms of wealthy houses: banquets, hunts, gods and goddesses, and scenes from epics, including episodes of the hero Rostam that are older than Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. Many of these paintings are now in the Hermitage in St Petersburg and in museums in Dushanbe.

The city fell in the Arab conquest. Its last ruler, Devashtich, retreated to a mountain fortress and was captured and executed in 722; documents in Sogdian found at that fortress, on Mount Mugh, are a key source for the period. Visitors can walk the excavated streets and see the outlines of houses and temples; a nearby museum named for the poet Rudaki, who is traditionally said to have been born in the area, displays finds and copies of paintings.